Dawn Mahan’s Best Project Management Advice: Cheerleaders, Finicky Fans, & Saboteurs in Projectland

TL;DR

Dawn Mahan, an innovative project management educator, shares her top tips for project managers, introduces useful tools, and emphasizes the importance of continuous learning for career growth.

Transcript

dawn welcome hey mike how are you i'm good i'm good it's glad to have you back so for those who don't know you dawn mahan is an innovative project management educator she's made it her mission to make studying for the pmi and studying the pmbok in general as accessible and easy as possible and more recently she's coined the phrase project land to r... Read More

Key Insights

• 📽️ Embracing leadership as a project manager is crucial for creating a healthy project culture that delivers results.
• ⚾ Human dynamics are a significant challenge in project management, and stakeholders can be categorized as cheerleaders, finicky fans, or saboteurs based on their attitudes and behaviors.
• 📽️ Utilizing the right project management tools, such as Trello, Microsoft Planner, and Microsoft Project, can greatly aid project success in different contexts.
• 📽️ Continuous learning and embracing the unknown as part of one's career journey is essential for growth and adaptability in project management.
• 💄 Project management provides opportunities to explore various industries and gain diverse knowledge, making it an invaluable profession for continuous learning and development.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the first tip Dawn Mahan gives to project managers?

Dawn advises project managers to see themselves as leaders and emphasizes the importance of creating a healthy project culture that achieves results, even in challenging organizational contexts.

Q: How does Dawn categorize stakeholders and what animal avatars does she assign to each category?

Dawn categorizes stakeholders as cheerleaders, finicky fans, and saboteurs. She uses animal avatars like happy dogs for cheerleaders, flamingos for finicky fans, and snakes for saboteurs to symbolize their behaviors and potential impact on projects.

Q: According to Dawn, what is the role of a project manager?

A project manager's role, according to Dawn, is to be a servant leader who protects the team from obstacles and ensures they have the necessary resources to succeed. They should be willing to go above and beyond to support their team in achieving project goals.

Q: What are Dawn's two favorite project management tools and in which contexts does she recommend using them?

Dawn suggests using Trello and Microsoft Planner for simpler projects or when project cultures are not yet mature. For complex projects requiring comprehensive scheduling, she recommends Microsoft Project, which has proven reliability and longevity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Dawn Mahan stresses the significance of embracing leadership as a project manager to create a healthy project culture that yields results.

• She highlights the challenges posed by human dynamics in project management and categorizes stakeholders into cheerleaders, finicky fans, and saboteurs.

• Mahan recommends two project management tools: Trello and Microsoft Planner for simpler projects, and Microsoft Project for complex scheduling requirements.