Podcast #185: Nicole Maaguo – Why is ambition a dirty word? This year, Kamala Harris will become the first female US Vice President. In other parts of the world, from Germany to Taiwan to New Zealand, women are already in the top job (and have been for some time!). But despite women smashing glass ceilings […]

Podcast #184: Susan Schwartz – Emotional intelligence Managers are rarely hired simply because they’re great leaders. Often they’re promoted for their technical skills, regardless of their personal skills – or lack thereof!  We have all had this type of manager. They struggle to build strong, diverse teams and retain good staff because they lack emotional […]

Podcast #183 : Joe Pusz – Getting unstuck How do you know if you’re stuck in your career? Maybe you really like your team, your boss is fair, and you’ve got a great salary and benefits. You’re good at your job. You’re comfortable. So, why would you want to give all that up to take […]

Podcast #182 : Jaspreet Dol – How will AI change the way we work? There’s a lot of buzz right now around artificial intelligence and automation – machines doing things that previously only humans could do. As with any change, it’s natural to feel nervous about the implications for your career. But this podcast is […]

Podcast #181: Chuen Chuen Yeo – Does leadership need to change? COVID-19 has caused huge changes in the way society functions. How we work, how our kids are educated, how we see our doctor, and even how our government communicates with us, has changed dramatically in just a few months. As we navigate all this […]

Podcast Episode #180: Andy Kaufmann – Dealing with difficult people What if we chose to get closer to difficult people instead of avoiding them? We’ve all had a difficult boss, stakeholders we’ve dreaded dealing with or clients we wish we’d never taken on, so we know these relationship problems rarely solve themselves. Andy Kaufman is […]

Podcast #179: Future-Proof Your Career – Johanna Rothman – Embracing the agile mindset As COVID-19 wreaks havoc on our lives and livelihoods, many of us are beginning to consider what our careers might look like in the future. We all like to think we’re adaptable and resilient but how do we decide if it’s time […]

Podcast Episode #178: Sarah Hajipour – The value of business agility Most companies already recognised the value of business agility, but the COVID-19 pandemic has now proven that businesses must be agile if they are going to survive. Business agility Is more than just software frameworks. It’s a mindset that allows a business to respond […]

Podcast Episode #177: Renee Henville – Dealing with difficult people We’ve all worked with difficult people. Some believe they’re always right, others will say yes to everything but rarely deliver, some are dictators, other are more passive, and most seem to find all the problems but no solutions. Elise Stevens has plenty of experience dealing […]

Podcast Episode #176: Jay Stone – Why is change so exhausting? What is it about change that we find so difficult? Why is it burning us out and making us depressed? Neuroscience tells us that our brain simply hasn’t evolved much over thousands of years. Even positive change can trigger the same fight/flight/freeze reaction our […]

Podcast Episode #175: Laura Dallas Burford – How to find your focus As Marie Kondo would say – does it spark joy? No, not your Tupperware drawer – your career!  Many project managers would consider themselves a jack of all trades, ready to jump head-first into any project, but consultant advisor and mentor Laura Dallas Burford believes this approach may no longer be best.  In this podcast, Laura speaks with Elise Stevens about why it’s so important for project managers to find their focus....

Podcast Episode #174: Teresa Lawrence – Creative problem solving in project management The best idea usually doesn’t belong to the loudest voice in the room – so why should they be the only one who gets heard? Whether they’re the boss, the boss’s son, or just a bit of a loudmouth, too often decisions within organisations are made by the same few people and everyone else is simply expected to fall in line. In this podcast, Elise Stevens speaks to Teresa Lawrence about why that kind of...

Podcast Episode #173: Elizabeth Harrin – How gamification makes projects more engaging It doesn’t matter how much time you put into your powerpoint presentation or carefully-drafted email, your team still might be more likely to open a game on their phone or start scrolling through Facebook than pay attention. Gamification makes your projects more engaging by applying elements of game playing like point scoring, competition, and rules, to your projects. But it doesn’t mean you need to start...

Podcast Episode #172: Lynda Tregoweth – The importance of leadership in project management Strong leadership is far more challenging to deliver in times of pressure or change – but that’s exactly when it’s most needed. Lynda Tregoweth is a coach and mentor who has worked in leadership roles long enough to know that if pressure at the top isn’t handled well, it won’t be long before cracks start to appear below. But, what does good leadership in project delivery look like? And how can project...

Podcast Episode #171: Anita Phagura – How to be a fierce project manager and take control of your career If there is one thing you take from this podcast today, it should be the importance of taking control of your own career. Many of us leave the trajectory of our careers to be determined by our managers, but Anita Phagura is here to tell you that doing a good job is simply not enough. Our managers likely won’t always have our careers on their minds, or even our best interests at heart. It...

Podcast Episode #170: Jen Dolden – How to set up a group for women in project management Jen Dolden was fed up with walking into a project meeting or networking event and finding she was the only woman in the room – again! But when she started searching for a group of women she could lean on for support, she soon realised there wasn’t much out there, and she’d have to build one herself. Emboldened by a small group of like-minded project managers, both men and women, Jen started Women in...

Podcast Episode #169: Vicki Griffiths – Why the Women in Project Management SIG is so valuable There’s more women than men coming into project management at entry level, and yet the large majority of senior roles are still occupied by men. Why is that? Any woman working in project management probably has a few theories! For 26 years, the APM Women in Project Management Special Interest Group has worked to even the playing field and empower women to build successful and rewarding careers in...

Podcast Episode #168: Carole Osterweil – What does neuroscience have to do with project management? Just take five deep breaths.  We’ve all heard this advice when we’ve been stressed or overwhelmed or anxious. But do you know why it helps us relax and focus? In this podcast, Elise Stevens speaks with coach Carole Osterweil about why it’s especially important if we want to make better choices at work. How do you lead projects which are tricky in unconventional ways? How do you deliver results...

Podcast Episode #167: Jools Barrow-Read – Building a successful PMO A successful PMO is one that’s tailored to the needs of the business. That might sound simplistic, but Jools Barrow-Read believes that’s the only definition a PMO needs. Jools has been working in PMOs for 15 years. Five years ago, she started her own PMO consulting business, RedWizard, which helps organisations set up project, change or transformation management solutions. She’s obsessed with making change a positive...

Podcast Episode #166: Susanne Madsen – Changes in project leadership It’s been five years since Susanne Madsen released her book The Power of Project Leadership. In that time she’s worked with project leaders in nearly every corner of the globe, and noticed a lot of changes in the demands and expectations placed on them– enough changes that she’s released a new edition of the book with all her new insights. In this podcast, Susanne speaks to Elise Stevens about the trends she’s noticed in...

Podcast Episode #165: Crystal Richards – Politics and Projects “Because it’s you, I’ll do it.” Some people seem to have no issue getting others to bend over backwards, put in a good word or sign that cheque. According to Crystal Richards these people all have one thing in common – a knack for politics. ‘Office politics’ often gets a bad rap, but in this podcast, Crystal speaks to Elise Stevens about how project managers can navigate the politics of an organisation in a way that boosts their...

Podcast Episode #164: Echo Woolf – The art of project management Art is defined as the expression or application of human creativity or imagination. It’s a much broader definition than simply painting or sculpture, but many project managers will still wonder why a conversation about art belongs in the project management world.  According to project management consultant Echo Woolf, thinking about project management as an art form simply means thinking about what moves and motivates people....

Podcast Episode #163: Laura Dallas Burford – How to start your project management consulting career Lots of project managers come to Laura Dallas Burford asking how they can become a consultant – but many can’t tell her why they want to. As Laura tells Elise Stevens in this podcast, it’s the first, and most important, question project managers need to answer before they try to build their own consulting careers. If you’ve been considering starting your own consulting practise but don’t know...

Podcast Episode #162: Ruth Pearce – How to spot the character strengths in your project team Have you thought about your strengths lately? Not your skills and talents, but the key character strengths within your personality. If you’re a project manager there’s a good chance you’re prudent and persevering, which means you like to have a plan and you don’t like to give up. Ruth Pearce believes the key to building strong teams full of motivated people is for leaders to study their own...

Podcast Episode #161: Julia Steel – Getting buy-in from stakeholders You’ve got project approval, you’ve got a sponsor, your stakeholders have turned up to the first meeting – but do you have real buy-in? When experienced program director and program manager Julia Steel decided to write a book to help project managers she took a long, hard look at the good projects she’d managed, and then the not-so-good ones. She found the difference always came down to the people involved in the project...