When I come into an organization, I make it very clear what my expectations are of the teams I will be working with and how I want things to proceed. On the other hand, I always want to know what their expectations are for me as someone who is going to manage the project. When you manage expectations, you can manage people.

It’s ok; take all the time you need. Go at your own pace. Relax, take a break and come back fresh. Sleep on it. I don’t know about you, but I know my work environment isn’t like this! Does anyone have the luxury of sleeping on anything but their desk when they pass out from exhaustion after working 18 hours? Who goes at their own pace? No one. And that’s exactly why we have deadlines. They are a necessary evil – or a huge benefit, depending on how you look at it. They are also highly variable. When you are working under a tight deadline, what helps get things moving in the right direction?