Calendar of Events

Register early to take advantage of discounted pricing! Early bird pricing ends Tuesday, March 17 at 6:00 pm. Registration for meals closes on Thursday, March 19 at 6:00 pm!

Program

5:30 – 6:30 pm
(.5 Leadership PDU)
Registration, Business Meeting, Networking and Dinner (Cash Bar)

6:30 – 7:30 pm
(1 Technical PDU)

Y’all Means All: Diversity and Inclusion Meets Project Management

This interactive workshop will open up the conversation around design thinking and project management for D&I application. I will go over how to lay the groundwork for diversity and inclusion initiatives on an individual and systemic level within a company. We will cover the benefits to D&I programs, what it can look like, and tools you can take with you and start using tomorrow to create a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone.

Learning Objectives:

1. Warm-Up: We’ll get warm for the workshop and give fellow PMs improv exercises they can easily take back to their teams for work sessions, kick-offs, client meetings, etc. Improv can be the gateway to helping us confront the shame by strengthening up our vulnerability muscles.
2. D&I Meets Project Management: No one can really do the job they showed up to do if they don’t feel safe. What does this look like? We’ll take a look at how to some self-reflection exercises and how you can get internal buy-in for inclusive initiatives.
3. Empathetic Confrontation: Now that we have some tools for identifying gaps in our safe spaces, how can we start to bring these up to match the intention vs the impact of all parties involved? We’ll walk through a three-step confrontation structure and practice in small groups.

Project Managers of all levels and industries should be able to walk away with tangible activities and tools they can use immediately. I want them to feel empowered and excited to be a more empathy-driven project leader.

Samantha Schak is a project manager by title, party planner at heart. "For the past two years, I’ve been growing at Handsome, a holistic design agency in Austin, TX, where I’ve been able to create a diversity & inclusion pilot program. The initiatives outline how we can create safer spaces at Handsome, for our clients, and for the people who interact with our digital experiences to drive innovation and delight. Outside of work I have a few passion projects. I am co-creator of “But, Have You Considered Therapy?” podcast. The mission of the podcast is to make therapy more accessible and normalize the process of seeking professional help. I am also an improv teacher and performer; I helped start improv classes for youth on the Autism spectrum called “Building Connections” at the Hideout Theater here in Austin."

7:30 – 8:30 pm
(1 Leadership PDU)

The Learning Organization: Your Key to Accelerated Results

In today’s rapidly changing world, project teams who can effectively learn together tend to be higher performing than those that focus just on execution and following process. Leaders, especially project and program managers, who create a culture of learning tend to have teams that can adjust more quickly to opportunities or threats, ultimately leading to increased happiness, greater creativity, and higher productivity.

It does take, however, a conscious effort and explicit work to establish a learning organization that enable teams to thrive. As organizations grow, many typically attempt to reduce risk by implementing increasing levels of process and controls, which can inhibit learning and stifle creativity, both of which can lead to employee disengagement. A culture that embraces experimentation and empowerment can not only be tricky to establish, but also can be challenging to maintain especially when things get stressful.

Using stories from the field, in this interactive session, attendees will learn the characteristics of learning organizations, how to set them up, and then keep them running. Furthermore, attendees will gain greater understanding of where they think their teams are in terms of establishing and sustaining a healthy learning culture especially for their projects.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand characteristics and benefits of learning organizations
2. Gain insights on how to establish and maintain a learning culture in project teams
3. Determine your teams’ readiness for learning

Steve Martin is a Principal Enterprise Agility Consultant, Coach, and Certified Scrum Scale Trainer who specializes in working with executive and management teams. He helps organizational leadership teams become more effective by applying Agile values and principles to their day-to-day leadership challenges. Steve has over 25 years’ experience, from Start-ups to Fortune 500, across multiple industries including finance, healthcare IT, medical devices, biotechnology, communications, publishing, and more. Building upon his roles as a Director/Manager and Enterprise Agile Coach in technology-based companies, Steve is pursuing his doctorate in leadership and sustained change in organizations. An active member in the PMI since 2005, Steve graduated the PMI Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC) of 2012. He has also held the role of President at PMI Mass Bay Chapter serving the Greater Boston area. Steve is an instructor for PMI Seminars World, a former adjunct professor for Northeastern University, and a frequent presenter with PMI known for his highly interactive workshops.

8:30 – 9:00 pm
Optional Networking

Questions

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