Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

If someone looked at your calendar for the last two weeks, would they see a business leader or a high-priced administrative assistant?

You tell everyone you’re strategic. You say you’re focused on value. But if your day is packed wall to wall with status updates, meeting invites, and data chasing, your calendar is telling a different story. It’s telling your organization that you are in the weeds, you’re overwhelmed, and you aren’t available for the strategic conversations that actually move the needle.

In this episode, we talk about the "Time Audit." I share a story about a colleague who mastered the "Power Hour" and why most PMO leaders are doing $15 an hour work while receiving a $50 an hour paycheck. It is time to stop proving you can do everything and start showing you know what to prioritize.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to conduct a real time audit to identify your leadership leaks
• The math behind why "comfort work" is threatening your strategic value perception
• Why no one ever got promoted for being excellent at Excel
• How to reclaim your "Power Hour" to focus on strategy before execution

▶ Press ️play to learn how to audit your time and shift your focus back to where it belongs: on strategy, alignment, and driving business IMPACT.

P.S. Looking for more guidance on how to build your strategic value as a PMO, transformation, or strategy delivery leader? The IMPACT Engine System helps leadership teams shift from reactive oversight to outcome ownership with the strategic alignment and clarity they need. Learn more and get started today!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working

Is your PMO measured by how tightly it controls process and compliance, or by how much it actually contributes to the bottom line?

Old school PMOs were built for predictability, documentation, and control. In a business landscape that moves this fast, that model has a shelf life. The real divide today is control versus contribution. The PMOs that adapt faster deliver outcomes sooner, earn stakeholder trust, and prove their value with data.

In this episode, I have an incredible conversation with Youssef Mouzahem, Senior Associate Director of Commercial and Contracts at Jacobs. We dig into how you can evolve your PMO from enforcing processes to driving real business value.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why traditional PMOs are losing relevance and exactly what is replacing them
• How to balance structure with speed through adaptive governance
• The critical role of predictive analytics in proving business value to executives
• How to move your PMO from compliance driven to results driven
• The first steps to diagnose your PMO’s maturity and start building your roadmap

▶ Press ️play to learn how to shift your PMO from process-heavy control to an agile, data-driven engine of measurable business value.

Connect with Youssef Mouzahem:

Follow Youssef on LinkedIn

Learn More About Jacobs

P.S. The IMPACT Engine System helps leadership teams shift from reactive oversight to outcome ownership with the strategic alignment and clarity they need. Learn more and get started today!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

85% of managers are accidental managers; promoted without preparation. So how do you uncover blind spots, strengthen psychological safety, and lead with clarity?

Ben Perreau, CEO of Parafoil, combines AI and behavioral science to help managers become stronger leaders. Discover why traditional leadership development fails PMO leaders and how leadership intelligence offers a practical approach to continuous growth through real-time feedback.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why 85% of managers feel unprepared for leadership
• Blind spots AI helps you spot in real time
• How AI-powered feedback differs from traditional coaching
• The single most important feedback ritual every leader needs to put in place
• Why your superpower isn't in fixing weaknesses; it's in building on your strengths

Press ▶️ play above to discover how leadership intelligence can transform the way you lead your team.

Connect with Ben

Email the Parafoil team

Connect on LinkedIn

P.S. Want to move from accidental manager to strategic leader? The IMPACT Engine System gives you the framework to uncover your blind spots, build team trust, and lead with confidence. Learn more and register here.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

You know that feeling when you're working incredibly hard, but executives still ask, "What is the PMO actually doing?"

It's frustrating. You're drowning in meetings, status reports, dashboards, and escalations. So much motion, yet stakeholders still don't see your value.

The problem isn't your effort. It's clarity.

In this episode, I'm sharing three deceptively simple questions that change everything about how you're perceived as a PMO or transformation leader. These questions are the difference between being seen as someone who tracks work and being seen as someone who drives business outcomes.

When you consistently ask these questions, you stop sounding like an order taker and start sounding like a strategist. You move from execution to intent. From activity to IMPACT.

What you'll learn:

• How to reframe your work in business terms that resonate with executives
• Why "because leadership asked for it" is a red flag for misalignment
• The fastest way to build credibility by reporting IMPACT instead of progress
• How these three questions anchor directly into the IMPACT Engine System
• How to transform your PMO from a reporting function to a support partner

👉 Press play to discover how three simple questions can elevate your entire approach to PMO leadership.

P.S. If you're ready to become the strategy navigator your business needs, the IMPACT Engine Practitioner Certification gives you the coaching, tools, and step-by-step framework to make it happen. This live online workshop runs for four half-day sessions: February 11-12 and 18-19, 2026. Learn more and register now!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

There’s a moment I see over and over again with PMO leaders.

You’re working hard.

You’re doing what you were taught.

You’re tracking delivery, building governance, reporting status, and trying to “earn” credibility.

And yet…you’re still stuck.

Still being pulled into admin work.

Still left out of strategy conversations.

Still wondering why leadership doesn’t see you as a true partner.

In this episode of the PMO Strategies podcast, I’m sharing 10 things PMO leaders need to know, but probably don’t.

Not because you’re not capable. Not because you’re doing it wrong. But because most PMO leaders were never taught what actually builds credibility, trust, and influence at the leadership level.

What you’ll learn:

• Why being busy doesn’t equal being strategic
• The difference between project delivery and strategy delivery
• Why confidence comes from structure, not having all the answers
• How reporting activity erodes credibility while outcomes build trust
• What PMO leaders must stop doing if they want a seat at the table

🎧 Click play now to rethink what it really means to lead a PMO.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen

Have you ever spent weeks crafting the "perfect" PMO charter, got executive sign-off, and then watched it collect dust while stakeholders still questioned your value?

Here's what nobody tells you: You don't need a charter. Not first. Not yet. And maybe not at all.

In this episode, I'm calling out the biggest myth in PMO establishment—that you need a formal charter to be legitimate.

Spoiler alert: Projects need charters. But if you're building a strategic function? You need something completely different.

Here's what you'll discover:

• Why charters are strategy in a vacuum (and how that backfires)
• The six stages of the IMPACT Engine System™ that successful PMOs follow
• How to build trust and credibility BEFORE you define your structure
• Why you need a business plan, not a charter
• The exact process for co-creating services that stakeholders actually want

Bottom line: Does the sales department have a charter? Does IT? Does Finance? No. They have business plans. Because they're built to deliver ongoing value, not temporary results.

Your PMO is no different.

Ready to stop defending promises you made too early and start building a PMO the business actually wants?

Click play to listen now and learn why the traditional charter approach sets you up for failure (it's basically strategy in a vacuum), and what successful PMOs do instead.

P.S. If you're ready to become the strategy navigator your business needs, the IMPACT Engine Practitioner Certification gives you the coaching, tools, and step-by-step framework to make it happen. This live online workshop runs for four half-day sessions: February 11-12 and 18-19, 2026. Learn more and register now!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Confidence as a PMO leader doesn’t come from having the loudest voice in the room, the most templates, or the perfect dashboard. Real confidence comes from clarity—knowing what matters, why it matters, and how the work you’re leading actually creates impact.

In this episode of the PMO Strategies podcast, I describe what confidence really looks like for PMO leaders, why so many capable leaders struggle with self-doubt, and how a trusted framework changes everything. We talk about the hidden cost of operating in reactive mode and how clarity—not hustle—is what builds confidence that lasts.

Through real-world examples and a powerful leadership story, I share how PMO leaders can stop second-guessing themselves and start leading with intention, credibility, and IMPACT.

What you’ll learn

• Why confidence is rooted in clarity, not charisma
• How operating without structure erodes leadership confidence
• Where confident PMO leaders actually get their confidence
• How a trusted framework eliminates second-guessing
• Why clarity fuels credibility and influence

🎧 Listen now to learn how to become a confident PMO leader with a roadmap you can trust.

🎯 Learn more:

If you’re ready to stop winging it and start leading with confidence, the IMPACT Engine Practitioner Certification gives you a proven framework to design, deliver, and communicate PMO value with clarity. This live online workshop runs for four half-day sessions February 11-12 and 18-19. Learn more and register today!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Hello January! New year, new PMO goals!

By now, I’m guessing you’re already dealing with a full inbox and back-to-back meetings. And just like that...the excitement you had about improving your PMO is starting to fade as the noise takes over again.

This is the point where most PMO leaders start losing the year. Not in March. Not in Q2. Right here, when urgency returns faster than intention does.

In this episode, I’m not talking about resolutions. I’m talking about structure. The kind that changes what you say yes to, what you say no to, and how you set focus before the calendar fills up.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why resolutions fail leaders and what strategic leaders do instead.

✅ How to define one leadership decision that changes how you show up.

✅ How to choose a 30-day outcome that creates visible momentum.

✅ How to align with executives and stakeholders before you deliver.

✅ A practical weekly playbook to protect focus and show progress fast.

👉 Press play to avoid starting January on autopilot. And don’t forget to download the Start Stronger worksheet so you can lock your leadership decision, set your January outcome, and build a 30-day plan that holds once the pressure ramps up.

P.S. If you missed the first session, this is your opportunity to catch it live. I’m hosting another FREE live workshop, Building a Case for a Strategy-Driven PMO, on January 15 from 11:00–12:30 pm Eastern. We’ll focus on how to diagnose what’s getting in the way, align stakeholders, and build delivery plans that create visible results. This is your chance to work through it with me in real time. 👉 Learn more and register today!

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

I’d love to know what you think and if you love it, please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast player. Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts. See you online!

Warmly,

Laura Barnard

GET NOTIFIED ABOUT NEW EPISODES | TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN | PDU REPORTING INSTRUCTIONS