Think you could run out of time? Here's what you can do !
As a project manager, you have a major chunk of the business. It is down to you that products bearing the core identity of your business are being made. For example, you may be managing the making of a new, shiny mobile site for your business. Or you could be running a project to create magic with your business app.
When you are busy with so much, it is easy to stretch your timeline. This is often observed with PRINCE2 projects that are quite short term. At the outset, you think you can easily beat the deadline. It is a short project after all. However tasks begin to pile up to an extent where there is no alternative but to shift your delivery dates.
There is so much to do but the time in hand is quickly slipping away. And when it is a short project, it is as important to meet deadlines as it is to hit KPIs. However, not all is lost. That is where motivation comes in handy. How? I'll tell you a story first.
A company was building an app that customers could use to learn how to choose and use their main products. This was meant to provide a highly interactive experience while not just buying, but also using and maintaining the products in the long term.
The project manager realized ten days into the project, that the developers were feeling overwhelmed. So the whole team sat together to chalk out a doable routine for themselves. But first, everyone decided to take a moment to breathe, inhale, and appreciate how they were bolstering the brand with the new app.
This was repeated everyday until the project was completed with the launch of the app. The entire team declared in unison: those moments taken to completely savour the idea of the app helped them clarify their thoughts on the way towards a full day of work. This helped clear the fog the developers were trudging through.
Moral of the story? Motivating yourself helps develop a clearer picture of what you are seeking to achieve. This holds true for PRINCE2 initiatives as well. The best thought out plans can go awry if you don't know where you're heading.
Keep your products at the centre of your mind's focus. They are yours. Nobody else's. You, as a project manager, have put in so much towards making them what they are. That's a top tip I can give you while you are motivating yourself.
Motivation creates a cadence among PRINCE2 teams
You've just read the story I told you. It was the whole team that could find value by motivating themselves, not just the project manager.
Everyone can find something in this idea of motivation. The products mean something unique for each one. And that unique something must be found and held on to.
When each one of the team finds something in a common thread to hold on to, it means a melting pot of motivation is set stirring. When each member is motivated, they end up contributing to a unified vision. After all, each one of them is going to contribute to making that vision a reality through the PRINCE2 initiative.
Thus, everyone starts off the same page. This brings clarity to the team as a whole and they start setting goals for themselves. Once the team has clear goals, they know what actions they must take on the way forwards. You, as a project manager can keep them motivated along that path and if they need additional tools to reach their goals, that can be arranged for.
You see the rhythm that motivation brings to a team. Once set in motion to this tune, it becomes easy to forge paths that lead to completion of the PRINCE2 initiative. You see,there is no unnecessary time spillage.
Long story short
A motivated project manager and a motivated team works wonders in cutting time losses while in a PRINCE2 project. Just take a few moments to bring everything in perspective, and those few moments will be worth a whole lot in keeping the whole project together.
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