Artificial intelligence is now a mainstay for organizations. But given the lack of widespread use across enterprises, there’s room for growth. And project teams are leading the way, developing AI solutions that deliver value to their companies and customers. We discuss this with: 

Mohammed Nabtiti, PMI-RMP, PMP, project management office and governance manager, Beeah Group, Dubai: Nabtiti discusses how his company created its “Office of the Future” with sustainability, AI and smart office technologies as the driving forces, how the team mitigated and managed risks to integrate several AI systems, how the organization determines accountability for AI outputs, and how he’s taking lessons learned about scoping and planning into future AI projects.

Sanjukta Ghosh, PMP, data and AI leader, Siemens AG, Munich: Ghosh discusses how she started her AI journey by solving customer problems, the knowledge project professionals need to manage AI initiatives and how she’s working to standardize AI projects across Siemens’ business units. Plus, Ghosh talks about a project to create digital twins for assets in the process industry using AI and engineering documents.

Key themes

[02:01] Creating a sustainable, AI-driven “Office of the Future”

[04:49] From smart meeting rooms to a digital concierge: Building the business case for which AI tech to use in the workplace

[07:44] Identifying and managing risks when integrating multiple AI systems

[10:43] Determining who is accountable for AI systems’ decisions

[14:08] How scoping and planning affect AI projects

[17:34] Skills and knowledge project professionals need to lead AI initiatives

[18:33] Standardizing AI projects across an enterprise

[22:05] Creating digital twins from AI tech and documentation

[26:52] Project professionals must stay up-to-date on tech advancements

We know that projects drive change, and today, more and more project professionals are managing initiatives to deliver positive impacts across the globe. Two 2023 PMI Future 50 leaders—Johnnie Stark, PMP, a project manager at BP in London, and Nuha Hashem, co-founder and CTO at Zywa in Dubai—discuss why the world needs project professionals, what sparked their passion to lead the innovative projects they’re managing today and their top advice for future project professionals.

Key themes

[01:59] Igniting a passion for project leadership

[04:33] Developing a low-carbon energy solution to help the U.K. decarbonize its electricity grid

[07:11] Creating a payment platform to boost financial literacy for Gen Z in the Middle East and North Africa

[10:20] How project management is changing—and how project professionals can adapt

[11:47] Advice for future project leaders: Be flexible, be willing to dive right in and care for team members’ well-being

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 

Diversity and inclusion are now mainstay focuses for organizations—but it can be challenging to find the right strategies to achieve diverse and inclusive team environments. We discuss this with: 

Victoria Toney-Robinson, PMP, senior program manager at Google in Hamburg: Toney-Robinson discusses how a team’s diversity and inclusion affect not only the team environment but also the solutions the team develops, which strategies and practices she’s found are the most effective for building diversity and inclusion into team culture, and how the Black Googler Network, which she co-chairs, helps create not only better products but also a more inclusive environment at Google.  

Nikky Chen, PMI-ACP, PMP, previously a group manager in the project management department at Rakuten in Tokyo: A 2023 Future 50 leader, Chen discusses why project professionals should promote diverse and inclusive team environments, how a diverse team improved communication on a project, how active listening and empathy can boost inclusivity and why she’s passionate about DE&I.

Key themes 

[02:01] How team diversity affects products’ inclusivity

[04:43] Strategies to create diverse and inclusive team environments

[06:32] The role of the Black Googler Network 

[09:43] How project professionals can advocate for diverse teams

[14:48] What is at risk if project teams lack diversity

[16:32] How team diversity boosted communication on a project

[18:11] Boosting inclusion with active listening and empathy

Project professionals can help promote well-being in the workplace, making a positive impact on not only their own and their team members’ performance but also their overall mental health. We discuss this with: 

Marilena Koliavasili, PMP, project manager, Intracom Telecom, Athens: Koliavasili discusses how she defines employee well-being, practices she uses to maintain her own and her team members’ well-being, and how emotional intelligence, empathy and psychological safety can help people better promote well-being for teams. Plus, she shares how project professionals can support team members who are struggling with wellness and well-being.  

Jonas Ng, PMP, project coordinator, Exos, Singapore: Ng discusses how each project team member faces different challenges to maintain their well-being, ways he boosts his own and his team members’ wellness and well-being, why project professionals should prioritize their teams’ health and strategies to do so. In addition, he explains how to balance getting project work done with caring for his and his team’s well-being.

Key Themes

[00:52] Employee well-being’s impact on performance and overall mental health

[02:03] What is employee well-being—and what elements can make it difficult to maintain it?

[05:02] Practices to promote positive well-being on project teams

[10:10] How emotional intelligence, empathy and psychological safety help build strong relationships with team members

[13:37] Ways to support team members struggling with well-being

[16:08] Well-being challenges are different for each project team member

[18:13] How leaders can boost their own well-being

[20:08] Why project professionals should prioritize well-being for their teams

[23:17] Ways to help remote team members

[24:05] Balancing project deadlines and deliverables with team well-being

Teams are delivering projects no matter their location. As team members continue working in remote and hybrid environments, project professionals must find ways to develop their skills and grow their careers outside of an office. We talk about this in a joint discussion with Adriana Pavón Navarrete, PMP, a project manager at Hitachi Vantara in México City, and Meena Nandelli, CAPM, a master’s student who at the time we spoke was a project manager at Microsoft in Hyderabad, India.

Key Themes

[02:00] Adapting leadership styles to manage projects remotely

[04:18] Leaning into adaptability, flexibility and empathy to lead remote teams

[06:25] Top power skills when leading remote teams: Communication, collaborative leadership and strategic thinking

[08:38] Upskilling outside an office? Use online trainings, free resources and self-reflection of on-the-job challenges

[13:42] Tips to resolve conflicts in remote and hybrid work environments

[19:12] Top challenges to remote upskilling—and strategies to overcome them

[22:03] Networking while remote: Join project management communities and organizations, or reach out to other project professionals

Generative artificial intelligence tools, from ChatGPT to Bard, are changing the way people work—including how people lead teams and manage projects. We discuss this with: 

Kristian Bainey, PMP, CEO, K-Pic Systems Inc., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Bainey shares his tips to help project managers write ChatGPT prompts that will return strong answers, how project professionals are using generative AI tools to craft project charters and format project documentation, how to build support for integrating generative AI tools into workflows, and how tools like ChatGPT will change project management in the near future.

Higor Prado, PMP, project manager and software engineer, Softfocus, Mateus Leme, Brazil: Prado discusses how he’s using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT in his project management to generate reports and assist with negotiating with stakeholders, how these tools are boosting his and his team’s productivity and saving him time, and the privacy and compliance issues project professionals should be aware of before using generative AI tools.

Key themes

[02:36] Tips to write a strong ChatGPT prompt

[04:22] How project managers can use generative AI in their work

[09:52] Building support for adding generative AI tools into workflows

[11:19] Ways to mitigate the risk of ChatGPT sending back inaccurate information

[13:09] How generative AI will change project management moving forward

[15:40] Using ChatGPT to assist with project documentation and stakeholder communication

[17:13] Benefits of using generative AI tools: consistency, productivity and time

[18:41] Keeping privacy and compliance issues in mind when using new tech tools

[20:55] New to generative AI? Start experimenting and learn as you go

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

Project professionals are boosting their personal branding—through blogs, speaking engagements and strong social media presences—not only to help them stand out as forward-thinking leaders but also to share their knowledge and give back to the project management community. In a joint discussion, guests discuss how they decided where to focus their personal branding efforts and their top tips for other project professionals looking to elevate their personal brand, plus how strong personal branding helped them gain greater visibility inside and outside their organizations and brought on more career opportunities.

Our guests include Fahad Ahmed, PMP, head of IT, Jubilee General Insurance, Karachi, Pakistan, and Yasmina Khelifi, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, PMP, senior project manager, Orange, Paris.

Key themes

[02:04] Sharing expertise, lessons learned and ways to upskill to kickstart personal branding efforts

[04:26] Top tips for using LinkedIn to boost your personal brand

[08:40] Determining your area of expertise in personal branding

[12:46] Ways to stay up to date on project management trends

[16:28] The benefits of strong personal branding? Greater recognition and more career opportunities

[19:02] How certifications benefit project professionals’ personal brand

[20:37] Take your personal branding to the next level with a focused goal and show your strengths