Stop Searching for Talent. Start Growing It!

Have you ever sat in a meeting where executives talk about closing the talent gap as if it’s someone else’s job? 

Meanwhile, your PMO is already doing it. You’re stretching team members into new responsibilities, creating moments of influence, and giving people the opportunity to lead. But no one’s calling it leadership development. Yet. 

In this week’s episode of the PMO Strategies Podcast, leadership development strategist Dawn Mahan joins Laura Barnard to lay out how your PMO can become a real-time engine for growing future leaders. Drawing from her bestselling book Meet the Players in Projectland and decades of experience helping organizations align talent with execution, Dawn shows how to turn everyday delivery into high-impact development. 

Start with the work, not a workshop 

Leadership development doesn’t need to start in a classroom. It can begin with a project charter, a stakeholder conversation, or a team lead stepping up for the first time. 

Every role in Projectland® is a leadership opportunity, if we frame it that way. When the PMO begins to see each role as a development lab, leadership becomes a natural outcome of project delivery. The admin coordinating timelines, the SME aligning stakeholders, the sponsor learning how to champion change — these are leadership moments, not just task assignments. 

Application builds confidence, not theory 

You don’t grow leaders by handing them a workbook. You do it by handing them responsibility. 

Here are three ways your PMO can turn everyday delivery into applied leadership training: 

1. 1. Assign stretch roles, not just tasks.
      Instead of assigning repeat work, invite team members to take on something new that stretches their influence — a meeting, a communication, a decision point.
   2. Highlight great examples.
      When someone delivers a strong project charter or navigates a tough stakeholder conversation, spotlight it. Use it to teach others what “good” looks like.

   3. Create safe spaces to learn.
      Lunch and Learns, project debriefs, and informal coaching are simple ways to give people room to reflect, ask, and grow — all inside the work they’re already doing.

These actions don’t require a formal program. They just require intention. 

You don’t need more resources, just better use of the ones you have 

Smaller organizations or lean PMOs may feel they lack the scale for formal leadership programs. But the real advantage they hold is flexibility. 

Offering stretch roles, rotating people through project responsibilities, or exposing team members to sponsor-level thinking builds leadership capacity while solving real delivery needs. You’re not adding new work, you’re making the work smarter. 

Executives aren’t just buying delivery, they’re investing in people 

Right now, leadership development is on every executive’s mind. They’re worried about retention, succession, and skill gaps. 

This is your opening. 

When you position the PMO as part of the talent solution, not just the task solution, you raise your strategic relevance. You’re not just delivering outcomes. You’re growing the people who can deliver more of them.

This isn’t extra. It’s essential. 

If your PMO is already driving change, influencing outcomes, and shaping how work gets done, you are already in the leadership business. Now is the time to own it, refine it, and let others see it for what it really is. 

👉 Click play above to learn how your PMO can become the leadership engine your organization needs most. 

P.S. The IMPACT Insiders Book Club is so much more than reading a book — it’s a movement. Join us for live calls, deep conversations, and a behind-the-scenes look at how to create real change with The IMPACT Engine. It’s completely free — grab your seat now and don’t miss what’s next.