Projectified

Many organizations have sustainability goals, but turning them into project decisions is where the work gets harder. How can project professionals build sustainability into requirements and design before options narrow? How should they weigh cost, schedule, quality and long-term value when priorities compete? And what changes when stakeholder trust or new information requires a different path? We discuss this with Preston Welker, PMP, global climate program and operations lead at The Nature Conservancy, and Ayman Zaki, CSPP, PMP, PMO project manager at EllisDon. 

What You’ll Learn:

• How to turn sustainability goals into project decisions early, from requirements and design through execution
• Why stakeholder trust, community engagement and clear expectations can shape long-term project value
• How to navigate trade-offs between cost, schedule, quality and sustainable outcomes
• Why clarifying sponsor priorities upfront helps teams make better decisions when pressures compete
• How project management skills and an adaptive mindset help teams turn sustainability expertise into better outcomes

Preston Welker, Global Climate Program and Operations Lead at The Nature Conservancy 

Preston Welker, PMP, is Global Climate Program and Operations Lead at The Nature Conservancy, where he helps teams deliver projects that advance global conservation and climate strategies. With more than 10 years of experience in project management, operations, portfolio systems, and stakeholder engagement, Preston has supported nature-based carbon projects across five continents, designed systems to track progress and impact, and trained teams in Lean, Agile, and facilitation methods. His experience also includes work connected to a $100 million Bezos Earth Fund grant, the development of Naturebase.org, and graduate research on stakeholder engagement for green infrastructure and climate resilience projects. 

Ayman Zaki, PMO Project Manager at EllisDon 

Ayman Zaki is a Certified Sustainable Project Professional and PMO Project Manager at EllisDon, with more than 20 years of experience delivering complex construction and development projects across the Middle East. His work spans hospitality, mixed-use, residential, commercial, aviation, and government projects, with expertise in PMO leadership, governance, risk management, stakeholder engagement, FIDIC contract administration, project controls, and value engineering. Across his career, he has contributed to projects exceeding AED 6 billion in cumulative value, including Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Gran Meliá Hotel, Tadawul Tower at KAFD, Deira Waterfront Development, Al Dhafra Hotel & Resort, and Sports Hotel on Hudayriyat Island. 

• Ayman Zaki on LinkedIn
• Preston Welker on LinkedIn
• Melissa Khan-Blackmore on LinkedIn
• Project Management Institute Website
• Project Management Institute LinkedIn

Career growth doesn’t always come with a new title or a move to a new organization. So how can project professionals keep building momentum when a promotion or outside opportunity isn’t immediately available? Which human skills matter most as AI takes on more coordination work? How can professionals create opportunities, track their impact, and build visibility without sounding self-promotional? And how do they know when staying put is still helping them grow and when it may be time to move on? We discuss this with Andrew Seaman, editor at large for jobs and career development at LinkedIn, and Giana Lawrence-Primus, PMP, MPA, founder and CEO of Project Manager Lab. 

What You’ll Learn:

• How to identify hidden opportunities within your current role that accelerate career growth
• Which human skills matter most as AI takes on more project coordination work
• How a  50/50 approach helps balance organizational priorities with your personal development goals
• How to track your accomplishments and build visibility without relying on self-promotion
• How to know when staying put is helping you grow and when it may be time to move on

Giana Lawrence-Primus, Founder and CEO of Project Manager Lab

Giana Lawrence-Primus, PMP, MPA, is a project delivery and leadership strategist, educator, and Founder and CEO of Project Manager Lab LLC. With more than 23 years of experience across government, nonprofit, and digital-first organizations, she helps leaders build stronger delivery systems through better governance, operational clarity, and strategic execution. She developed the proprietary Scaling Delivery Framework™ and advises CEOs and founders on designing organizations that scale effectively while strengthening leadership, accountability, and project delivery. A recognized thought leader in project management, Giana has published more than 25 articles and frameworks and has educated professionals in over 60 countries.

Andrew Seaman, Editor at Large for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn

Andrew Seaman is Editor at Large for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn, where he helps professionals navigate today's rapidly changing world of work. He leads LinkedIn's Get Hired career development franchise, including its newsletter, podcast, and live programming, providing practical guidance on hiring trends, AI, career resilience, and professional growth. During his more than eight years at LinkedIn, Andrew has helped shape the platform's editorial strategy and career content, reaching millions of professionals worldwide. Before LinkedIn, he spent seven years at Thomson Reuters covering healthcare, public policy, and national news, and previously contributed reporting to USA TODAY.

• Andrew Seaman on LinkedIn
• Giana Lawrence-Primus on LinkedIn
• Melissa Khan-Blackmore on LinkedIn
• Project Management Institute Website
• Project Management Institute LinkedIn

Project professionals know anticipating the need to pivot is a mainstay on any project. But what warning signs should you look out for? How can project managers identify them? And how should you inform the C-suite of major red flags? We discuss this with Mary Hladio, PMP, senior productivity and program leader at GE Aerospace in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, and Franziska Höhne, PMP, project manager for international internal auditing at ALDI in Essen, Germany.  

Key themes 

01:25 Spotting red flags in data and how people communicate and act 

04:48 Common red flags on projects: resource misallocation, scope creep and misalignment with organizational strategy 

11:28 How to handle overly ambiguous—or extremely constrictive—project specs 

15:24 Good practices for communicating red flags to the C-suite  

17:00 Creating team cultures with transparency and trust  

Today’s project professionals are feeling the pressure. And when they don’t manage it well, it could steamroll into full-fledged burnout. What’s the difference between burnout and regular stress? How can burnout effect project outcomes? What early warning signs might show that you or your teams on are the verge of burnout? And what can project leaders do to reset and recharge? We discuss this with Michele Badie, PMP, CPMAI, a program manager in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and Valerie Carmel, a mental health therapist based in Orlando, Florida, USA.  

Key themes 

00:57 What’s the difference between stress and burnout? 

03:19 Facing burnout in yourself—and your team—as a project professional 

06:04 How mental health professionals can help project managers amid burnout 

09:14 How burnout can affect project outcomes 

12:01 Warning signs for burnout: Lack of boundaries, sleep disturbance and irritability  

14:27 Tips to keep burnout at bay on project teams 

18:21 Recognizing burnout—and when it’s time to rest and recharge 

The Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification can be a career game-changer. What’s the best way to study for the exam? How do you stay motivated through months of preparation? What’s the difference between taking the exam in-person or online? We discuss this with Kelly Heuer, PhD, CAPM, VP of learning at PMI in Brooklyn, New York, USA; Fernanda Sa, PMP, procurement coordinator at Meta Reality Labs via Mackin Talent in Bellevue, Washington, USA; and Prabhjeet Singh, PMP, project manager at MedStar Health in Washington, D.C. 

Key themes

01:09 Why earn the PMP certification? 

04:52 How to create a study plan for the PMP exam

09:07 Ways to stay motivated while studying for the PMP

12:01 How PMI can help you prepare for the PMP exam

17:03 Taking the PMP exam online or in-person

20:40 How the PMP certification affects project careers

23:41 Advice for the PMP certification exam

Launching a career in project management can spark a flame. But how do you get that first job and keep the early fire burning? We talk about starter career goals, PMI certifications, mentorship and more with Albert Cayuela, CAPM, PMP, a technical project manager at Banco Sabadell in Madrid, and Krista McCalley, CAPM, PMP, a project coordinator at Insight Global in Des Moines, Iowa in the United States. 

Key themes

01:04 How did you start your project management career? 

02:55 Pursuing the CAPM certification and crafting a career plan 

09:08 Overcoming imposter syndrome and leaning on mentors early in your career 

14:55 Solidifying knowledge, developing skills and boosting confidence with PMI certifications

17:57 Advice for project professionals starting their project careers

Gigaprojects aren’t hard to spot: deep complexity, massive stakeholder groups, wildly ambitious scopes and a major boost to national economies. We discuss two gigaprojects with: 

Ryan Banas, project director for the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project and VP at HNTB in Norfolk, Virginia, USA; and Chris Hall, district engineer at the Virginia Department of Transportation in Hampton, Virginia, USA: Banas and Hall discuss how their teams prepared for the years-long bridge and tunnel project, how they keep teams aligned across multiple hand-offs, and the clever ways they engage stakeholders—including community members affected by construction.  

Mohammed Almutlaq, project management office VP at the Royal Commission for AlUla in Riyadh: Almutlaq shares how teams are turning the historical site of AlUla into an archaeological tourism destination. He discusses how the PMO keeps teams across portfolios aligned to a singular strategy, ways teams best communicate and keep track of progress across projects, and builds flexibility into projects through solid change management practices.

Key themes

01:42 Managing a multibillion-dollar infrastructure overhaul in Virginia

04:42 How teams collaborate to tackle years-long projects

07:41 Good practices for hand-offs across the project life cycle

10:12 Keeping the community informed—and building buy-in for the long haul

15:44 Transforming the ancient city of AlUla into a tourism hub

18:18 How a PMO keeps multiple teams aligned to one strategic vision

21:19 Building adaptability into projects with change management

25:06 Top challenges: continuous value delivery and retaining the right talent  over long timelines 

Success is in the eyes of the beholder. For projects, that means winning over the top decision makers in the C-suite. How can project management office leaders best share project progress with executives? How can you better engage the C-suite to manage their POVs? We discuss this with Douglas Pulini, PMP, PMI-PMOCP, head of the strategic management office at SPC Brasil in São Paulo, and Stephan Wohlfahrt, PMI-ACP, DAVSC, PMP, head of the project management office at Bosch Mobility in Stuttgart, Germany. 

Key themes

00:56 The C-suite’s role in project success

02:33 How PMO leaders decide what information to share with executives

05:24 Ways to engage executives to benefit project success

10:26 Choosing how to best present project updates to the C-suite

14:28 Must-have skills for PMO leaders to effectively manage stakeholder perceptions

Every project—no matter the sector or region—can be led and managed more sustainably. How can project professionals gain executive buy-in for sustainability efforts? How have they put environmental and social responsibility front and center in their work? And how can other project leaders further develop their knowledge of sustainability in their sectors? We discuss this with Pratik Mishra, PMP, senior strategic portfolio manager at Zalando in Berlin, and Michael Mylonas, GPM-b, PMP, director of project management at the Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government in Tsilhqot’in Title Land, Nemaiah Valley, British Columbia, Canada. 

Key themes

00:52 Why you should embed sustainability into every project phase

04:29 Gaining stakeholder buy-in for sustainability on projects

08:49 Building environmental and cultural sustainability into a community center project

12:16 How project professionals can develop their sustainability knowledge 

15:26 Ways you can boost sustainability in your projects

Project professionals across the globe deliver meaningful work in myriad ways—all with a goal to make the world a better place. So how did two project managers start their careers, one producing concerts across the globe and the other inspiring teams at LEGO? We discuss what makes them proud to be project managers, some of their favorite projects and more. 

Our guests are Jim Digby, PMP, project manager and tour and production director at Show Makers in Philadelphia, and Liliana Janette Gómez Castrejón, PMP, project manager at The LEGO Group in Herning, Denmark.  

Key themes

01:03 Delivering projects, from major music tours to LEGO

06:32 The project management skills that help deliver creative projects

08:40 Overcoming challenges with stakeholder management and finding your leadership style

12:39 Bringing creativity into leading creative projects 

17:55 Project manager pride: Creating healthy, diverse team environments