The PM Playbook | Between The Milestones Newsletter

Welcome to Between the Milestones

Real Leadership. Honest Stories. Weekly Momentum.

Between the Milestones is your weekly guide to leading projects with clarity and confidence. Each issue delivers practical insights, field-tested strategies, and stories from project managers facing real challenges. Whether new or experienced, this is where leadership gets real.

Start Reading

Subscribe to the Between the Milestones Newsletter

The Silent Cost of Multitasking

Why juggling tasks is breaking your team more than you realize Read Time: 5 minutes You are in three tools, five chats, and two meetings at once.You are updating a deck while checking Slack, while pretending to pay attention on Zoom.You are doing your best.But nothing is getting done. Multitaskin...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 lessons learned pm soft skills trust building

The Power of a Well-Timed “No”

How to Push Back Without Derailing Progress Read Time: 5 minutes You are in a meeting.Someone tosses out an “easy” request.It sounds small. Harmless. Maybe even helpful. But you know the truth. That “yes” will pull your team off track.That “yes” will delay critical work.That “yes” will create a p...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 continuous improvement pm soft skills trust building

The Invisible Workload of a PM

Why Project Managers Burn Out Before the Project Does Read Time: 5 minutes You are managing timelines.You are aligning teams.You are keeping things moving. And behind the scenes, you are absorbing tension, translating ambiguity, and quietly preventing chaos. This is the part no one sees.The invis...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 career growth pm soft skills project recovery

The Risk That No One Owns

Why Unclear Ownership Is the Silent Project Killer Read Time: 5 minutes The plan is built.The timeline is approved.The kickoff went well. But now decisions are stalling.Tasks are slipping.And no one is certain who is responsible for fixing it. Let’s talk about one of the most overlooked issues in...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 project planning project reporting team dynamics

The Problem Behind the Process

Why Great Tools Can’t Save a Dysfunctional Team Read Time: 5 minutes You standardized the workflow.You rolled out a new tool.You got buy-in on Jira, Asana, or Monday.You cleaned up the status deck. Everything should be running better. But it’s not. Tasks are still delayed.Decisions are still uncl...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 continuous improvement project delivery team dynamics

The Trap of Being Too Helpful

Why Always Saying Yes Will Burn You Out and Break the Project Read Time: 5 minutes You jump in when no one else will.You cover gaps, clean up messes, and stay late to make things work. You think you are helping.And for a while, you are. Until one day you look around and realize: The team assumes ...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 continuous improvement pm soft skills team dynamics

The Power of the Reset Conversation

How to Regain Alignment Before Things Go Off the Rails Read Time: 5 minutes The project started fine.Everyone nodded during kickoff.The plan looked good on paper. But now… The sponsor is distracted.The team is confused.You are doing way too much translation. It is not broken yet.But it is not ali...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 continuous improvement stakeholder management team dynamics

When Priorities Compete

How to Manage Conflicting Demands Without Losing Focus Read Time: 5 minutes The client wants one thing.The sponsor wants another.The engineers have their roadmap. And you?You are caught in the middle, trying to keep the project intact while every direction pulls you somewhere else. Let’s talk abo...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 project delivery project leadership stakeholder management

What Happens When No One Believes in the Project

How to Lead When Motivation and Support Are Missing Read Time: 5 minutes You’re doing the work.You’re showing up to the meetings.You’re keeping the tasks moving. But something feels off. The client is disengaged.Your team is going through the motions.And no one seems to believe that this project ...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 human-centered leadership project recovery trust building

Why Good Status Updates Build Trust

How to Report Progress Without Sounding Defensive or Boring Read Time: 5 minutes You are running the meetings.Sending the decks.Filling in the tracker. And yet...Stakeholders still request updates that you have already provided.The team seems surprised by the decisions they approved.And leadershi...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 project leadership project reporting stakeholder management

When Teams Don’t Trust Each Other

How to Rebuild Collaboration When Alignment Is Broken Read Time: 5 minutes The tools are set.The goals are clear.The plan is sound. But something is off. Teams are not sharing updates.Cross-functional meetings are tense.Handoffs often feel like battles, rather than collaboration. This is not just...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 project leadership stakeholder management team dynamics

Leading Projects You Don’t Fully Understand

What To Do When You’re Managing Work Outside Your Expertise Read Time: 5 minutes You got assigned the project. But as you look at the scope, the acronyms, and the architecture diagrams, you realize this is not your comfort zone. Maybe it’s technical. Maybe it’s regulatory. Perhaps it’s in a space...

by Daniel Hemhauser — Jun 23, 2025 cross-cultural leadership project leadership stakeholder management

1 2 3 4 5

Join The Community

Sign up today and access a global network of project managers who lead with clarity, trust, and action. Free to join. Built to grow with you.

Join Now

Welcome to Between the Milestones

Real Leadership. Honest Stories. Weekly Momentum.

Subscribe to the Between the Milestones Newsletter

Join The Community

Join Our Free Trial