It’s not uncommon to focus on trying to find the perfect project management tools for a project. With all the exciting options out there, it’s easy to be tempted. However, research shows that the most important component of project management isn’t the tools you use but is, instead, your mental game. Do you choose collaboration over control? Sponsor communication over hiding, purpose over tasks, or trust over politics? Do your stakeholders believe you can do it? Learn how to get your mental game right to drive project success.

In this session, you’ll find out how to rethink your approach to project management by focusing on the mental side of this work. Using research from Tim Gallwey (author of The Inner Game of Work), Randy Englund (co-author of Project Sponsorship), and Johanna Rothman and Michael Mah (with Cutter Consortium), you’ll see why a significant mindset change is necessary to drive more successful project outcomes. You’ll also discover what you need to do now in order to manage your projects more effectively in the future.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the five critical success factors that research shows drive project success
• How to think differently about the project sponsor role and enable, rather than fight with, your sponsor
• Why you need to apply the critical concept of purpose/context to a project
• About the unhappy side effects of control and sign-off and what you can do to reduce them
• Why you only have 45 minutes to do a project charter

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.