Donna Fitzgerald

I’ve never bought into the myth that obtaining an MBA has anything to do with superior leadership or management ability.  So it was humbling to find that my blog post  was chosen as an example to help young MBA applicants write their leadership essay.  My post said leadership was simple: Vision, Courage and Responsibility, and that [...]

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I was writing a review at Amazon this morning and I noticed that a book review I had written a couple of months ago had been listed as unhelpful.  The book is good, I said it was good and yet someone didn’t like what I said.  Ok, I can live with that. Since I have [...]

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I was just reviewing a presentation for a client and the light bulb just went on.  The presentation discussed the common problem with having too many projects that don’t actually further the strategy and the presentation seemed to imply that this was a process compliance issue.  I can understand their perspective.  Layout the steps and [...]

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I promised that I’d pass along some thoughts about the PPM Summit so here goes:
1) We had a terrifically engaged audience.  I’ve been speaking at one conference or another for just a few weeks shy of 13 years and hands down I felt that the attendees where there because they really cared about running a [...]

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Woke up this morning with one with that answer to something I’ve wondered about for years. Most management books tend to insist that anyone can be a leader and yet on a day to day basis most of us see dozens of situations where those who should be leading aren’t.  The answer to this conundrum [...]

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 It occurred to me this morning that we might need to be clearer about what the difference is between an apprentice, a journeyman and a master PM.   

An apprentice works with black and white.  He believes all knowledge comes from an authority and must be followed exactly.
A journeyman works with shades of gray.  She finds that [...]

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At the beginning of every summer I generally kick off a discussion with my peers as to what PPM books we’re planning to read during the summer. To be honest the last couple of years it’s seemed that the choices have been few and far between. I’m delighted to say that’s changed this [...]

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A post by Wally Bock on his Three Star Leadership Blog got me thinking about our the working environment we create based on how we manage our PMOs, our programs, and our projects.
The 8 factors listed below are the compilation of feedback from Mr. Bock’s students about the work environments they preferred to work in.
1. [...]

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Anyone who knows me knows that I can argue both sides of a topic with equal fluidity.  This is a skill I picked up from my father who was legendary for asserting a position and then explaining (to anyone who would listen) all the reasons why his deeply held belief might, in fact, not be [...]

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Leadership is not based on formal authority.  Especially since, at the early levels of maturity, project management might still be approached on a somewhat informal basis. What this will generally mean to a PM is that the ability to form a team. focus the teams actions toward the agreed upon goal and deliver the project [...]

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