Challenges Archives - Page 2 of 3

Career Planning

Dealing With Depression After Being Fired: 7 Crucial Steps To Take

Getting fired from our job. Thousands of people experience it every year, yet it can be devastating when it happens to us. No one likes getting fired, even if they hate their job. Between personal insecurity, financial impacts and an abrupt change in our routines, it’s easy to slip into a negative state of mind after being terminated at work. While it feels like our lives turn into swirling disasters, there are simple, logical steps to take during these emotional times. In this article, we’ll explore dealing with depression after being fired, and the 7 actions to take.

Pat Finnegan November 6, 2019

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

Construction Process

How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques

In a perfect world, a Project Manager would be given exactly one project at a time. We could put all of our attention and energy into getting the project completely finished before we even think about the next one. As you and I both already know, though, this world is far from perfect. People leave or get fired. New project opportunities pop up out of nowhere. Projects get delayed well beyond their original timeframe. Companies stretch resources. Busy times call for juggling. Some projects are just too small to require a full-time P.M. If you work in project management long

Pat Finnegan October 15, 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

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

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

It's a jungle out there. A concrete jungle, that is. While humans have evolved way past all other animals in a cognitive sense, we still need to navigate many of the situations that animals encounter in the wild. While many animals are categorized as predators or prey, people can also act in a predatory fashion and see other people as their 'prey'. Except in the human world, the predatory person doesn't eat their prey - they try to manipulate or take advantage of them instead. Predatory people don't see EVERYONE as prey though - they instinctively pick people they think they can exploit for their own gain. Overly nice people are one of the main groups people try and exploit, for reasons we'll discuss. Nice people aren't off the hook, though. Many times, they're not taken advantage of by just predators, but by everyone - and they ask for it! The workplace is one of the main places nice people get taken advantage of, and it affects workload, promotions, salary, reputation and more. In this article, we will discuss how to stop being too nice at work using twelve simple techniques.

Project Manager Soft Skills

How To Stop Being Too Nice At Work: 12 Simple, Quick Techniques

It’s a jungle out there. A concrete jungle, that is. While humans have evolved way past all other animals in a cognitive sense, we still need to navigate many of the situations that animals encounter in the wild. While many animals are categorized as predators or prey, people can also act in a predatory fashion and see other people as their ‘prey’. Except in the human world, the predatory person doesn’t eat their prey – they try to manipulate or take advantage of them instead. Predatory people don’t see EVERYONE as prey though – they instinctively pick people they think they can exploit for their own gain. Overly nice people are one of the main groups people try and exploit, for reasons we’ll discuss. Nice people aren’t off the hook, though. Many times, they’re not taken advantage of by just predators, but by everyone – and they ask for it! The workplace is one of the main places nice people get taken advantage of, and it affects workload, promotions, salary, reputation and more. In this article, we will discuss how to stop being too nice at work using twelve simple techniques.

Pat Finnegan August 29, 2019

Project Management

Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: Overcoming My 6 Main Flaws

Are Project Managers born, or made? Most likely, it’s a combination of both. Whether our specific discipline is in Engineering, Software Development, Architecture, Construction Management, Business Management or none of the above, we decided to pursue our fields in part because of our natural passion and inclination for the craft. In this way at a minimum, Project Managers can be born. In the vast majority of cases, though, people within these fields need to get several years of experience on the job before being promoted to ‘Project Manager‘. These several years include valuable work experience, training and continual development. In

Pat Finnegan August 27, 2019

Workplace Experiences

How Can I Get Back My Focus At Work? 4 Common Situations

It happens to all of us. Normally we’re a machine at work – we know what needs to be done, we come to work prepared and we tackle another day head on. While we certainly face challenges, we know we can handle them and plow right through them. We raise our hands victoriously at the end of the day and are satisfied by another job well done. Then it strikes. Whether it be sickness, personal stuff, burnout or something else – we lose our focus at work! The things we normally breeze through take longer than usual. Deadlines and assignments pile up. Where a neat to-do list once sat is now a scribbled pile of scrap paper and a bunch of tasks “we’ll remember to do” swirling in our minds. Maybe bosses or coworkers are noticing that we’re not the same. “Are you OK?” they ask. This is a place no one likes to be, and only one question remains: how can I get back my focus at work? Luckily, there are many things we can do. Let’s dive in.

Pat Finnegan August 19, 2019

Career Planning

Can An Engineer Become A Project Manager? 5 Realities To Consider

The field of engineering has grown drastically in the past couple of decades, as has the overall demand for engineers in the workplace. Well over 100,000 students graduate with a degree in engineering each year, according to ASEE – that’s in the US and Canada alone. Engineers are sought after by many companies for their problem solving abilities, discipline and technical backgrounds. There is a caveat worth mentioning, though – many of these companies aren’t engineering firms. Statistics vary, but I’ve heard as many as ~50% of all engineering degree holders are not actually working as engineers. Supply and demand dictates that the more engineers there are in the workplace, there’s less of a demand for them all, and the job market gets more saturated as the pace of supply outruns the pace of demand. If you’re an engineering graduate, it’s a coin toss chance as to whether you’ll work as an engineer or not. There are, however, many alternative careers that engineers are a good fit for. Onto the main focus of this article: can an engineer become a project manager? Let’s explore it.

Pat Finnegan August 16, 2019

CATEGORY | Challenges

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Dealing With Depression After Being Fired: 7 Crucial Steps To Take

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques

Managing Egos At Work: How To Decipher The Hidden Messages

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

Overwhelmed By Big Projects? 6 Approaches With Metaphors & Examples

How To Stop Being Too Nice At Work: 12 Simple, Quick Techniques

Common Weaknesses Of Project Managers: Overcoming My 6 Main Flaws

How Can I Get Back My Focus At Work? 4 Common Situations

Can An Engineer Become A Project Manager? 5 Realities To Consider

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