
Kiron Bondale is a senior consultant at world class productivity INC in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He is certified in PMI-RMP, PMI-ACP and PMP. He has experience of over 20 years. He has worked with more than 150 companies in achieving strategic goals of the organization. He has his expertise in change management, risk management, agile, project portfolio management and training.
TaskQue: First of all, tell us about yourself. How did you start your journey? What was the real inspiration?
Kiron Bondale: Like many folks in the project management profession, I started in a completely different domain. I began in technology managing computer systems, then moved into doing solution lead/architecture work for systems management implementations and then realized that working with people was more interesting than working with technology and moved into project management.
TaskQue: Leadership is a key to successful management. There are different leadership styles. What do you think are the benefits of strategic leadership?
Kiron Bondale: By definition, leadership is expected to be strategic – what differentiates a manager from a leader is that a manager focuses on getting work done right whereas the leader motivates their team to work on the right things.
Related: 10 Characteristics of a Good Leader
TaskQue: Project portfolio management is a discipline all about efficient management of projects. Which tools and techniques do you think are good to use?
Kiron Bondale: Cut your coat according to your cloth. Too many companies try to manage a large number of concurrent projects without understanding what their actual capability is based on resource availability and skills. PPM is all about making hard decisions about what NOT to pursue and yet for many companies, rather than working toward a common set of strategic goals, the focus is on ensuring their pet projects are promoted.
TaskQue: There are different approaches being followed for decision making. What is your usual approach with respect to decision making in your organization?
Kiron Bondale: Really depends on the decision and the context around it. As much as possible, we want full buy-in on a decision from all and would want everyone’s voice to be heard, but once in a while we might find ourselves faced with a decision where we have to take a “majority rules” approach or even act like dictators.
TaskQue: What do you think is the secret to stay productive at workplace as a project manager?
Kiron Bondale: Learn to say NO. If you never say no, people assume infinite capacity, and urgent, non-vital work will consume all your availability.
TaskQue: You have been blogging for a long time on Projecttimes.com.What you think will be the trends of project management in 2018?
Kiron Bondale: Same as they were in 2017 – do more with less, get increased predictability on project outcomes, deliver quicker and with higher quality. A few years out, I am very interested to see the application of machine learning to our profession.
TaskQue: You have more than 13 years of experience, please share which personalities has been your inspiration?
Kiron Bondale: Neal Whitten – his no-nonsense, strong project manager approach has always resonated with me. Dr. David Hillson – his depth and breadth of risk management knowledge always inspires me.
TaskQue: Change management is always a challenge for any project manager. What do you think are the best practices about change management?
Kiron Bondale: Create a true sense of urgency in those you wish to change, and communicate, communicate, communicate
TaskQue: You have been providing Project portfolio management services across multiple industries. Please share few of your best practices.
Kiron Bondale: PPM is first about changing mindset and behavior. If you can’t do that then all the processes and tools in the world won’t help.
TaskQue: Project manager must oversee and manage all the related tasks and people in the project, which is quite exhausting. What do you do in your leisure time to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Kiron Bondale: Exercise regularly (5-6 days a week). Get a good night’s sleep. Read voraciously. Give back to the profession.
TaskQue: You have a great name in project management. What do you want to achieve as your next milestone?
Kiron Bondale: Improve my competency at instructional design and facilitating classes.
TaskQue: Workplace environment plays an important role in keeping people productive and motivated. Workstation setting is also a part. How does your workstation look like?
Kiron Bondale: Uncluttered. My desktop is very Spartan – no distracting background images, very few icons on the desktop. I also like to use distraction-avoiding features of applications – WordPress for example has a mode which lets you write articles without being distracted by a bunch of tool icons.