Workplace Experiences | Efficiency, Best Practices, Stress, Bullies & More

Project Management

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

As you become a manager in any industry, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to manage employees older than yourself. This is true for the vast majority of managers out there today. In many cases, people get promoted to a management position in their 30s or even in their 20s. The majority of their coworkers might be older than the manager in these instances! While managing an employee older than you requires a specific approach, it’s completely doable. In this article, we’re talking about managing older employees as a younger manager, along with some realities that go along with doing so.

Pat Finnegan October 23, 2019

While most people appreciate others who communicate directly, many of us find it difficult to actually do ourselves. Information is exchanged efficiently, there are fewer misinterpretations and most comments are honest, so why is it that we feel uncomfortable speaking directly with others? This is especially important at work when we depend on others to perform our duties, and they rely on us, too. It's highly beneficial to adopt this communication style regardless of position or line of work - it's essential to living! In this article, we'll discuss some simple tips for being direct in the workplace, without being a jerk.

Project Manager Soft Skills

Being Direct In The Workplace, Without Being A Jerk: 10 Simple Steps

While most people appreciate others who communicate directly, many of us find it difficult to actually do ourselves. Information is exchanged efficiently, there are fewer misinterpretations and most comments are honest, so why is it that we feel uncomfortable speaking directly with others? This is especially important at work when we depend on others to perform our duties, and they rely on us, too. It’s highly beneficial to adopt this communication style regardless of position or line of work – it’s essential to living! In this article, we’ll discuss some simple tips for being direct in the workplace, without being

Pat Finnegan October 21, 2019

Project Manager Soft Skills

Managing Egos At Work: How To Decipher The Hidden Messages

Most people have more than one version of themselves inside. We have our rational minds – the part of us that’s calm, logical and conscious of reality, and then we have our ego – the self-preserving, survival-based irrational mind that is mostly based in emotion (feelings) rather than fact. Emotions like anger, frustration, disdain, jealousy and fear are just a few of the feelings that can trigger our ego to jump in and take over. While social pressures and societal standards incentivize us to be on our best behavior, our egos can still flare up in public, around others and yes, even at work. Humans have egos in part for survival purposes, but in current times, it doesn’t feel that way. We go to work to perform our duties and take home our pay, but that doesn’t stop us from being humans as we do it. Today, we discuss managing egos at work, specifically by deciphering the hidden meaning behind what egos are really saying.

Pat Finnegan October 15, 2019

Construction Management

Avoid Construction Management Burnout With These 5 Practices

Working in construction management is no picnic. Looming deadlines, uphill battles, surprises, dealing with mistakes and pushing the pace are just a few ways in which construction managers get hit with stress. There is always going to be pressure to push the pace and get things done. When the hours stay long and the recovery short, we begin burning out our fuel tanks in turbo mode. Hitting the wall is inevitable – we experience burnout. If you feel tired – both physically and mentally – by just thinking about work, you may be experiencing it. It’s important to recognize burnout as quickly as possible to begin fixing it. In this articles, we’ll discuss five best practices for avoiding construction management burnout!

Pat Finnegan October 12, 2019

Project Management

Managing Projects With A Short Attention Span: 6 Must-Do Habits

Is your attention span similar to flipping through TV stations? Are thoughts racing, fast and ever-flowing? If so, you may have what some call a ‘short attention span’ – that is, your attention is constantly drawn to every thought or distraction and remains on any one subject for a short amount of time. This article is not written in judgement – I have this issue myself! Guess what? Over the years, I really haven’t changed either. While meditation, concentration and a healthy lifestyle do help with focus and mental performance, much of who we are and how are brain works is given to us at birth. Just as a sailboat is designed to use the wind to its’ advantage, regardless of the direction it’s blowing, we can adapt to our short attention span and in some cases, use our short attention spans to our advantage! This article is all about managing projects with a short attention span, and some techniques and habits we can use to overcome it.

Pat Finnegan October 1, 2019

Project Management

How Do You Run An Effective Status Meeting? 10 Best Practices

In offices around the world, people yawn, gaze at the clock and day-dream during meetings. Meetings are seen as boring time-wasters that keep us from doing our actual jobs. Most people would jump for joy if meetings were wiped from the schedule altogether. There’s only one issue – meetings ARE important, at least when they’re run effectively. Meetings are the only time when the team gets together. When run efficiently, these meetings give everyone the opportunity to brainstorm, ask questions, address issues and improve the business. Rather than scrapping meetings altogether, the best option is to maximize the outcome. “How do you run an effective status meeting?”. In this article, we’ll discuss 10 practices to maximize your office meetings!

Pat Finnegan September 30, 2019

Overwhelmed By Big Projects? Try These 6 Essential Techniques!

Project Management

Overwhelmed By Big Projects? 6 Approaches With Metaphors & Examples

When we first take on a project, it feels like we’re given a huge block of stone – from which, we’re expected to sculpt a finely-detailed statue. Even worse, we must sculpt it within a certain amount of time, with set resources. Where do we start? What do we do first? At the very beginning, a new project can feel quite overwhelmed. It’s even easier to feel overwhelmed by big projects. There are just so many steps, phases and tasks to get right. Just as a 1,000 mile journey begins with a single step, or how the pyramids are built with one block of stone at a time, projects can be broken down into easy, bite-sized steps – all it takes is a change in our approach and strategy! In this article, we’ll discuss six approaches to large projects, along with metaphors and examples.

Pat Finnegan September 23, 2019

Workplace Experiences

What Are The Signs Of A Toxic Work Environment? Our Top 10

Does a typical workday feel like torture? Do you feel like your soul is being taken from you one day at a time? Melodramatics aside, a bad workplace environment can make our lives miserable. According to this article from Business Insider, Americans spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime and nearly 80% are dissatisfied with their jobs. If you’re working in a bad environment for a large portion of your career, it will have a negative impact on quality of life, happiness and stress levels. That’s no way to live! So what are the signs of a toxic work environment? In this article, we’ll talk about 10 things to watch out for.

Pat Finnegan September 19, 2019

Project Management Experiences

What Are The Disadvantages Of Remote Working? 5 Realities To Consider

In the past, working from home or abroad was reserved for the ultra-rich. Movie tycoons like Gordon Gekko would leave the big city via helicopter to their distant beach mansions, where they’d call shots from afar. In 2019, things are changing. According to QZ.com, over 5% of Americans were working from home back in 2017. That’s over 8 million people! This figure has more than doubled since the year 2000, and is surely higher now. The advantages of working remotely are obvious: no commute, more flexibility and fewer annoying interruptions. It’s the dream. But what are the disadvantages of remote working? In this article, we’ll discuss five realities to consider before working from home.

Pat Finnegan September 10, 2019

Project Management

Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management?

Everybody knows about IQ – the “Intelligence Quotient” – which measures our problem-solving capabilities, reasoning and overall cognitive intelligence. But in recent years, there’s been a buzz around ‘EQ’, or Emotional Quotient, which measures our overall Emotional Intelligence. More specifically, our emotional intelligence represents our abilities to control and convey our emotions, as well as to empathize with other people, nurture our relationships and make conscientious judgements. While emotional intelligence seems at home in a therapy or counseling session, it’s just as important as IQ in business, too. So why is emotional intelligence important in project management? Let’s look into it.

Pat Finnegan September 4, 2019

CATEGORY | Workplace Experiences

FILTER BY TAG

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

Being Direct In The Workplace, Without Being A Jerk: 10 Simple Steps

Managing Egos At Work: How To Decipher The Hidden Messages

Avoid Construction Management Burnout With These 5 Practices

Managing Projects With A Short Attention Span: 6 Must-Do Habits

How Do You Run An Effective Status Meeting? 10 Best Practices

Overwhelmed By Big Projects? 6 Approaches With Metaphors & Examples

What Are The Signs Of A Toxic Work Environment? Our Top 10

What Are The Disadvantages Of Remote Working? 5 Realities To Consider

Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management?

About This Topic

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WORK LIFE

PAGES

STAY IN TOUCH!

CATEGORY | Workplace Experiences

About This Topic

A-Z Index

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WORK LIFE

PAGES

STAY IN TOUCH!