
PMO Strategies
In this podcast, PMO leaders and those wanting to capitalize on the best of project management to deliver the organization’s strategy,will uncover the hidden secrets of the best PMOs, learn the game-changing techniques that transform any PMO into a value-driven IMPACT Engine, and explore the best ways for the PMO to become an integral part of the fabric and future of an organization. After spending two and a half decades helping organizations deliver change, with 15 of those years in the shoes of PMO leader inside organizations, Laura strongly believes that there is more to making an IMPACT than templates, tools, and process. She’ll show you how to make the shifts necessary to becoming a business focused PMO that will become an invaluable organizational asset. With her guests and insights, we explore the sticky situations and tough challenges PMO leaders face, from sorting through all of the “noise” about what the PMO “should” do to finding the best ways for your PMO to make an IMPACT. Listen in and you can discover how to shift your focus from outputs to outcomes, fundamentally changing the game for your PMO and personal success.
Latest episodes

Oct 31, 2022 • 1h 1min
175: Life of a PM Entrepreneur with Nicole Jones
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)
Hey, IMPACT Driver!
Do you dream of being your own boss?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go out on your own?
Our guest today left her senior corporate role to start her own business in project consulting and now shares her insights with others doing the same. You’ll hear about the lessons she’s learned along the way and the strategic steps she took to set herself up for success long before leaving her full-time position. We’ll both share tips for success, challenges you may face, and what your day in the life of a PM entrepreneur might look like, should you decide to join the movement of being your own boss!
Nicole Jones, CAPM is the founder of Mediocre to Masterful, a platform that teaches women how to boss up in entrepreneurship, wealth, and wellness. She also owns The PM Suite, an operations project management consulting company supporting entrepreneurs, corporations, and project managers. Nicole worked in Corporate America in project management leadership for a decade until she retired at 33 years old after paying off over $80K in student loans and becoming 100% debt free — all while building her business and substantial savings using the F.I.R.E (Financial Independence, Retire Early) method. Nicole has been featured in Women of Project Management's Masterclass, Project Management Institute, our very own PMO IMPACT Summit, and hosts the tv show Boss Up through The Hope TV Network.
Here are some of the links we discuss in this episode:
Project Management Company
https://www.thepmsuite.com/
Helping PM Entrepreneurs - The C-Suite
Helping Entrepreneurs - Services
Financial Freedom
Unlearn: Ditch Failed Money Habits and Discover Financial Freedom
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
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PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Oct 24, 2022 • 21min
174: Asking This Question is a Bad Idea (Part 2)
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)
Hi, IMPACT Driver!
How can you act like the valued business leader you want to be?
As I mentioned last week in Episode 173, business leaders don’t ask for permission. They get things done, and the results speak for themselves.
This week, I’m diving further into how waiting for permission is holding you back from making an IMPACT within your role.
It’s time to stop blocking your own success and start taking action NOW.
Are you up for the challenge?
Then tune in to learn how to start getting things done the right way!
And don’t forget to visit Episode 173 for even more discussion on how to stop asking for permission and start elevating your IMPACT.
Enjoy!
P.S. Want access to the tools you need to start making IMPACTful business decisions? It’s time to join the ONLY program of its kind designed to help you build, elevate, or even rescue your PMO — IMPACT Engine PMO (IEPMO). Check out all the value-packed details and register today: https://pmostrategies.com/iepmo/
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Oct 17, 2022 • 23min
173: Asking This Question is a Bad Idea (Part 1)
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)
Hi, IMPACT Driver!
Are you standing in the way of your own success?
You may be sabotaging your entire career trajectory without even knowing it!
It all boils down to one question you’ve probably asked hundreds of times throughout your life.
But as always, I’m not just here to call you out (with some good ol’ tough love); I want to teach you how to go about elevating your role within your organization.
Want to know the one thing you can change to start seeing much faster results?
Tune into this week’s episode, and start making a difference RIGHT NOW!
Enjoy!
P.S. Ready to start owning your career today? It’s time to join the ONLY program of its kind designed to help you build, elevate, or even rescue your PMO — IMPACT Engine PMO (IEPMO). Check out all the value-packed details and register today: https://pmostrategies.com/iepmo/
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Oct 10, 2022 • 27min
172: The Secret to Fast Credibility
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working (Technical)
Hi, IMPACT Driver!
I’m dropping a major truth bomb in this week’s episode of the PMO Strategies podcast — You ready?
YOUR BUSINESS LEADERS DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WAIT FOR YOU TO START SHOWING ANY VALUE.
You can’t start with a bunch of templates, tools, and processes. They want results the next day.
And if they try to tell you they understand it takes time, DON’T FALL FOR IT!
Instead, tune in to this episode to hear my top secrets to unlocking fast credibility for you and your PMO inside any organization.
And get ready to take a LOT of notes — I’m about to share the very specific thing that, up until this point, I've only been sharing with my students in our training programs.
Want to make a huge IMPACT right away? Let's do this.
Enjoy!
P.S. Want ALL the tools you need to take action now? It’s time to join the ONLY program of its kind designed to help you build, elevate, or even rescue your PMO — IMPACT Engine PMO (IEPMO). Check out all the value-packed details and register today: https://pmostrategies.com/iepmo/
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Oct 3, 2022 • 18min
171: Iterate Your Way to IMPACT
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working (Technical)
Hi, IMPACT Driver!
I am still coming off a high from being with thousands of IMPACT Drivers last week at the PMO IMPACT Summit. I just love these events and love connecting with all of you hard-working IMPACT Drivers, doing the hard work of building and elevating your PMO and project management capability so you can help organizations deliver on their strategy with the highest possible return on investment quickly.
And that's what we’re talking about today.
I got a lot of great feedback from Episode 167 saying "Okay, I get it. Speed matters. AND you talked about this thing called ‘iterating your way to IMPACT.’" TELL ME MORE!
In this episode, you’ll learn what it means to iterate your way to IMPACT and why it’s the key to accelerating your PMO value.
P.S. It's time for you to start iterating YOUR way to IMPACT? It’s time to join the ONLY program of its kind designed to help you build, elevate, or even rescue your PMO — IMPACT Engine PMO (IEPMO). Check out all the value-packed details and register today: https://pmostrategies.com/iepmo/
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Sep 26, 2022 • 25min
170: How to Elevate the PMO
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management)
Hi, IMPACT Driver!
In today’s results-driven world, it’s not enough to make sure projects are delivered on time and on budget, your PMO needs to be great at making an IMPACT – and be able to do it fast. You need to drive measurable business value for your organization through high-IMPACT outcomes, so there’s no denying the clear-cut advantage you bring to the team.
In this week’s episode, I’m sharing a little about why this mandate to Elevate the PMO is critical to the very future of our profession and what you can do to start positioning your PMO to make an even bigger IMPACT right now.
This week, we are hosting our free and virtual PMO IMPACT Summit conference – the largest and longest-running global conference for PMO leaders around the world designed specifically to help you Elevate Your PMO IMPACT. Register for free now and start accessing high-IMPACT content right now.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Sep 19, 2022 • 34min
169: Why Leaders Can’t Make Decisions
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)
Hey, IMPACT Driver!
Do you have trouble getting your stakeholders to make decisions?
In this episode, you’re going to learn several reasons why this might be happening and what you can do to drive faster action and decisions in your organization (and even improve your own decision-making). You’ll also learn about a few reasons that decision-making has gotten even more challenging and how to ease the burden so you can drive higher IMPACT outcomes on your projects.
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Sep 12, 2022 • 33min
168: Defining Projects from Strategy with Ben Chamberlain
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management)
Hey there, IMPACT Driver!
In many organizations, the strategy development process and the project definition process are not connected. When this happens, the PMO and business units are left trying to backward map the projects they’ve defined to the strategy the leadership created. This misalignment is the underlying root cause of many of the challenges that appear to be related to resource management, prioritization, and project execution failures.
This is just a hot mess!
Here’s a lesson that many PMOs and business units learn the hard way - what you’re working on is WAY more important than how you get it done.
In this episode, we’ll help you understand what it takes to connect the dots and align execution with strategy the right way so that you can set those projects up for success from the start AND ensure that you’re delivering the highest possible return on investment for the organization strategy as quickly as possible.
Ben Chamberlain is the Chief Product Officer for UMT360 and is responsible for the strategic direction and worldwide go-to-market activities for UMT360’s Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) software solutions. He is an accomplished enterprise software executive with more than a decade of experience in building innovative SPM solutions that have helped Global 2000 companies drive business transformation and increase their business agility.
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Sep 5, 2022 • 27min
167: Why Speed Matters
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills (Leadership)
Hey, IMPACT Driver!
You may have heard me say that it’s important to show value quickly in the PMO and there are some very good reasons for this AND huge risks to you and your PMO if you don’t show value fast.
In this episode, I’m going to walk you through some of the biggest reasons why you must show your business leaders quickly that they made the right call in trusting you with the PMO. You’ll also gain insights into what’s going on in the minds of your stakeholders and why they might seem to say they want the PMO but then not give you the time you believe you need to build the PMO correctly – and ultimately how to fast track your PMO progress.
If you’ve been on the fence about joining the IMPACT Engine PMO program, there is no better time to join us! Our system is literally designed with you in mind, so if it’s important to you to show real and sustainable value quickly, you belong in this program. Our step-by-step program will have you showing value before you’ve even finished one pass through the program! Trust the process and you’ll see results faster than you even thought possible - and your business leaders will be thrilled!
Click here to get started on your IEPMO journey today.
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Aug 29, 2022 • 48min
166: Community of Practice with Jennie Fowler
Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management)
Hey, IMPACT Driver!
Have you wondered about the differences between a Project Management Office (PMO), Center of Excellence (CoE), and Community of Practice (CoP)?
In this episode, we are going to look at the differences between PMO, CoE, and CoP and how a Community of Practice, specifically, can be an incredibly important service to the organization, especially when you are a small or growing PMO.
I’m joined by our dear friend, Jennie Fowler, to learn about her experience and insights gained from starting multiple Communities of Practice over the years in different organizations. You’ll learn how to know if a CoP is right for your organization and the steps you can take to start a high-IMPACT Community of Practice today.
And don’t forget to join the PMO IMPACT Summit for free in September to see Jennie’s session on the differences between a PMO and a Strategy Realization Office.
Jennie Fowler has over 20 years of experience as a PMO Leader in multiple verticals and has numerous PM Certifications as well as a being Certified as a DiSC Coach. She has built and matured 8 PMO / EPMO / SROs and is passionate about all things project & change management! Jennie was also recently named a semi-finalist for PMO Leader of the year for the Americas as a part of the PMO Global Awards hosted by the PMO Global Alliance. Congratulations to Jennie!
Enjoy!
Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!
I welcome your feedback and insights!
I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!
Warmly,
Laura Barnard
GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES
TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN
PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS