How to Develop Your Project Management Green Thumb

Seems like just yesterday that the new year ushered in all the hopes and promises of 2023. A runway of 12 full months laid ahead of us, and we had plenty of energy after our end-of-the-year vacations to tackle any project, program, or portfolio that came our way. 

Guess what? Half the year is already gone! Now that planning, budgeting, and annual performance reviews are behind us, how are your projects looking? On track? Off track? Haven’t even left the station yet? In the spirit of “April showers bring May flowers”, consider the following project gardening tips to see what your projects need to flourish.  

Do your projects need more: 

• Rain - April showers play a crucial role in bringing forth May flowers. Rain supports plant growth by providing water and nutrients, and by maintaining favorable soil conditions. Not enough rain leads to parched ground, and undernourished plants that struggle to survive. 
   
  How fruitful are your projects right now? If they’re not flourishing, take the steps necessary to give your project what it needs to thrive. This could be additional resources, technical training for the team, clarity around scope, or whatever else is needed to water your project and bring it back to life. 

• Sun - Sunlight supplies the energy May flowers need to grow. Without the sun, all the photosynthesis, chlorophyll production and other amazing reactions that happen behind the scenes wouldn’t occur. 
   
  In the context of projects, the sun is synonymous with accountability. Take, for example, a stalled critical project that was going nowhere. It was months behind, way over budget, and not even close to delivering value. What did the CEO do? Mandatory, in-person, 7 AM meetings every.single.day with the PMO Director, project manager, and functional manager to discuss how to get the project back on track. Did it work? Yes. The white-hot intensity of a thousand burning suns brought the accountability that was lacking on this project, and closure. 
• Wind - Just as wind plays a big part in pollination and stem strengthening for plants, there are ways to focus on the people-side of things and create that wind for your team. You may be outside on a hot day working with those May flowers, and a nice cool breeze comes along. You take your hat off, wipe your brow and enjoy the moment.  
  
  Help your team enjoy the moment on the projects they are working on. If a project is going well, they’ve undoubtedly put in long hours and given the proper attention to the project. Take a moment to celebrate, reflect, take the team to lunch, or whatever else is equivalent to a nice cool breeze to your team. 

Take some lessons from nature and cultivate your project management green thumb. You’ll have a nice bouquet of projects ready to start delivering value to your project sponsors in no time!