Chat Time: Recent Episodes
Karine O'Donnell - Project Delivery Team Trainer and Coach
From time management to good governance, communication to productivity, there's always something to learn when it comes to delivering powerful projects. That's why I created Chat Time, as an opportunity to chat with Project Professionals to learn from their experiences as leaders in project delivery.
Changing a process on a project usually comes about because you and your team know the current process isn't working. Yet even when people want a new process, they don't always make it easy to implement. Whether they acknowledge it or not, the reality is that the current process is comfortable because it is known - and a new process is uncomfortable because it is not.
In this episode, Karine shares her expertise on effectively managing change and what you can do to help ease your people into a new or altered process.
We explore:
- Common problems people encounter when implementing a new process
- When and why these problems typically occur
- The first things a project manager should consider and do when changing a process
- The importance of communication during periods of change
- What you can do to make change easier
- How to sustain success beyond this process change
Connect with me: www.projecting.com.au
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When we plan out a project we always consider the costs, timelines and scope. But what about assumptions? How often do we plan for them and the potential impact of the unknown.
In this episode, Karine is in the interviewee seat sharing her insights, field experience on the dangers of projects plagued by assumptions and what you can do to strengthen your position.
Karine covers:
- The problem with assuming
- What assuming can cause
- When assumptions typically occur
- Who should be involved in addressing assumptions
- How should assumptions be treated
- How often they should be reviewed
- The best ways to prevent and reduce assumptions
For more insights on assumptions or to discover ways to proactively strengthen your projects request your monthly project update here: https://pwp.projecting.com.au
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What does a customer engagement and communication expert have to say on the topic of Communication. My guest Alex Berton, a Marketing and Decisioning Specialist shares his experience and perspective on the causes importance of strong communication within large projects and what good should look like.
We dive into:
- Alex's perspective of communication
- The most common outcomes of failed communication in his experience
- The causes of communication problems
- What examples of 'good' can look like
Alex's extensive career has seen him work with tier 1 corporates through to start-ups, using customer-centric thinking to drive areas as revenue growth, revenue protection, and improved customer satisfaction. Today he works with some of the biggest Asia-Pacific companies to transform customer engagement, challenging organisations to adopt the benefits of forward-thinking strategies like Contextual Customer Engagement and Hyper Personalisation. Let me introduce you to Alex Berton.
Learn more about Alex here:
linkedin.com/in/alexberton
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Emily Grinton is an experienced IT professional and consultant who has worked on IT projects for almost 20 years. Having worked on and for both large and complex projects, Emily shares her experience and suggestions for overcoming and nailing the art of project prioritisation, a topic she is extremely passionate about.
Emily shares:
- Example outcomes of prioritisation issues
- The main causes of prioritisation issues
- The gaps between leaders and teams that changes your prioritisation outcomes
- How to prevent problematic prioritisation
- 3 tips for tackling effective project prioritisation
Emily’s varied roles have included User Acceptance Testing, Trainer, Change Manager, Business Analyst, Iteration Manager, Product Owner and Development Team Leader. Emily is currently the Chief Product Officer at Hava, working as Product Owner and prioritising the product roadmap for hava.io. Her biggest superpower is being a decision-maker. In her own words, “I believe a bad decision is better than no decision!”.
You can learn more about Emily or connect with her here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilygrinton/
Learn more about Hava here: https://www.hava.io/
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The outcome of your forecasting is often a great measure for the strength and efficiency of your project delivery processes. The more untamed your project processes, the more problematic you will find your forecasting becomes. And while there are many considerations when it comes to effective forecasting, a repeatable and streamlined process is always possible.
I was extremely grateful to be joined by my client, Alexis Valenza. Alexis is a Principal Groundwater Engineer, Hydrogeologist, and Managing Director of Valenza Engineering Group, a consultancy firm that specialises in providing technical and advisory services across the domains of surface water, groundwater, and environmental sciences. His specialised team of engineers and back-of-house professionals provide consulting advice and work to international mining companies, environmental agencies, large-scale commercial bodies, and water resource agents. In Alexis' line of work, forecasting is key to minimising severe risk as well as making or breaking their profit margin. He shares with me:
- Some of his biggest challenges in forecasting and why
- What he has learnt leaders can do more and less to improve the success of forecasting
- How he feels project teams can help the accuracy of forecasting
- His 3 tip areas to focus on to start improving your forecasting process... because it is a process!
If you consistently face challenges or frustration with the accuracy of forecasting, then this episode is a great starting place for you.
If you want to learn more about Alexis or the services of his company, Valenza Engineering you can connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-valenza-71779320/
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Great leadership is the pinnacle of any project team success but what makes a great leader? I am joined by veteran leadership trainer and expert Grant Sexton. Grant is the Executive Chairman and founder of 50 year old training company, Leadership Management Australia (LMA). Grant opens up to me on:
- The value great leadership can bring
- What great leadership looks like
- The greatest problem in leadership and why these happen from his perspective
* The observations of leadership in a project setting - Recommendations for SME businesses and corporates to solve these challenges
- Tips to know if you have a leadership issue
Over 150,000 Participants have graduated through LMA’s Leadership Development programs and its Operational Excellence (Lean based) programs.
LMA can be contacted on their website: https://leadershipmanagement.com.au.
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It is important for all projects to receive the right level of stakeholder engagement and adoption to truly succeed. And while this is known, there is less emphasis placed on how to do this. In this episode I invite PR guru and consultant, Jules Brooke from Handle your own PR to guide us on ways we can elevate our project message to increase our reach and get our audience excited about the value of our projects.
We cover:
How to plan to be seen and heard
Strategies to have your message received
What to do with the attention
Receiving longevity from your PR
Jules Brooke is the founder of Handle Your Own PR, a DIY PR service for business owners, and has been teaching people how to get media coverage for their business for over 15 years.
Handle Your Own PR has helped thousands of small business owners make millions of dollars’ worth of media exposure by running their own PR campaigns. Using her online boot camps, coaching and PR SaaS platform, Jules’ students have been on TV, radio and been featured in magazines and newspapers nationally. Many have gone on to huge success in their business.
Follow Jules on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julesbrooke/
Link to Handle Your Own PR website:
https://www.handleyourownpr.com.au/
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Projects are temporary by nature however projects are constantly failing for very repetitive reasons and almost all of these have to do with humans. Project controls have traditionally focussed on the systems to achieve the project objectives. In this conversation with Founder & CEO of ProjectAI Ray Paulk, we explore ways to integrate our known human behaviour to improve project controls so we can more accurately measure and predict project performance.
Ray shares his experience and perspective on:
- What project controls are and some examples of them
- The notion of humanising project controls and how this helps projects navigate risk
- The opportunities to predict human behaviour on projects
- What he aims to achieve through the use of Arteficial Intelligence to support people on projects
- What anyone on projects can start doing to leverage the human experience to improve project controls, even before thinking of technology
- The best way to know if you should consider improving your project controls
Ray Paulk is a senior business and project advisor, specialising in the structuring, governance and control of capital investments. He is a global thought leader in the application of technology in project and portfolio management disciplines working to lead innovation in predictive solutions for capital-intensive industries.
With 20 years of experience in the Oil Gas and Resources industries, he has advised businesses and project teams of all sizes on six continents, and led global business transformation, systems implementation and functional standardization initiatives for some of the world's largest companies.
As Founder & CEO of ProjectAI, his team is transforming businesses and projects through his advisory practice, and building a range of advanced technologies to achieve more competitive and predictable projects.
Ray’s Superpower: Engineering, Project Controls, Project Data, Analytics and AI
Learn more about Ray here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raypaulk/
Learn more about Project AI: http://www.projectai.com/
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Transitioning students into career ready project mangers is not only Guinevere Gilbert's job but also her passion. As a long-time lecturer and now Program Manager for the Applied Science in Project Management at RMIT, Guinevere shares her perspective on what employers and graduates should consider to maximise the success of graduates in project management and the significant gains from this collaboration.
We cover:
- What makes a successful project manager
- What attracts students to project management and the challenges they face when entering the industry
- The ways RMIT and the Project Management Institute (PMI) are collaborating to better equip secondary students to deliver better outcomes when following project management concepts - PM4Life
- The challengers faced by employers when recruiting graduates and how to overcome them
- How to attract and retain the right graduates for your workplace
- Steps employers can take to support graduates safely succeed and grow
If you are considering a degree in project management, a graduate entering the industry or an employee wanting a technically trained project manager who can grow and expand with your projects, then this is your Chat Time episode.
You can learn more about Guihnevere here www.linkedin.com/in/guinevere-gilbert-43991655/
Connect with me: www.projecting.com.au
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/karineodonnell
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Project sponsorship is a term many of us on projects know but fewer of us understand how to do well or support those who take on this role.
My guest Annie Sheehan does not only coach executive leaders to become effective sponsors but she also wrote the book, The Courageous Sponsor, to help sponsors navigate and achieve success in their role.
In this segment we cover:
- What sponsor means and the behavioural sponsor types to guide effective leadership
- The first thing a sponsor should do when accepting the role and common misconceptions
- Strategies for time-poor sponsors to maximise their time and input and help the team to deliver project success
- What project managers can do to gain the support of their sponsor
If you want to avoid the financial and human costs attributed to poor sponsoship, then this episode combined with Annie's book will help any existing or aspiring sponsor and their teams improve project outcomes.
Annie is a certified project manager, board director, and agile coach with 25 years of project delivery experience. Since 2009, her focus has been advising senior leaders to become more accountable as project sponsors to deliver business projects and achieve sustainable change.
Using an agile mindset with established project delivery practices, Annie helps organisations find ways to deliver value in manageable chunks using simple, repeatable processes. Her mantra is to “maximise life and stay sane”.
Annie has helped several organisations to achieve superior results in sponsor coaching, capability development and improving project delivery methodology for companies including National Australia Bank, JBWere, Superpartners and AXA.
Annie is the author of "The Courageous Sponsor - How to overcome challenges to get your project done" and co-author of "Turning Ideas into Impact - Insights from Silicon Valley Consultants", a #1 Amazon bestseller.
You can order a copy of The Courageous Sponsor on Amazon or order an author signed copy on her website www.annie-sheehan.com.
Connect with Annie on Linked In
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In this segment, my guest Vikki (Vik) Kapoor and I dive into the significance of empowering your project team through boundaries. Vik is a PMO Manager at Ericsson Australia and has been with PMI Melbourne chapter since 2012, serving as the Past President in 2022.
Join us while we address:
- What the term 'boundary' means on projects
- How to avoid breaching boundaries
- Who sets project boundaries
- What project managers should consider so not to cross boundaries
- What project team members can do to help their project managers stick to boundaries
- When should you set project boundaries
We listen to an iconic Disney movie and hear how Simba and Mufasa can teach us the significance of boundaries. Can you guess the movie?
Vik has over 25 years of experience in various sectors such as IT, Telecommunications, and Consulting & System Integration. During this time, Vik has held roles of R&D/Systems Engineer, Solution Architect, and Project/Program Manager in several projects spread across international locations (Australia, Singapore and Japan). He the founder of an Outreach initiative called “Project Management For Life (PM4L)", an initiative that provides awareness to youth on Project Management as a career choice and the life skills that are offered from the career.
Vik has a Degree in Electrical & Computer Science, a Master-Degree in Telecommunications and he is also PMP®, PgMP® and Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM) certified.
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Diversity can plague project teams with many minefields to overcome but do they need to?
I speak to Vincent Mammarella, a project specialist of 24 years with over a decade leading large transformational project teams as a Portfolio and PMO Manager.
Vincent's superpower has helped him reap the benefits of team diversity as he shares his experiences and thoughts on:
- How to re-motivate teams who are losing their drive
- The danger of assumptions and how to avoid making them
- What to know about setting expectations
- How to be different within a team and succeed
- How not to drown in diversity
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Project Methodology is extremely valuable however it won't solve all your problems!
Listen to the founder and CEO of Verifier, Lisa Schutz eloquently explains why she often has not seen Methodology work and what she believes should happen first so that your desired Methodology stands a chance.
This conversation is for anyone already following or thinking of following a methodology.
You can learn more about Lisa here www.linkedin.com/in/schutzlisa/ or check out Verifier https://www.verifier.me
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I talk to Brad Riley, Director and Founder of InfoStatus about the balancing act of empowering his international team while still adhering to the company and client's boundaries.
We look at Brad's IT journey and what led him to creating 'disruptive startups' which challenge how things are created within technology to enable endless possibilities to his clients.
In this segment we cover:
How to manage less experienced go-getters on projects
The dangers of structuring projects with a definitive outcome
Managing the team to embrace agility without diluting value
How to empower team members to achieve a better result than any one person can conceive
* What lessons all project teams can take from outsourced services
If your team is made up of diversity then this episode is for you!
Learn more about Brad or InfoStatus at www.linkedin.com/in/bradleytriley/
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The topic of time affects us all but in a project scenario it can make the difference between success and failure.
I speak with Directors of The Time Fix, Ildi Racz-Prosser (Time Mindset Coach / Founder / Author) and Pooja Kelkar (Transformational Coach / Author / Habit Change practitioner / The Neuro Change Method™ Practitioner) in this mammoth episode covering:
- Awareness of time impacts
- Your relationship with time
- Finding your unique way to succeed
- Time issues on projects
- How to help leaders on projects
- Working with the team on time
- Personality and productivity tool
You can learn more about The Time Fix here or contact them for more information on info@thetimefix.com.au
You don't want to miss this episode!
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Join me in this 30 minute chat with ‘accidental’ Project Manager, Didier Pyndiah.
We chat about Didier’s career, the challenges and opportunities on his projects, and how chocolate helps to save the day! Mmmm!
We cover Didier’s:
- Career transition from finance to IT
- Discovering the world of projects – its challenges & opportunities
- Didier’s constant battle on projects and what he does to overcome it
- A common team problem on projects
- And his tip for success on projects.
I hope you found some tips to help you and your team on your project journey.
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I had such an interesting Chat with Skye Bennett.
Skye is a fascinating blend of creative, innovative, structured, and personable human and leader. Her project delivery experiences include Higher Education, the not-for-profit sector, State and Local government, and the Arts and Cultural sector.
A self-professed generalist, she draws on a range of disciplines in the management of her projects including human centred design, communications, change as well as her undergraduate training in psychology. Discover how her passion for learning has translated into the new and unique skills and approaches she has adopted in her PM toolkit earning her very distinguished community awards.
In this segment we cover:
- Communication and the impacts it has on projects
- What ‘bad’ communication looks like
- How to nurture and empower the project team
- Addressing project leadership that doesn’t support the team’s empowerment
I hope you love this episode as much as we did!
Connect with me: www.projecting.com.au
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Join me for a chat with Murray Parsons.
Murray is a highly experienced professional specialising in portfolio, program and project management.
I had a terrific opportunity to tap into Murray’s wealth of knowledge and chat about about his project journey, the role he played setting governance frameworks for projects to deliver on their commitments, his career challenges, and his advice for program and project teams to consider.
In this segment we cover:
- The success of stopping a project
- Why high risks are not always a show-stopper
- Tips for project professionals to consider about governance
- What happens when PMO and project delivery teams work together
We hope you found some gems to improving your outcomes with the PMO!
Connect with me: www.projecting.com.au
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/karineodonnell
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