"Team building exercise" - are you sighing in exasperation just hearing these two words? But team building exercises can be exciting and go beyond trust falls and 2 truths/1 lie games. Here are some more unconventional team building activities that will help your team have fun AND bond. 

You think you're delivering on all cylinders with your project customer and they are happy with everything you're doing. That may be the case...but most likely there's at least one or two things that may surprise you about the way they are going. There's at least a couple of things out there lingering in their heads that they feel you and your team have dropped the ball on and you aren't even aware. 

Photo via public domain archive

Every project has a goal or objective – but it’s not always easy to communicate these goals to the project team. Clear goals are important to motivate and energize the team and to achieve better project outcomes. On the other hand, not knowing or understanding goals will lead to confusion and ineffectiveness. 

Here are 5 historical constructions that are proof that anything is possible. Built hundreds, even thousands of years ago and without the technological advancements of today, these monuments show that we can achieve a lot more than we think.

You have a very skilled project team assigned to you for the duration of the very important technical project you are about to embark on.  They are yours and working solely for you, right? Wrong. Don’t be fooled. Yes, they want the project to succeed, but often you and the project are one of many of the priorities they are juggling so be aware.

Photo by Pixabay User Alexas_Fotos (edited)

The project team is the heart of every project. It’s not easy to assemble a great team that has the necessary skills and knowledge, but also works well together. A big challenge for any organization and their project managers is to create a diverse team, though it is of vital importance if they want to have a competitive edge. 

Background Photo by Unsplash User S. Charles

I have nothing against the C-level executives in any organization. They have an incredibly hard job to do and many people working around them and with them, who are hopefully like-minded and providing them with the corporate info and reports they need and the support they require on a daily basis to do their jobs well. But with all that they have going on, project management is never going to be at the forefront of their thought processes

September 23 marked the first day of fall.  Summer vacation memories may still be vivid but we all know: “Winter is Coming”. When the days are getting shorter and the weather colder and gloomier, it can severely affect our moods. 

Photo by Unsplash User Pavan Trikutam

The world today is more connected than ever. This has opened up a lot of opportunities for businesses to grow, but it also introduced new challenges. As international projects and cross-cultural project teams are becoming the norm rather than the exception, project managers need to improve their intercultural communication skills, if they want to lead their teams and projects to success.

Background photo by Unsplash User Anthony DELANOIX

Our CEOs are very busy individuals. Charged with running a small, medium or large organization, sometimes they are busier than the President of the United States. That said, their focus can never be too broad – or should I say, broad enough. It will always fall short, it can never include everything, and will sometimes overlook some of the most critical facets and success ingredients in their organization.  One of those – in my opinion – is the very real, very critical nature of project management.