Project Management Lessons from My Latest Leadership Build

This article was published in Experience Points, a newsletter for instructional designers who want to expand their wellness and business acumen.

Project Context

In this project, I was building leadership onboarding from the ground up for internally promoted managers. My stakeholder was wonderfully collaborative, so I was given room to show my creativity and innovate.

Project management was key to this build so here's what I learned along the way, and how you can apply these lessons to your own work.

1. Project Planning Was Everything

Planning wasn’t a one-and-done task. It evolved as the project unfolded.

What helped me:

• Keeping detailed notes on stakeholder conversations (who said what, when, and why).
• Tracking even the smallest changes (like renaming a session) to ensure updates happened across all assets (program maps, slide decks, LMS instructions, comms, etc.).
• Being willing to rework the plan when it wasn’t serving me or my manager. Halfway in, we realized my initial structure was confusing, so we adjusted, and suddenly, everything felt more manageable.

Try this:

If you’re leading a project, set up a living document where updates, decisions, and next steps can be tracked. Also, don't be afraid to regroup. Had my manager and I not taken the time to regroup and adjust, we might have had even more confusion later on.

2. Thinking Beyond the Build—Planning for the Long Haul

Once the program launched, the day-to-day operations fell on my stakeholder (a team of one). So I embedded long-term sustainability into the design.

How I made this work:

• Training my stakeholder on the tech tools I used to track feedback and maintenance needs, so she could keep it running after I stepped away.
• Documenting which assets needed regular updates and which were evergreen.
• Anticipating future projects—since the next initiative focused on tenured managers, I tracked which topics our SMEs were excited about, laying the groundwork for what came next. I also made a note to check participant feedback to know what they found helpful.

Try this:

If you’re handing off a project, don’t just leave a folder of files. Document processes, record quick videos, and walk through key systems. Future-you (or whoever takes over) will thank you later.

3. Burnout Sneaks Up—Even When You Love the Work

This project was a joy, but I almost let that overwork me. While managing my own PTSD recovery, stress from the election cycle, and a loved one’s major surgery, I kept pushing forward.

And then I realized: if I didn’t take my PTO, I’d lose it!

What I did differently:

• Took every Friday off for the rest of the year (yes, really!).
• Planned a full break in December so I could rest before the next big thing.
• Kept communication strong—because I had built trust with my manager and stakeholder, they weren’t worried about timelines.

Try this:

• Schedule your time off in advance. If it’s on the calendar, it’s real.
• If you’re leading a team, model rest. It’s easier for your people to take care of themselves when they see you doing it, too.

Wins From This Project

This project generated a lot of internal buzz. My hope is that this will encourage others to be more collaborative with my team and continue to innovate. As it is, I led a make-and-take workshop with my team so they know how I created some of the assets. This will help them replicate my work if need be.

And a personal win? Because I've been added to the tenured program, I've now was added to the next initiative for tenured managers, meaning I contributed to four connected leadership programs—from brand-new managers all the way up to experienced senior leaders. I don't hate 'em bragging rights at all. ??

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