What happens when strategy, delivery, and client success all rest on one person’s shoulders? Daniel McCaulley talks about the unique challenges of being both project lead and business owner, as he shares lessons from building his company from the ground up, highlighting how leadership, technical expertise, and human connection intersect. He explains why true project success is rooted not just in skill, but in communication, trust, and a relentless drive to improve.

Dr. Colin M. Fisher, author of The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups, reveals the hidden forces that make some teams thrive while others falter. He shares research-based insights on team dynamics, challenging common assumptions about collaboration, group size, and the causes, and cures, of social loafing. Colin offers a new perspective on team development, and the best predictors of team success.

Deanna Landers, founder of Project Managers Without Borders (PMWB), shares how project management can deliver more than results, it can deliver hope. Now part of PMI, PMWB unites professionals worldwide to lead sustainable, humanitarian initiatives. Deanna discusses the organization’s growth, opportunities for volunteer project managers, and the parallels between navigating the open seas and managing complex projects. It’s an inspiring look at how our profession can create lasting impact, one project at a time.

In this episode, we explore the role of emotional intelligence in leadership. Dr. Robin Hills explains how EI enables project leaders to adapt, manage stress, build resilient teams, and guide with empathy. Hear practical strategies for applying EI in today’s complex environment and why it’s a defining factor in moving from good leadership to great.

Imagine turning uncertainty into your biggest advantage. That’s the power of risk. In this episode, we’re joined by Susan Schramm to uncover why risks so often get overlooked early in projects, the blind spots that trip up teams, and how a clear “why” can keep you steady when challenges hit. Susan also reveals the costly mistake of waiting until things go wrong to talk about risk—and what smart organizations do instead.

Stan Slovin, author of Better Listening: The Secret to Improving Your Professional and Personal Life, reveals how mastering the skill of listening can transform leadership, strengthen relationships, and enhance everyday communication. His simple yet powerful method:reveals how mastering the skill of listening can transform leadership, strengthen relationships, and enhance everyday communication and compassionate listener.

Bob Jewell reveals what “excellence” truly means in project management, how to steer clear of common pitfalls, and why he avoids the term “scope.” He discusses underrated tools, challenges the practice of building schedules backwards, and shares fresh perspectives on the work breakdown structure, the critical path, and the crucial handoffs that can determine a project’s success.

We explore the power of Hoshin Kanri—a strategic management system that sets mid- and long-term goals, aligns objectives across all levels of an organization, guides annual execution, and develops people’s capabilities to sustain progress. Mark Reich brings insight from his 23 years at Toyota, where he helped implement this enterprise-wide approach to continuous improvement.

As AI tools become more advanced, what does effective project leadership look like? In this episode, Rich Maltzman, co-author of AI-Powered Leadership, discusses what effective project leadership looks like in an AI-driven world. He emphasizes the need for a collaborative approach between human judgment and machine intelligence, advocating for a “both/and” mindset that blends human insight with technological precision.

In this episode hear fresh insights to help you lead with impact, empower your team — and get the job done. Kevin Torf, author of Getting the Job Done, shares practical advice for leaders managing fast-moving projects and cross-functional teams as we explore what it truly means to empower a team, and why it's the secret sauce behind high-performing project leadership and long-term success.