Projectified

Volunteering helps communities and organizations. But it also helps the volunteers who donate their time and skills. In a roundtable discussion, guests share how they started volunteering, how it has affected their careers and helped them grow as project professionals, the different ways they have taught project management skills to make initiatives run more efficiently and their advice to others looking to start their own community volunteering journey.Our guests include Lebogang Ngoato, PMP, program manager, Absa Group, Johannesburg; Priya Patra, PMP, director, Capgemini, Mumbai, India; and Silvana Tovar, international trade coordinator, Kenvue, São Paulo.Key themes[01:52] Why start volunteering? Three professionals share their stories[06:57] How volunteering can boost project professionals’ careers[11:25] The value of sharing your project management skills[14:07] How volunteering can help professionals upskill[18:20] Keeping volunteers motivated to work on outside projects[20:44] Advice for potential volunteers: share your knowledge, be honest about your availability and keep an open mind

AI projects in organizations are discussed, focusing on creating sustainable AI-driven workplaces, managing risks when integrating multiple AI systems, determining accountability for AI outputs, and the skills and knowledge required to manage AI projects. The challenges and future impacts of AI projects are also explored.

Project professionals Johnnie Stark and Nuha Hashem discuss their passion for project leadership and the innovative projects they are managing. Topics include developing a low-carbon energy solution, creating a payment platform for financial literacy, adapting to changing project management, and advice for future project leaders.

Space projects push boundaries, aiming to give teams a better understanding of our own planet and to explore what’s beyond. But these efforts are full of complexity, with evolving risks, new innovations, long timelines and fluctuations in funding. We discuss this with:  Kenneth Harris II, PhD, senior project engineer, The Aerospace Corporation, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA: The 2020 Future 50 leader discusses how the increasing number of crewed missions—and missions closer to Earth’s orbit—have changed the risk landscape for space projects, how he and his teams manage fast-paced change and tech innovations throughout years-long initiatives, what he sees as the top project management challenge for project professionals in the space sector, and how impact, curiosity and exposure have driven him throughout his career as a space project leader. Kay Lingenauber, project manager and system engineer, Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center, Berlin: Lingenauber discusses how he and an international team created the Ganymede Laser Altimeter, or GALA, over 15 years, how he and the team managed changing resources and technology with a fixed launch date, good practices for collaborating with institutes and agencies across the globe, and his advice for other project professionals managing initiatives with plenty of complexity. Key themes [02:30] More crewed missions—and more missions closer to Earth—are changing the risk landscape [05:51] Managing fast-paced change and innovation with years-long timelines [09:56] Top project management challenges in space projects: Collaboration with new and established agencies and contending with tight budgets [14:17] Creating GALA, an instrument now headed for Jupiter’s moons [16:34] Leaning into adaptability and problem-solving in space projects [18:21] Boosting collaboration through requirements management, trust-building and transparency 

Victoria Toney-Robinson, senior program manager at Google, discusses how diversity and inclusion impact team environments and solutions. Nikky Chen, previously at Rakuten, explains the importance of promoting diverse teams and improving communication. Key topics include strategies for building diversity and inclusion, the role of the Black Googler Network, and the risks of lacking diversity in project teams.

Marilena Koliavasili, PMP, project manager at Intracom Telecom in Athens, discusses employee well-being, emotional intelligence, and supporting struggling team members. Jonas Ng, PMP, project coordinator at Exos in Singapore, talks about challenges to maintaining well-being, balancing work and health, and prioritizing team health.

Adriana Pavón Navarrete and Meena Nandelli discuss adaptability, flexibility, and empathy while leading remote teams. They highlight the importance of power skills like communication, collaborative leadership, and strategic thinking. They also share tips for upskilling outside the office, resolving conflicts in remote work environments, and networking.

Kristian Bainey, CEO of K-Pic Systems Inc., shares tips for using generative AI tools in project management, including writing strong ChatGPT prompts, integrating AI tools into workflows, and the future impact of AI on project management. Higor Prado, a project manager and software engineer, discusses how he uses AI tools to generate reports and boost productivity in his projects. The podcast also explores mitigating risks in using AI and how project professionals are utilizing generative AI tools in their practices.

A project that doesn’t align with an enterprise’s objectives will never be considered a success. But project managers with a strong understanding of the business landscape and their organization’s goals can execute projects that drive their companies’ priorities—and deliver real benefits. We discuss this with: Ayobamiji Iyiola, PMI-ACP, PMP, senior IT project manager, First Bank of Nigeria, Lagos: Iyiola discusses the processes he uses to determine his organization’s goals, how he created success measures so a project drove the bank’s objectives for increased exposure and customer acquisition, how he manages change on projects when organizational priorities shift and his advice to project professionals on the importance of business acumen.Omar Picone Chiodo, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, senior portfolio management office director, Kenvue, Zug, Switzerland: Picone Chiodo discusses ways project professionals can learn their enterprise’s strategic objectives, how to create processes to better align portfolios with an organization’s goals, ways to engage with stakeholders to create success measures that everyone sticks to, and why clear and concise communication with leaders can have a big effect on what happens to a portfolio when an organization’s goals change. Key themes[01:50] Identifying an organization’s objectives—and using projects to achieve them[05:13] Creating project success measures to drive a bank’s acquisition goals[10:02] Managing change when a company’s priorities shift[13:50] Communicating an organization’s goals through onboarding sessions, knowledge libraries and talks with leadership[15:11] Developing processes to align portfolios with an enterprise’s objectives[16:39] How to keep stakeholders informed—and in line with the same measures of success

Organizations always look for ways to innovate and improve, but continuous evolution without preparation and strategy can lead to change fatigue and burnout. We discuss this with: Rose James, PMI-ACP, PMP, program leader, Edward Jones, Houston: James discusses the typical signs of burnout, why project teams might feel fatigued by seemingly constant organizational change, strategies project leaders can follow to lead their teams through change effectively, and how leaders can help team members recover from burnout or change fatigue.Mary Tresa Gabriel, PMP, project manager, Dell through SP Software Limited, Bengaluru: Gabriel discusses common causes of change fatigue and burnout and their effects on team members, how she led a team through several client-side changes on a project, the importance of creating a safe space for team members to discuss burnout and change fatigue as well as how project managers and companies can support team members who are feeling burned out. Key themes[02:00] Typical symptoms of burnout[05:08] Why teams might feel burned out by change[07:12] Leading teams through change with clarity and empathy[10:22] Helping project teams recover from change fatigue and burnout[14:59] Project leaders: Keep an eye out for your own burnout[17:05] What causes burnout and change fatigue—and how they affect teams[20:23] Managing a project through continuous client-side changes[22:23] Creating a safe space to discuss burnout and change fatigue[24:10] Building resilience into project teams[25:40] Ways project leaders and organizations can support burned-out teams