131: Don't be the PM everyone hates, with Rachel Losser

Your worst project management habit might also be your superpower — the trick is knowing which one you're wielding, and when. What actually separates a great project manager from the one everyone dreads seeing on their calendar? It's rarely a certification or a prettier Gantt chart — it's behavior. This episode of Project Management Happy Hour digs into project leadership, accountability, team dynamics, and the everyday habits that quietly undermine project delivery. The uncomfortable truth running through the whole conversation: our worst project management habits are usually just our genuine strengths turned all the way up, with no dial to turn them back down. Kate and Kim are joined by Rachel Losser, founder and managing partner of Losser Consulting Solutions, a delivery-focused firm known for its get-stuff-done philosophy. Together they walk through five "bad PM personas" — the versions of ourselves that colleagues quietly avoid — and, crucially, the more skilled counterpart each one can grow into. Rachel sets the tone early with a bit of grace: we're talking about these "with love and reverence," because everybody starts somewhere and most of us have been every one of them at some point. The practical throughline is nuance. Every strength becomes a liability when it's your only mode. Great PMs read the moment: when to slow down and build consensus, and when to say "we're going this way." They tell hard truths early, manage handoffs rather than just dates, and treat relationships and communication as the real currency of the job. As Kate puts it, the only way out of a struggling project is through it — not around the color of the status. Which persona are you under stress? That self-awareness, the hosts suggest, is where better project leadership actually begins. Grab a drink and join us. Quotes from the Episode "The PM has to be the brutal truth-sayer. Because if the PM doesn't say it, who's going to say it?" — Kim Essendrup "The only way out is through." — Kate Anderson "We had to live it to be able to write it." — Rachel Losser "You have no idea what people are motivated by until you implement something like that." — Rachel Losser Practical Takeaways Every PM strength has a shadow. Each of the five personas is a positive skill (document