Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome delve into the intricacies of project management with a focus on enhancing human relationships within the business environment, emphasizing the significance of establishing and maintaining healthy connections with colleagues, managers, and customer managers. They advocate for personal integrity, the development of strong boundaries, and adherence to personal values as pivotal to fostering professional interactions and project success. Tips on managing upwards, effectively communicating with various stakeholders, and building authentic, respectful relationships across different business cultures are shared, stressing the importance of trust, consistency, and openness in achieving project objectives and career advancement.

Main Take-Aways

In developing strong, healthy relationships with management and peers:

• establish and maintain strong boundaries and personal values
• maintain professionalism always
• understand management’s perspective and align with that
• keep management in the know
• understand your customer managements’ objectives, business, culture
• maintain civility

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: Developing Healthy Relationships with Management and Peers

00:27 Introducing the focus of today’s podcast in developing healthy relationships as we manage up; that is with our management, our customer’s management, and our peers.

01:21 It is important to establish strong boundaries and exhibit personal values as you go about your day-to-day interactions with management and peers. Strong boundaries and personal values are especially beneficial if having to deal with inappropriate actions by management.

04:16 Developing healthy relationships is enhanced by your ability to maintain professionalism amidst project challenges, and challenges posed by the actions of management.

05:57 It’s important to understand management’s perspective, and to align the project goals with those perspectives, to help develop those relationships.

07:09 You need to be professional and consistent in your project delivery to be held in high esteem and trusted by management.

08:32 Keep management abreast of project progress. Manage their expectations.

10:07 Have a variety of techniques to establish and develop strong relationships with your customers’ management. Understand their needs. Understand their business. Understand their culture. Be vulnerable and interested in learning their business.

16:57 Besides your own management and that of your customer, it is important to foster strong and healthy teamwork and peer relationships.

17:51 Develop strong communication skills to enhance your professional relationships with management and peers.

19:40 Additionally, it is critical that you maintain civility in all interactions with management, peers, and your teams.