Ogaga Johnson- Conversations between two PMs

Ogaga studied engineering and then got a Master's in Sustainable Energy Systems. However, she got bored after working in the field for a while and then left the job. She later came across a project management course and had more interest in it. In 2015, she got a job as a project manager using the knowledge she gained from the course she took, and has fully transitioned ever since, working in several countries.

The passion for impacting knowledge led Ogaga to found her project management Edtech company, where she helps professionals begin or advance their PM careers. Her company also helps startup businesses launch their project ideas through PM skills. One of the biggest challenges of project management is stakeholder management.

In managing difficult stakeholders, it helps to listen and truly understand the reason for their resistance. As for cross-functional teams, there are several logistical considerations to make, especially the different work cultures of different teams. Also, part of this is identifying and ensuring the presence of the key stakeholders required for any particular meeting. Sending out meeting minutes and actions after each meeting is necessary, both for those who were not around and as a means to follow up to ensure people do what is required of them.

Highlights of Ogaga's career include situations where she helps professionals get a PM role or advance their careers. Also, being able to talk to a thousand people at a conference was a huge moment as well as generally being able to impact lives. A major cause of burnout in PM is handling multiple projects at the same time. With a similar experience, Ogaga came up with a process to manage multiple projects by noting things down instead of trying to remember everything. This helped her declutter her mind and become more organized. She has now created a video on YouTube explaining her full process to stress-free project management titled "How to Manage Multiple Projects at Once"

Ogaga has used all project management methodologies and there is no single superior one because the method will depend on the project. For longer-duration projects that can be done in iterations, Agile is often preferred.