In times of uncertainty, project managers can be the pacesetters that keep organizations on the right path and bring balance into their projects. June Mustari discusses real-life issues in project management. Hear practical tips and advice to find the right balance of discipline and flexibility for successful project delivery.    

Table of Contents

01:05 … Meet June 02:36 … Telecom Career and TruNorth Consulting 05:47 … COVID-19 Impact and Bringing Balance 08:39 … Emotional Engagement 10:52 … Collaboration Tools 12:31 … Knowing the Technical Aspects of the Industry as a PM 14:20 … Past Project Story: Virtual Desktop Interface Migration 18:16 … Breakthrough Moments and Resistance on the Project 21:54 … Breaking the Rules 25:54 … Words of Advice and Encouragement 31:22 … Get in Touch with June 31:58 … Closing

JUNE MUSTARI:  It’s

all about trust.  And I think more than

ever trust is our cornerstone in our business. 

And when you can show up in a way that makes people feel secure, it’s

our purpose. 

WENDY GROUNDS:  You’re

listening to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project

managers.  I’m Wendy Grounds, and with me

is Bill Yates.  This is the show where we

sometimes like to delve into the project stories of project managers who are in

the trenches.  In today’s episode, we get

to sit down with June Mustari.  Why don’t

you tell us how you met June, Bill.

BILL YATES:  Yeah, it

was such a chance meeting.  June and I

were sitting at the same round table at a breakout session, I think Steve

Townsend was speaking, at PMI Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia.  So I don’t know, there were just a handful of

us sitting at a round table, and June had really good questions for

Stephen.  And some of the things that

June shared, I’m like, this is my kind of person.  So we talked during the session and just

stayed connected after.

JUNE MUSTARI:  Yeah.

WENDY GROUNDS:  Well,

June, thank you so much for being here today.

JUNE MUSTARI:  Oh, it’s

my pleasure.  I’m very happy to be here.

Meet June

WENDY GROUNDS:  I want

to find out a little bit about your career background.  How did you get into project management?

JUNE MUSTARI:  Yeah,

when people ask me this, I like to say I didn’t get into project management; it

got into me.  I really started my career

just taking things on that took shape as projects – you know, the beginning,

middle, and with an end goal, an outcome that was very clear.  I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was

managing projects.  So then when I

actually started to see that there were other people in my network who were formal

project managers, I was like, oh, this is a thing, and I really like this

thing.

And so I decided to get a little educated in it, and I said

I was going to take the PMP exam 10 years before I actually took it.  So people say, “I’m going to take the PMP

exam.”  And I said that for so long.  But you don’t actually take it until you

schedule it.  Like, that’s when it’s

real.  So I did eventually get the PMP,

and I appreciated the discipline of that. 

I’m a rule follower, so like that was a dream for me.  And I passed on my 37th birthday.  So it was like, I got into my car, and I was

like, yes.  That’s a little side note

about me being a PM and getting started with that.

So it just kind of took off from there.  Once I had that credential, I felt

confidence.  I don’t think it’s about the

credential.  I just think it’s about the

confidence.  I took formal project

management roles right after that, where it was like my title was Project

Manager.

TruNorth Consulting

and Telecom

BILL YATES:  And June,

you’ve been in telecom for a long time; right? 

Like I’ve done a lot of work with Verizon, and you were actually

employed by Verizon for a long time, and you continue to kind of go down that

industry path.

JUNE MUSTARI:  Yeah,

my M.O. is parachuting into situations, trying to solve problems, and then

getting out; right?  So I had like four