Lean Tips Edition #169 (#2746 -2760)

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Lean Tips #2746 – Recognize What’s Going Well 

 

Coaching well requires a balance of criticism and praise. If your coaching conversations are completely focused on what’s not working and what the employee has to do to change, that’s not motivating, it’s demoralizing. 

 

Your recognition of the things your employee is doing well can be a springboard into how they can build from that to improve. Giving compliments that you don’t actually mean can have a worse effect than not giving any at all, so take the time to think about specific things that are going well, and let your employees know that you see and appreciate them! 

 

Lean Tips #2747 – Listen and Empower 

 

Coaching requires both encouragement and empowerment. As a manager and a leader, your job is to build one-on-one relationships with employees that result in improved performance. 

 

Your employees are likely to have a lot of input, questions, and feedback. It’s important for them to know you care enough to listen to what they have to say, so encourage them to share their opinions. 

 

Some employees will have no problem speaking their mind, while others will need a LOT of encouragement before they share an opinion with you openly. Once they do open up, be sure to respect those opinions by discussing them, rather than dismissing them. 

 

Lean Tips #2748 – Understand their Perspective 

 

When you’re coaching employees to improve performance and engagement, approaching things from their perspective, rather than your own, will help enormously with seeing the changes and results you want. 

 

Everyone has different motivations, preferences, and personalities, so if you ask questions to help you understand where their “why” comes from and what their preferred “how” looks like, then you can tailor your coaching conversations to align the way they work best with the improvements you’re both aiming for. 

 

Lean Tips #2749 – Coach in the Moment 

 

If an employee comes to you with a question about a process or protocol, use this opportunity to teach them something new. If you’re not able to stop what you’re doing right away, schedule time with them as soon as possible to go over it. 

 

Better yet, keep a weekly one-on-one meeting scheduled with each employee so you can go over questions and issues regularly, while maintaining productivity. Coaching employees with a goal of improving performance means making them a priority each week! 

 

Lean Tips #2750 - Commit to Continuous Learning 

 

Make a commitment to improve your own skills and competencies. If you’re not continuously learning, why should your employees? Lead by example and your team will follow. 

 

Show that you are interested in their success (why wouldn’t you be?). Ask questions about where they see their career going, or how they see their role evolving in the company. Even if they don’t have a plan laid out yet, these questions will make them think about their career and what they want to accomplish within the organization. 

 

Show your employees that you don’t just want them to do better so you look better, but that you’re actively interested in their career, accomplishments, and professional success. 

 

Lean Tip #2751 – Focus on Gradual Small Changes Instead of Major Shifts 

 

My advice is to focus on small gradual changes rather than large changes. Small changes can be made quickly, on a daily-basis, and are typically inexpensive. By focusing on small changes, you can remove barriers from just starting a continuous improvement process. This focus will allow your team to reap the benefits of their “small wins” right away. As more and more small changes are applied, your team will see an accumulation of benefits from them. This will give them more confidence to suggest more ideas. 

 

Lean Tip #2752 – Prioritize Ideas that are Inexpensive 

 

By going after the ideas that do not require a large amount of investment, you can remove the financial barriers of your continuous improvement efforts. This process can empower the line worker to suggest and implement ideas that can improve their working process because they know that their changes do not need upper management approval. Some ideas such as reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary steps, and re-organizing in the work processes fall into this category. 

 

Lean Tip #2753 – Gather Ideas From the People Doing the Work 

 

In a Lean and continuous improvement organization employees are your greatest asset and should also be the source of generating new ideas for improvement. No one knows the work better than the person who performs it everyday. No one has more “skin in the game” about the working process than that person. As a result, the best person to suggest ideas for improvement and to implement them is the line worker. 

 

Lean Tip #2754 – Empower Employees for Improvement 

 

Although employees play a vital part in the continuous improvement process, it is management’s role to train and empower them. Most workers are unaware of Lean principles and practices such as 5S, the 8 wastes, value stream mapping, visual management, Kaizen, etc. As a result, they may not realize that many of the processes that they perform everyday and the frustration that they feel at work are due to unnecessary waste. Additionally some workers are modest and reluctant to share ideas. It is management’s role to educate their staff on Lean tools and techniques that can be applied to the continuous improvement process and to help their employees overcome any personal or psychological barrier that prevents them from trying out new ideas. 

 

Lean Tip #2755 – Continuous Improvement Requires the Right Environment 

 

Applying continuous improvement requires participation from everyone in the organization. Upper management needs to invest time and money in employee training and empowerment. Managers need to foster an environment of trust, collaboration, open communication, and a willingness to experiment. And finally, workers need to be engaged in their work and be challenged to come up with small gradual improvements each and every day. By applying these principles, your company will be able to start and sustain your continuous improvement efforts. This will lead to a more economically competitive organization, more efficient work processes, and more satisfied employees. 

 

Lean Tip #2756 – Review Your Week Every Friday. 

 

Some people go to bed at night with a whirlwind of thoughts rushing through their mind. They hardly have any time to process what they have just done simply because they are so stressed out about what’s directly ahead. 

 

Elaborating on his productivity quote, Farquhar says he sets aside a block of time each week to sit down and go over the previous week so he can answer three crucial questions: 

 

1. Did I achieve what I wanted to achieve? 

2. Did I personally need to be there for everything I attended? 

3. Could I have achieved the same in a shorter timeframe? 

 

This is a powerful tactic for determining whether you are really managing and spending your time wisely. 

 

Lean Tip #2757 – Track Changes, Challenges and Breakthroughs 

 

Self-reflection can aid in tracking changes, challenges that you face and breakthroughs in your life. Daily self-reflection lets you look back on where you have come from and helps you map out where you want to go in the future.  

 

Even more, writing down a few thoughts each day will give you perspective. You may see that weeks, months, or years later, the things that you were so worried about didn’t have a long-term impact on your life. 

 

Lean Tip #2758 – Understand Top Company Objectives 

 

For effective priorities management, it's essential to practice upward alignment before attempting downward alignment. You could be managing the most unified, productive team on the planet, but if the goals they're achieving aren't furthering the objectives most valued by stakeholders, what will that get you? 

 

If you aren't clear about overall business goals, not to mention your boss's objectives for you and your team, it could be a failing on the part of upper management. But sitting back and waiting for clarity to float down from on high will hurt you more than it hurts them. 

 

So speak up. Be bold. Proactively manage your boss until you have the tools and information you need to succeed. 

 

Lean Tip #2759 – Encourage Team to Make Time for Important But Not Urgent Work 

 

Steven Covey's seven famous habits have now been in circulation for 27 years—an entire lifetime for many of today's enterprise workers. But it never hurts to be reminded of tried-and-true principles. 

 

Covey suggested dividing work into four quadrants: 

1. Important and Urgent 

2. Important and Not Urgent 

3. Not Important and Urgent 

4. Not Important and Not Urgent 

5.  

It's easy to find yourself spending too much time hanging out in quadrant three (Not Important and Urgent), and without a scorecard system to help you define universal standards of "importance," many of your team members will be. 

 

After all, "urgent" is one quality that's easy to identify, while other qualities can be more subjective. Make sure your priorities management system is designed to keep your team in quadrants one and two most of the time, with extremely rare forays into quadrant four. 

 

Lean Tip #2760 – Be Flexible Enough to Change Your Mind and Drop Priorities 

 

As you prioritize, it’s important to remember to be flexible. No one knows what the future holds. And ultimately, prioritizing and planning is really just guessing. 

 

Sometimes you might prioritize a task only to have expectations or deliverables change on you. At this point it’s hard not to be disappointed. But you can’t let that skew your judgment. 

 

Humans are especially susceptible to the “sunk cost fallacy”—a psychological effect where we feel compelled to continue doing something just because we’ve already put time and effort into it. 

 

But the reality is that no matter what you spend your time doing, you can never get that time back. And any time spent continuing to work towards the wrong priority is just wasted time. 

 

Sometimes our effort is better used switching boats than trying to fix a leak. 

 

Lean Quote: Good Trumps Bad - Finding the Positive in Every Situation

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"What is good about Good Friday? Why isn't it called Bad Friday? Because out of the appallingly bad came what was inexpressibly good. And the good trumps the bad, because though the bad was temporary, the good is eternal."   —  Randy Alcorn

Everyday we are faced with both good and bad situations. When things are going well, we rarely worry about what can happen next. We take things in stride and continue to move forward. We tend to take things for granted and begin to lose appreciation for the good things we have in our lives.

When something bad happens, stress immediately follows along with the litany of “Why me?” and “What am I going to do now?” Bad things rarely happen one at a time. Instead, they are grouped in clusters that can try the sanity of the most patient saint. It can be difficult to see the positive in anything.

It’s important to remember that no matter how bad a situation is, you will get through it. You can be stressed out and constantly worrying, or you can assess the situation and determine a plan of action. No matter how bad the situation is, there is something positive to be gained.

Your outlook on life will play a large role in how you see adverse situations. If you are depressed, angry and upset, your outlook will be one of pessimism and woe. If you have a cheerful disposition, you outlook will be much different. We all have good and bad days, so it stands to reason that every person will fall into one of these two categories at some point.

It is normal to be upset at hurt when bad things happen. It is human nature and a part of the healing process. What we do after the initial hurt, however, is what separates us. Instead of allowing ourselves to be drawn into a downward spiral of depression and anger, we need to look at each situation and find something we can learn from.

Using each situation as a teaching tool gives a positive resource of life lessons we can pass on to others. It is our chance to grow and be there for others who may be experiencing many of the same things we are. When we can learn to do this, we become positive role models for others who may be able to benefit from our experiences.

Lean Roundup #142 – March 2021

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of March 2021.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Better Lean Leadership through Novice Learning – Jon Miller explains that we can be better leaders by gaining empathy and learning insight into the common struggles of novice learners in our organizations. 

Coaches Have Obstacles Too – Steve Kane shares some concepts from Tony Robbins about breaking the mental state and allowing the opportunity to get out of his head shift into productive state of mind including five steps to overcome distraction. 

The Problem with Lean Thinking – Bob Emiliani says we fail to grasp the extent and effectiveness of tradition as a near-total replacement for our own thinking in our efforts to promote Lean. 

Jumping toSolutions: A Hard Habit to Break – Mark Graban shares an illustration on the dangers of jumping to solutions and how to break that problem. 

Learning From Customers – John Hunter talks about making sure customers can be heard and the ways to do that.

You Want to Get More Done? Do Less… - Pascal Dennis reiterates the impact of focusing on a few strategic activities instead of crowding you A3 with many countermeasures.

AccidentalExcellence – Bruce Hamilton illustrates the power of discovery from lucky chance events in his experience. 

Reflections and Lessons From 1997 – Mark Rosenthal talks about his kaizen experience to create a model line and how it forces you to fix your system. 

Back to Basics - What is Value? – Pascal Dennis says value is Lean’s guiding star, get close to your customer and ask them what they need from you.

What Does Lean Mean to Healthcare Professionals? What Should it Mean? – Mark Graban explains that Lean isn't just efficiency… it's safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale which often misunderstood by many. 

From Thought Leadership to Banal Thoughts – Bob Emiliani s ays we have drifted from thought leadership to banal thoughts. The consequence of banality is a loss of creativity and innovation through the ceaseless repetition of common bromides which propel clumsy or ill-informed practice. 

Better Lean Leadership through Novice Learning – Jon Miller explains that we can be better leaders by gaining empathy and learning insight into the common struggles of novice learners in our organizations. 

How to Shape Lean Leadership Culture Through Daily Management – Jon Miller shares traits of a lean leadership culture and how a daily management system helps to reinforce them. 

Adopt a 5S Mindset to Sustain Your Lean Work – Andrew Quibell shares six takeaways to make housekeeping an ingrained habit as a means of respecting your team members and developing a culture of improvement.

Achieve Your Deeper Goals Through Daily Work With Hoshin Kanri – Jeffrey Liker says Hoshin kanri is a living process of planning, testing ideas, adapting, and learning in which people work towards clear targets addressing the next big obstacle. 

Real Respect Feels Like Knowing You've Been Heard - David Verble says showing respect by actively listening to others--being present in mind and body, consciously attending to what is said, connecting with the person not just the words--are all deeply anchored in core lean values.

Boost the Power of PDCA By Tackling the Challenge of Self-Awareness - Mike Orzen argues while PDCA is the engine of lean discovery, building self-awareness into this scientific method truly unlocks the power of lean.

The Foundation and Principles of Lean Thinking

What Is Lean Thinking in Manufacturing? A Practical Guide to Principles, Tools, and Benefits

Lean thinking is a philosophy that empowers organizations to create more value with fewer resources. It focuses on optimizing processes, eliminating waste, and continuously improving systems—all while keeping the customer at the center. Though there’s no single definition of Lean thinking, its foundations, principles, and practices offer a proven framework for enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in manufacturing environments.
In this guide, we’ll explore the core foundations of Lean thinking, the five lean manufacturing principles, and the rules-in-use developed by Toyota. You’ll also discover the benefits of Lean thinking, real-world examples of Lean in manufacturing, and how Lean compares with traditional methods.

3 Core Foundations of Lean Thinking in Operations

1) Purpose

In Lean production methods, the goal is simple: deliver maximum value to the customer. That value must be clearly defined and measurable so every team member understands what they’re working toward.

Whether you're streamlining a production line or optimizing logistics, a shared sense of purpose aligns efforts and enhances outcomes—making it a cornerstone of Lean management best practices.

2) Process

One of the key Lean thinking tools and techniques is relentless focus on improving processes. By identifying inefficiencies, eliminating waste, and enhancing flow, Lean organizations maximize value delivery.

Teams are encouraged to continuously evaluate and refine their processes. This commitment to quality and efficiency is what distinguishes Lean vs traditional manufacturing approaches.

3) People

A true Lean culture isn’t top-down—it’s collaborative. Everyone is empowered to contribute ideas, solve problems, and make improvements.

Leaders are mentors, not micromanagers. They observe, ask questions, and create the right conditions for people to succeed, aligning with the principles of Lean thinking for continuous improvement.

The 5 Lean Manufacturing Principles

Implementing Lean manufacturing principles ensures consistent delivery of value while minimizing waste. These five pillars guide daily operations in successful Lean organizations:

1) Identify Value

The first step in any Lean journey is understanding what value means to the customer. In manufacturing, this could mean product functionality, timely delivery, or cost-effectiveness.

Whether your “customer” is external or another department, identifying value is the foundation for improvement.

2) Map the Value Stream

A key step in Lean thinking in operations is value stream mapping. This involves detailing every step in the production process—from raw materials to finished goods.

Mapping helps highlight bottlenecks and eliminate non-value-adding activities, creating a blueprint for smarter workflows.

3) Create Flow

Once waste is removed, the goal is to establish smooth, uninterrupted flow. Products and information should move seamlessly from one step to the next with minimal delay.

This is a vital distinction in Lean vs traditional manufacturing—traditional systems often rely on batching and waiting, while Lean emphasizes real-time flow.

4) Establish Pull

Instead of producing based on forecasts, Lean systems use a "pull" approach—products are created based on actual demand. This Lean production method reduces overproduction, storage costs, and inefficiencies.

Pull systems are integral to just-in-time manufacturing, ensuring resources are used precisely when and where they’re needed.

5) Seek Perfection

Lean is not a one-time project; it's a continuous journey. Even the most efficient systems can be improved.

This principle reinforces the need for Lean thinking for continuous improvement by encouraging frequent evaluation, feedback loops, and iterative upgrades.

Four Lean Rules-in-Use from Toyota

To bring structure and discipline to Lean systems, Toyota established four practical rules—also known as Lean management best practices—that guide daily operations and problem-solving:

Rule 1: Specify All Work

Every task should be clearly defined in terms of content, sequence, timing, and expected outcome. This level of clarity allows for quick detection and resolution of any deviations.

Rule 2: Direct Customer-Supplier Connections

Every interaction between internal teams must be unambiguous. Communication paths should be simple, clear, and direct, with a binary yes/no format to request and receive work.

Rule 3: Simplify Pathways

Every product or service must follow a streamlined path to its destination. Services should not be randomly assigned but delivered to a specific person or station—enhancing accountability and speed.

Rule 4: Improve at the Source

Continuous improvement happens at the ground level. Frontline workers are empowered to refine their own processes, guided by supervisors and grounded in scientific thinking.

These rules help form a Lean production system where employees are not just executing tasks but actively improving them—boosting engagement and operational excellence.

Benefits of Lean Thinking in Manufacturing

Implementing Lean thinking in manufacturing offers measurable and strategic advantages:

• Increased efficiency: Eliminate bottlenecks and reduce downtime.
• Lower operational costs: Cut excess inventory and minimize waste.
• Higher customer satisfaction: Deliver what the customer wants—faster and more reliably.
• Greater employee engagement: Empowered workers lead to more innovative solutions.
• Scalability: Lean systems can grow and adapt with your business.

These are just a few benefits of Lean thinking that help businesses remain competitive in a fast-changing market.

Real-World Examples of Lean in Manufacturing

• Toyota Production System (TPS): The gold standard of Lean manufacturing, focusing on just-in-time production and continuous improvement.
• Nike: Used Lean to improve product flow, reduce lead time, and minimize environmental impact.
• Intel: Implemented Lean to streamline chip production, resulting in billions in savings and faster delivery.

These examples of Lean in manufacturing show the versatility and power of Lean across industries.

By understanding the Lean manufacturing principles, applying key Lean thinking tools and techniques, and adopting Lean management best practices, any organization can unlock its full potential. Lean is not just a method—it’s a mindset of continuous learning, adapting, and improving.

Whether you're just beginning your Lean journey or optimizing existing systems, embracing Lean thinking sets the stage for sustainable success in today's dynamic manufacturing landscape.

Need help applying Lean to your organization? Start with small wins. Map your value stream today and discover where you can deliver more value—with less waste.

Lean Quote: Now is the Time to Understand More, so we May Fear Less

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."   —  Marie Curie

Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity —her research papers are still radioactive more than 100 years later. Curie was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in France, and the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. She's the only person to ever win two Nobel Prizes in (both) physics (1903) and chemistry (1911).

This quote, by Marie Curie, is about the relationship between fear and understanding.

Fear can be hard to get rid of when it sets in. When that happens, we can feel paralyzed and confused. Either we take no action or make unwise, irrational decisions.

But often, it turns out that it’s the unknown that gives us fear. The more unknown and uncertain things are the greater the fear. From a child being afraid of the dark to an adult being afraid of what the future might hold – it all has to do with the unknown.

The best way to have less fear in our lives is to understand more. Curiosity can help us learn about the things we don't know, so we can demystify them rather than fear them. “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas,” said Curie.

When fear sets in, consider how you can increase your understanding. The less we fear through understanding, the greater our resolve to take the most appropriate action.

Helping Your Employees Manage Their Time

Image Source: Unsplash

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s safe to assume at this point that “how we work” will never be the same. Even after the pandemic passes, its effect on the workplace will linger.

On the professional front, the biggest legacy of COVID-19 is the way in which it pushed more people than ever before to work in a remote environment. Some employees and employers have embraced the change and made the most of it — but others have struggled every step of the way, such as employees who are unable to get motivated and leaders who don’t have a system in place for holding their team accountable. With that said, the face of workplace productivity, and how managers track it, is changing.

How to Keep Your Employees on Task

There’s no exact science to successfully managing remote employees. What works for you and your company won’t work for the next person, and vice versa. But regardless, it’s critical that you have a strategy in place for keeping your employees on task, all while taking time away from their job to rest their minds, body, and soul. Here are five things you can do to help employees manage their time:

1. Schedule Regular Check-ins

You don’t want to come across as someone who is micro-managing their team — autocratic leadership often leads to employees resenting their managers. However, if you don’t schedule regular check-ins, you may find it difficult to monitor your team’s progress.

This doesn’t mean you have to schedule an hour-long Zoom call every morning. It also doesn’t mean you have to check-in multiple times throughout the day. As long as you and your team know when you’ll check in with one another, it should be easy enough to stay on task. And if you do this enough, you may come to find that some people don’t really need it.

2. Require Them to Clock In and Clock Out

Just because your team isn’t working alongside you doesn’t mean they can’t clock in at the beginning of their workday and clock out when the day comes to an end. There are many time-tracking tools you can implement, including mobile time-tracking apps, with most of them benefiting both the employer and employee.

For instance, the ability for workers to clock in and out from any device allows them to work in a more efficient manner. And of course, when employers are able to track this, they’ll have greater peace of mind, avoiding fears of employee fraud when it comes to claiming work that’s getting done.

3. Organize Their Tasks and Responsibilities

Time management is difficult enough when you’re sitting in a physical office alongside co-workers. But when you’re working remotely, it’s even more difficult to stay the course.

As a leader, do your part in organizing tasks and responsibilities for your team. By doing this, you’ll both have a clear idea of expectations. Here are some ideas to try:

●       Create and manage calendars on behalf of your team (such as a content calendar)

●       Use motivational tools to push and reward your employees

●       Set aside time each day to discuss progress

4. Make it Easy to Communicate

Even if you trust every member of your team to do the right thing, you’ll still want to stay in communication with them.

There used to be a time when communicating meant one thing: picking up the phone and making a call. But those days are gone, and there are more ways than ever to communicate efficiently. In addition to phone calls, other options include text messaging, email, and video chat. 

For example, both Zoom and Slack have experienced an uptick in activity as a result of the pandemic. Through the use of these tools—among others—it’s more efficient to work in a remote environment. For example, with Slack, you can send and receive text-based messages, while also making video and voice calls, as necessary.

As you experiment with different communication tools, you’ll come to find what works best for you and your team.

5. Request That They Take Breaks

Do you get the sense that your employees are working entirely too hard? Are they finding it difficult to disconnect from their job when the day ends?

It’s important to help them through this, as neglecting to do so can take a toll on their mental and physical well-being. Not to mention the fact that it can also kill productivity.

There are many benefits of taking breaks throughout the workday, including but not limited to:

●       Easier to process and retain information

●       An opportunity to rest your mind and body (such as your eyes)

●       Creativity boost

●       An opportunity to eat a healthy snack or meal

You can’t make someone take a break when they’re working remotely, but it’s something you should encourage. By doing so, you’ll show your team that taking time away from their desk is a good thing. It’s not something that will lead to trouble.

Conclusion

With the tips above guiding you, you’ll find it easier to engage with your employees and ensure that they’re working in the most efficient manner possible. Even when times are uncertain—such as what we’ve experienced with the recent pandemic—it’s a must to take the steps necessary to help your business survive. And a big part of that is making sure that your entire team is on the same page.

About the Author: Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned blogger. Since finishing college he is trying his hand at being a freelance writer. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but technology and business topics are his favorite. When he isn't writing you can find him traveling, hiking, or gaming.

Five Time Management Tips for Project Managers

There are three important factors that come together when determining the success of a project. These are, of course, quality, budget, and time. In this post, I am going to discuss the latter. Time management is one of the most difficult things for any project manager, especially when scope creep kicks in and things go wrong during the project lifecycle. After all, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a project to run exactly as you expected it to when you finalized your project plan.

Here are some tips that can help you manage your time more efficiently.

Get the project plan right

Of course, time management begins with getting your project plan right in the first place. When you start to execute anything without a plan, you spend a lot of time discussing what to do, how to do it, what it should look like, and so on. This chaotic approach is often the leading cause of misused time in a project, because when a project remains in the concept stage, nothing tangible can actually be accomplished. Therefore, when you are building your project plan, you need to talk to the people that are actually going to be doing the work, i.e. your team. Find out how long it is going to take for the tasks to be completed so that you can build a realistic timeframe and give a deadline that you can actually fulfill.

Deconstruct your tasks

Another important step when it comes to time management is to deconstruct your tasks. One of the big problems with projects is that it can seem like the end goal is extremely far away. Employees feel like they have a mountain to climb and this causes them to feel demotivated. Not only this, but it is hard to work efficiently when your objectives seem like they are still far away and this makes people fall off track. Therefore, if you break down a large project into smaller pieces, it will make it a lot easier to stay on track. This is because milestones will be reached on a continual basis and this will cause employees to feel more motivated and enthusiastic about the project. It will also ensure that everyone knows what they should be working on and when.

Effective communication and collaboration

The success of any project team relies on effective communication and collaboration. Some of the biggest time-related issues project managers face are delays in communication, and more often than not, those delays are not happening within the project team itself. Instead, stakeholders who were so invested at the beginning of a project are often the first to go silent after time has passed, and their priorities—and attention—has shifted onto new tasks.

The best way to maintain stakeholders’ timeliness is to find ways to keep them engaged with the project. Being able to analyze a stakeholder or organization’s preferred methods of communication is another powerful tool in keeping the necessary groups engaged. Maintaining these relationships with stakeholders is a very important aspect of a project manager’s work and the benefits of doing so successfully extend far beyond the reduction of wasted time in a project.

Dealing with scope creep

Another essential part of time management is dealing with scope creep. Any project manager knows that this is one of the most difficult things with regards to any project. When deliverables are not clearly defined, stakeholders are not involved or supportive, or tasks turn out to be more complex than initially thought, a project can be at risk for scope creep.

Starting a project without a clearly defined scope is like trying to drive from Los Angeles to New York City without directions. Sure, you could try and follow street signs, but you’ll eventually make a wrong turn and lose your way. You may never even reach your final destination at all.

The same goes for project management. The scope keeps you on track and makes sure you don’t miss anything important. It’s basically your project roadmap. When everyone on your team understands where you’re headed, it becomes much easier to complete projects on time and within budget.

Learn from your mistakes

Aside from this, project management is all about learning. With every project that you carry out, you need to learn from the mistakes you made in the previous project and this includes the mistakes that you made with regard to time management. Not only this, but you should not be afraid to use historical information to form judgments going forward. Historical information is a good way to determine how long certain tasks are going to take so that you can schedule accordingly. You can also use this to determine any of the issues you are likely to run into.

Hopefully, you now feel more prepared when it comes to time management for any project which you work on in the future. There is no denying that this is one of the most difficult aspects of project management and expectations for your team when handling any type of project. Nevertheless, as long as you learn from mistakes you make and you follow the tips that have been mentioned, you should be able to achieve time management success.