The right to rest – see you in two weeks! :-)

Aside

Even though I advised you guys against becoming the Lonely Hero who holds the world on his shoulders, this is a lot like I feel for the last few months :-). Wearing so many crucial hats simultaneously could be and is a hard job. So I decided that at least two weeks of not doing anything at all would be in order for me.

However, AnyaWorkSmart being still Anya Work Smart, there is no going on vacation, without leaving a relevant message behind. And here it is – make sure that you also remind yourself of your right to rest. Look at that like at another perspective of being a manager – manage yourself like you would manage others. And you do let your employees rest, right? 🙂

So, see you all in two weeks and I promise to bring a lot of vacation-inspired inspiration to the pages of my blog.

🙂

Human resources – are they really that dispensable?

Posted on May 28, 2013 by AnyaWorkSmart

Every manager that ever needed to let an employee go knows that it is one of the worst experiences that comes with the job. However, there is hardly a more profound manifestation of your managerial powers. There is something very basic and primeval in us exercising our right to decide who we want to work with and who is to look for a different place to work. Continue reading →

The “Do’s” and “Don’t’s” of Conflict Resolution

Posted on March 19, 2013 by AnyaWorkSmart

It sometimes amazes me how much energy, time and resources are being wasted on unnecessary conflicts. Projects are delayed because the stakeholders are not speaking to one another, e-mails are left unanswered because “how dare they?!”, critical information is withheld in a vain hope to reach some relative advantage, but in the end – everyone loses when company begins to lay-off people it cannot employ anymore. So today I’d like to talk about how we deal with conflicts and about the pitfalls that are awaiting us in this complex task. Continue reading →

Why the SKY doesn’t FALL on the ground or the myth of the Lonely Hero

Posted on January 14, 2013 by AnyaWorkSmart

As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I’m a big fan of movies, especially classical ones, and nothing has more class on a square foot of film than the 007 series. I frequently find myself exchanging reviews with my friends and putting the movie’s messages (subliminal or obvious) under scrutiny, Continue reading →

The first year of AnyaWorkSmart – Thank you all for being here!

Posted on December 24, 2012 by AnyaWorkSmart

Happy Holidays, everyone!

About a year ago I decided to start my crusade for Life Without Biases, and about few months later AnyaWorkSmart was born. A few months more, and my first year as blogger comes to an end, and what a wonderful journey it has been so far! Who would have thought that so many people would become interested in what I have to say, but the fact is that our following is growing steadily since the beginning. Continue reading →

How much is “Most People”?

Posted on November 19, 2012 by AnyaWorkSmart

When I previously wrote about utilizing data and research in management, I mentioned that not always when people are using a certain word or term, they are understood the way they meant to. This is especially relevant when we’re trying to express quantities without using numbers. For example, how many people are “most people” or how frequent is “usually” ? Continue reading →

Communication skill: more or better?

Posted on November 8, 2012 by AnyaWorkSmart

We are all aware of crucial role communication skills play in any endeavor; they can bring back a failing project from ashes and make a successful one sink like Titanic in a blink of an eye.

There are numerous training resources out there that call for communicating more, trying to break down into bits and pieces what communication is and how it should be done properly. So why do we still struggle so much in conveying our messages when we want others to do something for us or, at least, to understand what we’re talking about? Continue reading →

8 Myths on Project Manager vs. the “Real” Manager, Part 2

Posted on October 29, 2012 by AnyaWorkSmart

5. “Soft skills are for goofs such as the Project Manager because he doesn’t know how it all works”

It’s not smart to allow your level of technical knowledge to cloud the perception of human relationships. Continue reading →

8 Myths on Project Manager vs. the “Real” Manager, Part 1

Posted on October 25, 2012 by AnyaWorkSmart

As I promised, in this post I’ll discuss eight main misconceptions about the status of Project Manager as a “Real” Manager. There are probably more, but these are the ones I’ve encountered the most during my experience in different organizations. Take a look at them, and it might facilitate your work tremendously. Continue reading →

Project Manager vs. the “Real” Manager

Aside

Project Manager vs. the “Real” Manager?

One can ask: what do I mean by this title? Is there even a distinction? Are Project Managers not considered “Real” Managers?

Well, theoretically, there supposed to be a perfect synergy between the Project Manager and the different Functional Managers in the organization. FM’s manage the organization and PM’s manage the projects inside the organization. The problem is that as Project Manager usually comes from outside the organization, he’s naturally treated as outsider and could be even perceived as a threat to “local” managers. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that there are significant differences in the skill sets of PM’s and FM’s, so they are not always speaking the same language about similar subjects. This lack of communication and trust between the two critical Management branches of the organization can seriously disrupt the working process, so I find it advisable to mitigate the conflict in order to reduce possible losses.

Trust is best built by understanding the other side, so in my next post I’ll try to reverse some existing myths about Project Manager not being a “Real” Manager.