Fearless Project Leadership
If you are absolutely dependent on your paycheck to survive, do yourself a favor, don’t be a project leader! In most of the scrappy high-tech organizations that I have worked in, the role of a project leader cannot be successfully filled by anyone who can’t put their job on the line in the pursuit of doing The Right Thing. From the project kick-off, where the project leader may not even be involved, to the attempted premature launch of a less-than-ready-to-ship product, projects run a higgily-piggily route. This real-world path rarely resembles the neat, tidy, well-defined process described in the PMBOK®.
In order to deliver results in the challenging circumstances typical of many business environments, project leaders must be absolutely committed to the success of their projects and leading their team to that success. Frequently they must execute this feat without any explicit support, sometimes with active resistance, and occasionally in the absence of any evidence that the project is indeed possible. This calls for leadership in the face of fearsome challenges. Continue reading→
Wild Success in 2008 through Optimism and High Self-esteem
In spite of much rhetoric on the subject, and the holy grail of the triple constraint, you cannot measure your entire worth as a project leader, or the success of your project, purely by whether they are on-time, on-budget, and feature-complete. In fact, to do so could create a negative spiral that further undermines your chances of success.
Marcus Buckingham, of First Break All the Rules fame, argues in The One Thing You Need to Know that people and teams do not perform at their best when they are realistic. Great managers get the best performance from people when they build their self-assurance to the point of helping them to become unrealistically optimistic. And great leaders achieve the best from their organizations when they rally people to a better future and get them to be unrealistically optimistic about the prospects that things will get better.
Optimism is a Strategy
Unrealistic optimism and high self-esteem are key factors in individual and team success. However the project management environment isn’t exactly brimming with unbridled optimism and positive reinforcement. Quite the opposite. Continue reading→
Kimberly's Areas of Expertise
Contact Kimberly at:
Wiefling Consulting
Phone +1 650 867 0847
Testimonials
Kimberly helped our organization confront some key challenges we faced working as a team. She also assisted us in creating clear and shared goals, and a practical implementation plan that enabled us to overcome our difficulties in achieving results. Working with Kimberly was energizing, and her experience, practical knowledge and wisdom guided us for years after her workshop. I highly recommend consulting with Kimberly and her Silicon Valley Alliances Team, especially to achieve results in your … Read more
I worked with Kimberly while she was a consultant working with Extreme Networks and I was on the core project team. Extreme wanted to speed up its product development lifecycle and enlisted Kimberly’s help to do so. I found Kimberly to be smart, tough, dynamic and a welcome change agent. She navigated through the executive level politics and was able to deliver results that greatly improved the process controls and adherence with the company – enabling the company to focus on doing the right thi… Read more
Kimberly helped me create an actionable list that was pure gold. Taking the time to work with Kimberly forced me to articulate the challenges I face and talk through possibilities.
If you have the opportunity to take a workshop with Wiefling in person, don’t walk, RUN to sign up at your earliest opportunity. Her classes are Fun, Entertaining, high energy, and you learn some of the most incredible things. Don’t miss it. The only downside to her class is that everything else you take thereafter will pale in comparison. One of the finest class experiences I’ve ever had.
For Believing in us, showing up, and helping us realize our dreams – we thank you.
I really liked your workshop and see great possibilities for using “breakthrough thinking” in other settings in both the corporate and educational worlds.
I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have an experienced professional like you at my side to launch the Consulting Special Interest Group tomorrow. The agenda looks great and I am convinced that we are well prepared for a productive and successful meeting tomorrow.
Your workshop was one of the most influential one I ‘ve ever experienced.
Thanks for your timely advice this week! You have the right templates and tools that you can send at a moment’s notice, even at midnight! You truly care about the long term success of our company. And last, but not least, I can count on you to understand my half-finished thoughts because you are smart, flexible, and have a big heart!
As an old program manager myself, and now as President of a large technology company, I find your book spot on the money. Your readers would do well to read the book several times and practice what your write until it becomes second nature. The world around them would become a much better place – and the satisfaction that goes with high achievement would fuel a long and successful career. While your book was written for program managers, it applies to anyone who works with people. It is a mus… Read more
Books in the Scrappy Guides Series

By Kimberly Wiefling
A Top-selling PM Book!
Scrappy PM Audiobook


Authors: J. Abrams, C. Amos, E. Davie, M-H. Le, H. Kain, S. Lebeck, T. Mui, P. Obuchowski, Y. Shibata, N. Udo, B.J. Waxman, K. Wiefling


By Michael Seese


By Michael Seese

We Can Help You:
- Lead your business more effectively.
- Develop products more predictably.
- Manage projects with greater ease.
- Increase your professional effectiveness.
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- Kimberly M. Wiefling, M.S., Founder






