What adjectives best describe you?

Well, some people might say that is a tricky question to answer, but I should tell that I think the bests adjectives that describe me are: enthusiastic, passionate, and maybe persuasive. The last one is an intrinsic characteristic of my personality.

What's the best project management advice you've received?

There are many of them, and I think it is pretty challenging to choose the best one, but something that I've heard from a senior manager at the beginning of my career as a project manager and remains in my mind is: always set realistic expectations to your project. It doesn't mean to be too conservative; it means to avoid the risk of failure.

What's the biggest lesson you've learned during the pandemic?

This pandemic was the driver of many changes in the way how we live. Before the pandemic, I was traveling a lot all year long (74 flights in 2019), and in one week, I had to cancel my next three months' travels and start doing my work in front of my computer at home. In the first days, my mind blew up with thoughts about dealing with this situation personally and professionally. One month later, I've calmed down and realized how resilient and adaptative we are. Past year, we had the best year in terms of results and productivity.

What's the biggest challenge in your current project?

I've changed my rule recently, and it is too soon to speak about a challenge in a current project, but a common big challenge in projects is to have a shared vision between customer needs, proposed architecture, and solution to be deployed. It happens on two occasions:

Companies that do not have a clear and robust maturity level in terms of project management culture and when the project specifications have grey zones, and the scope definition wasn't well defined.

How has your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification helped you do your job?

More than a standard and guideline, study project management help us view end-to-end how projects have to be managed and structured. I'm used to saying that project management is a mindset, a lifestyle. It is something that you apply to everything in your life. With PMBoK's 7^th release, we'll assist the new era of project management, the ANSI standards remain, but the approach to principles is a turning point to the most disruptive version since it was released in the 90's age. You might check this post to know more: https://pmi.hu/en/blog/pmbok-7th-edition-at-glance-6082

 Why does the world need project managers?

Without project managers, the world does not travel to the moon, does not have internet, does not build TGV, does not eradicate polio, we do not have the internet, and so on.

Maybe it is better to watch this video to get the proper answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNqKeD7Plg4

 What advice do you have for new project managers?

Your project is running well when people do not remember who is the project manager. To do so, you need to have your team working and stakeholders informed about the state of art.

What is a must-have skill for project managers?

More than a skill, a project manager should be a leader, a role model, a person who people around want to be. In other words, it means to be a good communicator, respectful, persuasive, accountable and committed.

 What's the best part of your job?

Make things happen.

How do you relieve stress?

Daily, a workout in the morning and read at the end of the day is good to empty my mind. But enjoy the sun and dive in these summer days is priceless.

What's the best book you've read recently?

Principle-Centered Leadership, by Stephen R. Covey. Curious? Read it!

Which famous person would you want on your project team?

I know it is very controversial, but Jeff Bezos, considering his customer-centric side and limitless mind, and Nelson Mandela for his perseverance and leadership.

 

About the Interviewee:

Ivan Moreira, PMP®, works in the technology industry. He is an agility enthusiast, international speaker, volunteer, passionate about helping companies and people address changes in their businesses and life with technology. A believer that community growth and progress, together, could change the world.