In today’s world of seemingly infinite information, discerning who to spend time listening to and who is a waste of time can be a lifelong process. There can often be just too many voices taking different views from a number of angles and, if looking for guidance in your field, like in project management, it can be tough to know who to be following.
Fortunately, another upshot of the social media age is the rise of online influencers–people who have become widely popular and, for better or worse, command the respect of people who look to them for advice. This can have its downsides when it comes to people getting paid to hype up cryptocurrency or slimming lollipops to their followers, but when it comes to project management influencers, generally they are people who have risen to the top of their field and are respected for their endeavors and ability to cut through the haze of confusion.
Here are some of the most important project management influencers you should be keeping an eye on.
- Cornelius Fichtner
While Fichtner is of great assistance to anyone going for their PMP PMI-ACP and CAPM exams, it is through his podcast that he has become one of the most prolific online influencers in project management. Called, quite simply, the Project Management Podcast, his show sees him discuss the latest trends as well as the universal topics of project management. Often featuring highly respected guests from around the world and running for more than 10 years, Fichtner’s podcast has become one of the leading voices on project management internationally.
- Susanne Madsen
Hailing from the UK, Madsen has carved a successful niche running workshops for international organizations such as Danone, Citigroup, Continental and ExxonMobil. She has also published two books, The Project Management Coaching Workbook and The Power of Project Leadership. She is dedicated to improving project managers’ abilities to engage with their team and motivate and inspire them to deliver value for their organizations.
As a project management influencer, she is a regular publisher of project management videos on her YouTube channel as well as posting pearls of wisdom via her Twitter account.
- Dave Gordon
Gordon’s website, The Practicing IT Project Manager, is a fantastic resource where he shares the latest innovative project management blogs and advice from around the world. His weekly updated collection of blogs, from a huge variety of sources, provide plenty of food for thought on project management topics and trends. He has been running his weekly round-up for more than eight years and as such it has become a staple for those looking to find out what’s happening in the project management world. He has also published a book on migrating transaction and other records for system implementation teams, The Data Conversion Cycle.
- Jennifer Bridges
Jennifer Bridges is the CEO of Optimo, Inc., an Atlanta-based Project Management consulting and training firm, a managing founder of PDUs2Go.com where project managers can easily access professional development courses to drive their career forward, and is a director of ProjectManager.com.
Her impressive list of contributions to the world of project management doesn’t end there however, as she also uploads regular project management explainers on her YouTube channel. These excellently delivered insights make her one of the biggest thought leaders in project management today.
- Sharlyn Lauby
A management and leadership consultant, Lauby has authored seven books on how to motivate and integrate your team successfully. She is also the founder of the HRBartender website, which publishes excellent articles about a wide range of project management topics. Along with being a widely respected project management pioneer in long-form, her Twitter account is full of great resources recommended by Lauby as well as her own insights into the field.
- Jurgen Appelo
Currently writing about Lean and Agile Business Growth in his upcoming book, Startup, Scaleup, Screwup, Jurgen is a pioneer of enabling the leadership of creative organizations to thrive in the world of business. A highly regarded keynote speaker, his website is stocked with interesting and original content about management practices. He is also a prolific and well-followed on Twitter offering far more of a personal take on the interesting management issues du jour.
While you’re at it, we recommend bookmarking our blog. We might not be an online influencer, but we update our blog frequently with tips and advice for project managers of all skill levels.
