A recent article from Harvard Business Review titled "We Are Still Lonely at Work" reminds us of the loneliness that many people many experience in the workplace and how it can significantly impact job satisfaction and performance.

To help evaluate whether we might be feeling lonely at work, the author suggests asking ourselves the following five questions:

• Do I understand who I am within the organization? This relates to knowing your role, understanding how your contributions matter, and whether people recognize your brand and reputation.
• Do I feel lonely at work? This question addresses whether you feel left out or disconnected from in-person interactions that facilitate sharing information, discussing ideas, and collaborating on work. Having support and a sense of teamwork is essential.
• Do I have enough people who would "have my back"? This involves having strong ties with colleagues who you can rely on to get things done, provide advice and suggestions, or even offer mentorship.
• Do I feel left out by others? Consider whether you get invited to participate in projects or discussions. It’s important to recognize that your unique skills, knowledge, and connections can contribute to the team.
• Am I satisfied with my work relationships? While this question is somewhat vague, it boils down to assessing whether meaningful connections exist and if they bring warmth and care to your daily life.​

If you do feel lonely, it’s important to start building personal brand and fostering new relationships next.

A detail-oriented person is someone who pays close attention to the minor aspects of projects and tasks. They maintain a clear understanding of requirements and ask questions to ensure they grasp everything thoroughly. Such individuals can work with minimal supervision and efficiently manage complex logistics, schedules, and processes. We can evaluate candidates based on the following aspects:

• Resume: Is it well-written?
• Experience: Does the role require analytical thinking and a detailed plan? How do they handle complex processes and projects?
• Behavior: Do they take notes, listen attentively, and seek clarification? Do they provide specific details or examples?

As a project manager, it's important to foster team building. One effective way to do this is by playing icebreaker games during meetings while everyone waits for all participants to join. We've gathered a collection of icebreaker games that we hope will be helpful to you.

If I Were a… This is a simple game where we imagine what we would like to be if we could be anything other than human in this world. You can choose to be a fruit, a cartoon character, an automobile, food, a plant, an animal, a movie star, a piece of jewelry, an appliance, an object like a keyboard, a color, or even a toy. Let your creativity flow! After choosing, share why you would like to be that specific thing.

Ask Questions Asking questions is the simplest way for people to start conversations. The questions should be general enough so everyone has an answer. Here are some typical examples:​

• What’s your favorite activity to do during your free time?
  What are your next travel plans?
• Is there a fun fact about yourself that nobody knows?
• What is the most memorable experience or life story that you would like to share with us?
• What‘s your favorite quotes? 
• what’s your favorite podcast? 

Grouping People We know that we often enjoy connecting with people who are similar to us. To facilitate this, let’s use an icebreaker activity where participants can form groups based on common interests. Here are some ideas: 

• Invite everyone to find a group with others who live in the same ZIP code.
• Provide a list of hobbies for participants to choose from, such as traveling, outdoor activities, and reading. 

These topics are quite relatable, and we're sure people will easily form their groups based on shared interests.

Puzzle This game is suitable for a small group of five or six people. Each person can be given a piece from a magazine picture, and then you can work together to complete the puzzle.

White Elephant Gift Exchange The white elephant gift exchange is a fun game where everyone brings a gift of similar value for swapping. Here's how it works:

• Everyone places their gifts in the center of the circle.
• Participants draw numbers to determine the order in which they will select gifts.
• Players have the option to either choose a gift from the center or take an already unwrapped gift from someone else. 
• Each gift can be taken from its owner up to 2 times. After two exchanges, the  gift can no longer be swapped.

To make the game even more enjoyable, it's helpful if participants know each other's names, especially when they want to take a gift from someone. To facilitate this, consider having a brief introduction round at the beginning. Each person can introduce themselves and share their name. You might also want to write down everyone's names on a board for easy memorization.The goal isn't to challenge participants, but to help everyone remember each other's names while having fun!

Before traveling or taking a leave of absence, please complete these suggested steps to prepare for your time off:

1. Give notice in advance to coworkers and managers.
2. Set up a calendar event to block the leave days. Ensure the event on the personal calendar is set up as an "All day" task and has time to be "Busy." Create an all-day event without blocking the time on the team calendar. 
3. Delegate the current tasks and the hosted meetings to another person when the leave is longer than 2 days. If necessary, create a knowledge transfer document to outline the delegation details, including the jobs, meetings, and delegated contact details. Select a project team member to host your meetings who can send meeting minutes per PMO guidelines. 
4. Delegate approval authority and arrange to cover contact for different function areas. 
5. Create an out-of-office auto-email reply. Be careful to avoid setting server-side rules. Instead, use the company-recommended application to prevent duplicate auto-replies that could flood other people's inboxes. 
6. Set your online application status, e.g., update the status in Slack with the /Status command (/Status Clear) 

With these settings, you can ensure all have been taken care of before your leave. ​

Based on our research, we find the followings are the top mistakes PMOs are making: 

• Can't keep the balance of managing more projects vs. controlling the quality of service. The more projects you'd like to maintain, the more responsible you will have. There should be a good awareness of the bandwidth and capability before taking any new project into PMO. PMO needs to prioritize projects and only approve the projects with proper assessment. Avoid burnout. Maintain the quality first. That's where PMO values live. 
• Lack of flexibility. PMO defines standards. However, PMO has to apply the standard with flexibility according to the deep understanding of the customer needs/WIIFM (what's in it for me), organization culture, and the project-specific situations. Failing to do these can cause standard abuse, thus bringing unnecessary overhead and conflict. We define a standard to help rather than restrict. 
• Measure the wrong thing. The ultimate measure should be values that PMO brings to the business, not how people follow PMO standards.
• Failed to show the business results. The organization does not easily get PMO value. As a result, PMO needs to advocate its value. PMO creates values and has to show them.

To test if you are on the wrong path, think about the value PMO brings to the organization and what happens if organotin lose it. PMO presence relies on unique value, not the standard, relationship, or process. ​