Are you looking for TED talks to help project managers? I can list dozens! They would all make perfect sense.
Why?
The role of a PM can be very diverse.
Here are my top five TED Talks that every project manager should see.
(In fact, I hope that you will find the time to watch at most one or two. Yes, I get it.
The Project Management knowledge area is vast. It is however, limited. One talk per week will make a better Project Manager [DepositPhotos]. On the other hand, there are many additional domains that will help you thrive as PM. These are just a few:
Interpersonal interactions
Motivation
Psychology
Negotiations
Body language
Skills in presentation
Productivity
It is not something that can be explained in a PMBOK Guide. These are the topics that merit a separate guide – only for Project Managers.
What’s the catch?
It is easier to come up with ideas for short videos such as these. These ideas can then be implemented. Or you can dive deeper.
You should create a simple routine to view one or two TED Talks per week. It will make you a better PM.
TED Talks on Project Management I Recommend
How did I pick these five talks from hundreds?
It all comes down to the value you get immediately.
It is worth it. It is worth thinking about. Act.
You can also examine the environment of your project to find areas for improvement that you haven’t considered.
1. Mindlessly Accepting Meetings
Take a moment to reflect.
How many times have you accepted a meeting invitation just because you were invited?
How many times have you declined the invitation? It’s not enough to “decline” as if I have a conflicting meeting.
I decline, as I don’t see any reason to be there.
It is a waste time. It is inefficient.
How many times have you asked a colleague to clarify your role and the agenda before accepting an invitation?
It is a TED Talk specifically for Project Managers:2. Priorities and Time Management for a PM
I will admit that I am a productivity and time management guru on the rise.
It seems like a natural problem to a project manager.
I have tried many different tools and techniques.
Here’s what I found:
Without underlying principles or a method, these tools and techniques are useless.
The talk by Laura Vanderkam outlines these principles:
“…time can be flexibly adjusted. “We cannot make more time, but we can stretch time to accommodate what you put into it.”
It all comes down to what we put into it.
Simple, but powerful perspective shift.
It saved me hours of useless work on many projects.
3. Project Management Made Simple
It takes time for this talk to sink in.
It seems at first glance that it is about large corporations. Project Managers such as you and I don’t have the authority to operate at that level.
False.
Take a closer look at how your project teams interact.
See how you can solve repeated problems.
Find out what you value.
Do you reward integrators with a bonus?
Do you encourage initiative and collaboration?
Are your people afraid to act without you asking?
Are you already a centralized bottleneck? Why and how leadership works
Let’s face facts:
Project Management is, in essence, boring.
It’s about getting people to do the work in a controlled manner in order to reach goals they don’t care about.
Here’s a strange thing.
People believe that Project Managers are better than others. These PMs make boring administrative and organizational tasks fun.
Leadership skills are what make the difference.
Simon Sinek offers a simple framework to help you lead:
Why -> How? -> What
Your projects will succeed if you can find the WHY of each member of your team. Procrastination Monkey
Did you ever plan to be a project manager?
But you’re not there yet!
Do you have plans to obtain the PMI PMP certification
But you haven’t started.
Well