In this conversation, Andy interviews James Louttit about his book Leading Impactful Teams: Achieving Low-Stress Success in Project Management. They discuss the challenges of leading projects and teams and what it means to be an impactful project manager. James introduces the SAVE meeting facilitation technique and discusses prioritizing value and effort and the importance of transparency, prioritization, and humanity in project management. You'll also learn how Baloo the Bear from the Jungle Book movie was a project management philosopher!

If you are responsible for leading teams and projects, this is the perfect episode for you!

• "Experience is worth what it costs you. Go out and have the experiences, and some of them are going to be painful, but the learning from them is going to be valuable."
• "What stakeholders want to see is how seriously you're taking the thing. If it's genuinely urgent and critical, you need to ramp up governance when there's a crisis."
• "If you're only focusing on high-value, low-effort things, you don't need to use a claw when you pick a pear with a big pawpaw."
• "Just because something's easy doesn't make it low value. Sometimes the minimum viable product is something we can get out there sooner, and so it might actually have high value."

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:59 Start Of Interview
• 04:28 Parkinson's Law And Project Management
• 07:17 What It Means To Be An 'Impactful' Project Manager
• 09:46 Fatherly Wisdom And Career Influence
• 11:47 The SAVE Technique For Effective Meetings
• 16:52 Understanding Value And Effort In Projects
• 20:45 Understanding Value Estimation
• 24:27 Handling Project Crises
• 28:47 Three Levers: Transparency, Prioritization, And Humanity
• 33:11 Applying Project Management At Home
• 35:14 Wrap Up
• 35:56 Andy Comments After The Interview
• 38:31 Outtakes

You can learn more about James and his organization at ImpactfulPM.com.

With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work.

This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity.

Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Ways of Working

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Summer Morning Full Version by MusicLFiles
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Tuesday by Sascha Ende
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Excerpt from YouTube video: {LYRICS} The Bare Necessities - balu the bear - The Jungle Book - 1967 - Walt Disney song's available at https://youtu.be/WJizAYb7OAk?si=ZgipVTq-liJDJ2gZ

In this episode, Andy interviews Karla Eidem, the Managing Director of North America region at Project Management Institute (PMI). The discussion focuses on the latest trends and developments in project management. They explore the evolution of project managers from executing technical aspects to becoming strategic partners in organizations. They also discuss the shift towards hybrid and agile approaches in project management and the impact of different work arrangements on team collaboration and project performance. Finally, they also touch on the role of AI in project management and the resources offered by PMI to support project professionals.

If you're looking for insights on how to keep up with the latest trends in leading and delivering projects, this episode is for you!

• "The role of the PMs has definitely shifted away from executing the technical aspects of a project to a strategic partner in the organization."
• "Project managers must also be adaptable and resilient to the well ever-changing business environment and be very competent in risk management."
• "A good project manager should know which tools to pull from their PM toolbox almost like a mechanic knowing what to do."
• "Work location does not have a negative impact on project performance. In fact, project performance rates for in-person, hybrid, and remote work actually yield similar results."
• "We need to be better storytellers. If we're not able to communicate effectively the value of what we do, then it'll be hard for the leaders of their organizations to even understand why they need to invest in project management."
• "A hybrid approach is actually gaining ground as the fit-for-purpose approach."
• "Performance levels are comparable for hybrid, agile, and predictive approaches."

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:24 Start of Interview
• 04:39 How to Decide Between Traditional and Hybrid Approaches
• 11:15 Findings About Remote, Hybrid, and In-Person Work
• 14:41 Karla's Personal Experience With Remote Work
• 16:45 Mobile Devices and Productivity
• 19:56 How AI is Transforming Project Management
• 25:00 Strategies for Continuous Learning Despite Busy Schedules
• 28:56 Communicating the Value of Investing in Project Management
• 32:41 Wrap-Up
• 33:01 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 34:35 Outtakes

You can learn more about Pulse of the Profession® at pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/pulse.

With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed our e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work.

This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity.

Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Business Acumen

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Quantum Sparks Full Version by MusicLFiles
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Chillhouse by Frank Schroeter
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In this episode, Andy talks with Charlie Gilkey, author of Team Habits: How Small Actions Lead to Extraordinary Results. They discuss how small, often overlooked habits shape team culture and performance. The conversation explores practical approaches for enhancing team dynamics, instilling a sense of belonging, improving decision-making, and addressing everyday 'broken printers' in both professional and familial settings.

Charlie shares personal insights from his military upbringing and passion for team-based success, emphasizing that effective change and leadership start at the local team level. This is a practical and engaging discussion that will help you lead your team to the next level of success.

• "Time in, erodes awareness of."
• "Be the teammate you want your teammates to be."
• "Belonging is a macro word that includes feeling appreciated at work, feeling like your contributions and perspective matter, that you have moral and functional trust."
• "We do it because it's the right thing and because this is how we want to be together and, oh by the way, it has these amazing other benefits."
• "I would rather over-index on caring."
• "So many families have a daily 'broken printer' that's called the 'getting to school runaround'."
• "None of us show up at work and opt-in to the CC thread from hell."

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:44 Start of Interview
• 05:36 The Broken Printer Metaphor
• 08:43 How We Encourage the CC Thread from Hell
• 12:21 Team Dynamics
• 14:56 What If You're Not a Senior Leader?
• 19:27 Number One Rule of Being a Great Teammate
• 21:18 Building Belonging Habits
• 30:14 The Importance of Small Gestures
• 38:34 Applying Team Habits to Families
• 44:48 Wrap-up
• 45:24 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 50:17 Outtakes

You can learn more about Charlie and his books at ProductiveFlourishing.com. Contact Charlie to learn how to buy a box of books for you and your team.

If you’d like more on this subject, check out:

• • Episode 366 with Michael Timms about his book on accountability
  • Episode 252 with Marcus Buckingham about the episode we discuss in this interview, and
  • Episode 342 with Krister Ungerbock, who uses the term TalkSHIFTS instead of habits. Though the terminology is different, the ideas are complimentary.

I would love to help you and your team level up your ability to lead and deliver. Join us for an upcoming project management masterclass! They are instructor-led, super engaging, and fine-tuned to help you and your team more confidently lead and deliver. Learn more at courses.i-leadonline.com. Thanks!

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Echo by Alexander Nakarada
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Laughing Children Full Version by MusicLFiles
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license