Welcome to our weekly newsletter!

22 December 2024

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Hey friend,

We are well into the end of the year and many of us are on holiday. And wow do I need it! Those last few days of work seemed to drag on forever. Now if I could just get my body clock to reset and stop waking me at 5am that would be really nice.

Some Thoughts

Your brain is better at reacting to something than coming up with new ideas. If I asked you to think of 5 ways to protect a forest from an invasive plant species you might have some trouble. But if I gave you some ideas you would quickly evaluate whether hiring people to cut down the invaders was a better idea than spraying pesticides from a helicopter. And once you hit on the good idea of hiring staff, you might quickly think that maybe volunteers would be great too. Use this feature of your brain to help you solve work problems too. Get advice, even if it’s bad. Use people and use AI. Then think carefully and iterate until you have a solution.

What you will learn this week:

☀️ How to be an excellent programme manager.

🌍 Better ways to manage information.

🍄 BONUS - Why you should be monitoring the pipeline.

Achieving Excellence: Best Practices in Programme Management

Effective programme management is crucial for the success of any organization. As an experienced project manager, I’ve encountered numerous challenges and opportunities that have shaped my understanding of what constitutes best practices in this field. Through trial and error, I have developed a set of strategies that have proven effective in achieving excellence. In this article, I’ll share these practices, aimed at helping other seasoned project managers like yourself refine their approaches and achieve their programme goals.

Building a Trustworthy and Accountable Team

Trust Your Team

One of the most critical aspects of successful programme management is building a team you can trust. Trusting your team members fosters a culture of responsibility and innovation. When team members feel trusted, they are more likely to take ownership of their tasks and deliver high-quality work. However, trust should be built gradually through demonstrated competence and reliability.

Verify Activities

While trust is essential, it should be balanced with verification. Regular check-ins and audits help ensure that tasks are being completed as expected. This doesn’t mean micromanaging; rather, it involves setting up systems for tracking progress and quality. Utilizing project management tools can provide a clear view of who is doing what and how well they are performing, allowing you to address issues before they become significant problems.

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Postscript

A little thank you to the Redditor who recommended our newsletter and introduced some new PM's to our community. He also recommended some other cool newsletters so if you'd like to see those, click this link.

Until next time,

Jonathan (The Effective Project Manager)

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