A High-IMPACT Experience

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Changing the game, accelerating the results.

Your next event isn’t just an opportunity to make an impression; it’s a chance to help your guests make an IMPACT. No one knows this better than Laura, Founder and CEO of PMO Strategies, who brings over 25 years of experience conquering the same challenges your attendees face today — and teaching other business leaders to do the same. Whether your event is designed for project managers or executives, Laura’s inspiring, entertaining, and actionable speeches offer the answers your audience seeks as well as the lessons they didn’t even know they needed to learn.

Built on the 25 years she’s spent navigating her own leadership journey, Laura’s battle-tested framework can help transform your attendees’ mindset, maximize their IMPACT, and deliver game-changing results. And the best part? With Laura at the mic, your audience is in for an experience that’s as applicable as it is fun.

An Option for Every Event

From keynote addresses to interactive workshops, professional development symposiums, global education webinars, and corporate functions, Laura is selected to speak at events of all sizes and styles that match every client’s needs and budget. Not sure what you’re looking for? Click here to tell us about your event, and we’ll find a speaking package that fits.

Events for PMO and Project Leaders

Hosting an event for PMO leaders or project managers looking to earn their seat at the table? These days, it’s not enough for a PMO or project leader to simply be good at their job to establish their rightful place on the company chessboard — they need to be great at making an IMPACT.

That’s where Laura comes in. By sharing her actionable insights and secrets to sustainable success, Laura will give your attendees the tools to drive undeniable business value through high-IMPACT outcomes, inspire your audience to elevate their collective role, and above all: ensure your event is one to remember.

Events for Executives

Did you know that 61% of executives today struggle to deliver on their strategy and achieve the intended business outcomes? More than half of strategies fail. This striking stat means that when planning your next event, finding a thought leader who routinely helps executives bridge the strategy-execution gap — and in turn, maximize their ROI — could be a game-changer.

As an expert on building balanced business outcomes, Laura provides critical insights and the missing link your guests need to empower their employees to become independent IMPACT-drivers in their own right — so the results they deliver are sustainable and anything but ordinary.

Meet Laura Barnard, PMP, PROSCI, CAL

2021 World PMO Influencer of the Year

Keynote Speaker
Trainer & Consultant

Host: PMO Strategies Podcast

Co-Founder: PM for Change

Host: IMPACT Summit

Founder and CEO of PMO Strategies

When Laura founded PMO Strategies in 2013, she did so with one goal in mind: To arm other business leaders with the guidance she wished she had when she was in their shoes. Having spent 15 years as a PMO leader herself beginning in 1999, Laura knows just how hard it can be to create effective, sustainable change in business. That’s why she spends her days helping organizations maximize their ROI by unleashing the full power of project management — and why she’s so passionate about bringing PMOs to the strategy table once and for all.

Over her time in the industry, Laura has developed a distinct, battle-tested system for advancing organizational project management proficiency with a deliberate focus on driving high-IMPACT outcomes. Fittingly, she’s been recognized as a top global PMO influencer by the PMO Global Alliance for two years running, winning the Global PMO Influencer of the Year in 2021, a designation she’s earned in part by sharing her stories on the popular PMO Strategies Podcast and as host of the longest-running PMO-specific virtual conference, the PMO IMPACT Summit, where she’s shaking up the way the industry views the PMO’s role in delivering strategy.

Ready to accelerate your IMPACT?

Ignite a fire within your audience members and employees to drive the business agility and organizational transformation necessary to thrive now and into the future.

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

VIRTUAL EVENTS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Speaking Topics

With so many advancements in automation, artificial intelligence, Agile, product management, and an emphasis on lean practices that seem to change overnight, one may wonder where the PMO fits into the future of organizational strategy delivery. In this session, we will look at what the future holds for the PMO and project management, what practices will fade away, and how to go from survival mode to thriving in a future that is already upon us. We’ll explore how to position yourself as a strategic business partner as your organization shifts to respond to everything from market changes to a post-pandemic economy and exactly what to do to earn your seat at the table in driving greater IMPACT for every project in your organization.

In today’s fast-paced, results-driven world, it’s not enough to define your PMO success by on time and on budget — you need to be great at making an IMPACT. The truth is, if it’s not clear how you’re maximizing your company’s return on their investment, your role might be (incorrectly) labeled administrative overhead and they’ll start working around you to get projects done. In this session, you’ll discover how to drive measurable business value quickly — so there’s no denying the clear-cut advantage you bring to the team. You’ll walk away with the road map you need to position the PMO as the strategic business asset necessary to lead your organization into the future and earn your seat at the table for good.

Business leaders have been struggling forever to close the gap between strategy definition and strategy delivery and all along the answer has been right in front of them in the form of the PMO.

In this session, you’ll discover where your PMO should focus efforts to ensure that every project achieves the highest possible return on investment for the organization’s strategy and how doing so makes your PMO the most important asset the company has for achieving high-value outcomes for their strategy.

Top PMO global influencer, Laura Barnard, will show you why what you’re doing today only addresses part of the challenge and the places you haven’t been looking that provide even more value for the organization. Let’s get you a seat at the table today.

Audience: Project Managers and PMO Leaders

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management)

Can you point to exactly how your PMO and project teams are adding value to the organization? If you asked your stakeholders, would they say they can’t function without you, or do you find yourself wondering why they don’t “get it”?

It’s not enough to say that projects are on time and on budget. In fact, you might be surprised to learn this isn’t even at the top of their list! Before your leaders start wondering if they need you, arm yourself with the key metrics that make it abundantly clear how your team contributes to the bottom line. Hint: It’s not EVM.

In this session, top PMO global influencer, Laura Barnard, will show you the places you might not be looking that offer the most opportunity for value creation in the eyes of your stakeholders and learn how to talk about it in a way that has them begging for more!

Audience: PMO leaders and Executives

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management), Power Skills (Leadership)
Accelerate your PMO IMPACT and earn your seat at the table.
Whether you’re starting a PMO for the first time, trying to get your PMO back on track, or just want to ensure that your PMO driving as much value as possible, this training will get right to the heart of what really makes a difference in the eyes of your business leaders, where to focus YOUR energy for the best results, and how to accelerate your PMO performance. ​

You’ll learn the step-by-step system that has been developed through more than 25 years of Laura’s real-world experience as a PMO leader, and then as a consultant, trainer, and coach. We’ll explore why the typical guidance is not serving you or your PMO and what techniques driver greater results with less headache. We have used this system to transform the careers of hundreds of PMO leaders, enabling them to become an invaluable strategic asset that business leaders are fighting over.

This is a must-attend topic for anyone serious about ensuring their PMO receives the necessary support to THRIVE not just survive.

Audience: Anyone in leadership from the C-suite to project managers        

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management), Power Skills (Leadership)

Chaos is nothing new to project leaders that have been at the center of it all for decades. But managing change is even more challenging when uncertainty is compounded, and directives are switching regularly. From a global pandemic to ever-changing market shifts, and constant instability, project managers are key strategic assets that business leaders will come to rely on to guide them into an uncertain future while ensuring that the organization’s strategy is delivered despite a changing landscape. This demand requires project leaders to shed the traditional project management role and shift gears toward a more agile and nimble operating model that accelerates IMPACT on every project while harnessing the power of a digital future offering endless possibilities.

In this session, top PMO global influencer, Laura Barnard, will share her IMPACT Driver roadmap for a professional tune-up that will help you lead your projects and teams to drive stronger project outcomes across the organization.

Audience: Anyone in leadership from the C-suite to project managers trying to deliver results

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management), Power Skills (Leadership) and Ways of Working (Technical) Project Management

Having trouble getting changes done in your organization? Struggling to get the team to understand the value or properly motivating those that should already care?

How can you bring people along with this change and arm them with the skills they need to help you along this change journey? Is it really possible to make the change happen even in difficult and change resistant cultures? These questions plague all of us as we begin to take on the daunting challenge of driving real change in an organization. The good news is that there are some simple steps that you can take to give yourself and your change initiative the best possible opportunity for success! You will walk away from this presentation with specific techniques you can apply immediately to make your change stick!

Audience: Anyone in leadership from the C-suite to project managers          

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management), Power Skills (Leadership) and Ways of Working (Technical) Project Management

Short

Frustrated because your stakeholders aren’t focused on the right information? Are their decisions taking forever? This session shows you a very practical tool and set of techniques for focusing your team (and sponsor) on the information they need to make educated and informed decisions so you can ALL get back to what you do best, which is to Get. It. Done. It IS possible to get that project done right, the first time … and fast!

Each participant leaves with access to the popular one-page tool to Get. It. Done. on their projects the next day!

Long

How many times have you facilitated a meeting and watched executives spend too much time on irrelevant details? Your meeting is over and no decisions were made to keep your project moving! Ugh. Bad news … we do it to ourselves! You gave them MORE information than needed and distracted them from the actions and decisions vital to move the project forward.

Reporting should be simple and information sharing straightforward. This one-page executive dashboard can be used for a single project for an entire portfolio of projects. The key to an effective report is to give executives the information they need to make educated and informed decisions … then STOP! Don’t provide too much information and ensure the information you do share leads to necessary decisions and actions. Tell them what they need to know and do, enabling you and your project to move toward completion. Then you can get back to what you do best, which is to Get. It. Done.

Each participant leaves with access to the popular one-page tool to Get. It. Done. on their projects the next day!

Audience: Project Managers

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen (Strategic and Business Management), Power Skills (Leadership) and Ways of Working (Technical) Project Management

Short

Having trouble getting your sponsor to engage? Learn how to leverage the best tools and techniques to turn your sponsor into a rock star champion for your project!

Long

Having trouble getting your sponsor to focus on your project? Did their engagement end when the charter was signed? What!? They didn’t even read the charter?

If you want to improve your sponsor relationship and get exactly what you need from them to keep you project moving forward, this webinar was built for you. Unfortunately, most sponsors don’t understand what is expected of them. Why would they? We haven’t told them, yet!

We start with a sponsor assessment to help you evaluate the kind of sponsor you have for your project. That is key to understanding what comes next. Then, we apply a sponsor management process and various techniques and tools to help you focus your sponsor on precisely what they need to know, help them understand what is expected of them throughout the project lifecycle, and how they can support you through the process of managing a project. Happy and engaged sponsor = happy project manager! Join us if you want to learn the secrets to sponsor engagement and how to master the most critical component of any change success.

In the Words of Our Clients…

Recently attended the PMI Symposium at UMD and heard your great presentation. Looking forward to more “sage wisdom” and hearing you at future PMI events.

Mack James, Program Manager

Today I had the opportunity to hear Laura for the 3rd time. Each time, I am able to apply her methodology to my every day work collaboration. Wearing her “M” hat, Laura spoke to the importance of applying the value and benefits to track program performance measures. I found this very beneficial to how we align our core values to meet our business objective and the expectations of our client. If you are ever interest to learn more about IMPACT by Laura, I strongly recommend you contact her directly. Very very informative. Thx Laura

Eric Perlstein, PMP, PMI-ACP / RMP, Past President, PMI Baltimore

One thing that stuck with me is a statement she made that as PMs we have a fiduciary responsibility to deliver. We are the owners of delivery.

Pavan Goteti, Senior Project Manager

We had the pleasure of seeing Laura, the keynote speaker, and really enjoyed her message about PMOs and the organization and building those out and the value they bring to companies. We will take that back and implement it.

Trevor Kooker, Senior Project Manager

We had the privilege of having Laura Barnard as one of our keynote speakers. She did an amazing job and what she brought to us was very enlightening. The tools she is making available to our members will be invaluable and we really appreciate her contribution to the PMI Professional Development Day.

Candi Banghart, VP Programs

Laura is great speaker and her passion for Project Management is infectious, she is charismatic and knowledgeable, both qualities that have serve her well. Her keynote presentation at the PMI Baltimore Professional Development Event 2018 was extremely well received with a high rating of 4.9 by the attendees.

Sapna Linus, MBA, PMP, PMI Chapter Board Member

Laura spoke at our PMI Washington D.C. George Washington University local community meeting and we had record attendance. Her presentation was clear and organized and her delivery was warm and engaging. In addition to being an excellent speaker and pulling in the audience with lively antidotes, her content was “spot on” and the attendees left the presentation commenting that their time was well spent and that they would use the various tips in their work as a PM.

Melanie Fiore, PMP, BRMP, Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, Project and Portfolio Manager at The George Washington University Division of Information Technology, Your Content Goes Here

Being deeply competent and a dazzling communicator does not often show up in the same person. Yet Laura Barnard is that person! I had the opportunity to speak at the same conference as Laura recently and I was so impressed with her ability to keep the audience completely engaged throughout the entire keynote. “Impact” is not just clever branding for Laura–it’s who she is. It drives everything she writes and speaks about and that’s why she’s in such demand. If you’re looking for an engaging keynoter for an upcoming chapter or company meeting, give Laura a call!

Andy Kaufman, PMP, Project Management & Leadership Keynote Speaker, Author, & Coach

Laura Barnard, PMP gave an excellent opening keynote speech for the 5th annual Baltimore PMI chapter Professional Development Event on Friday morning. Her high energy presentation “From Project Manager to IMPACT Driver: Preparing for the Future of Project Management” was exactly what a few hundred project managers needed to get us jazzed up about what a difference we can make in the world around us. Thank you Laura, for everything you give back to the profession and the wider community. Barbara Harper, PMP

Barbara Harper, PMP, CDA, CBAP, Director, PMI Baltimore Chapter

Laura Barnard has been one of Project Management for Today’s most valuable Contributing Authors / Speakers since 2018. In each Speaking Engagement / Article Laura has helped our readers by clearly articulating the ways for Project Managers / PMO leaders to provide an immediate strategic impact on their organizations. As a result of following her recommendations, Laura’s readers will find their services in demand as their skill in collaboration and cultivating immediate strategic results for their organization grows. I would encourage Project Managers / PMO Leaders to seek out Laura’s recommendations as they seek to increase the value they are able to provide for their organizations.

Karl Hallgrimsson, Operations, Intake, & Portfolio Manager at TTEC

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