Some Basics of Project Management

Being a relative newbie to the world of project management I thought that I can get a better understanding of the challenges and skills that come with managing a project successfully by asking my trusty colleague Lisa. Lisa has taken the lead in many of our team’s projects over the years. Under her direction we have been successful so who better to ask. One topic that I was interested in was what she thought the biggest challenge was in managing a project. She said that, “My biggest challenge is managing the project and not managing the work---trusting team members to carry out their tasks as expected.” This challenge rang true with me because I have performed the role of employee involvement team facilitator before and that challenge is identical. You want to manage the project (or process) and not the work. Leave that step to the team members. Perhaps a helpful mantra? Nevermind, just keep your hands off the work.