PMO Strategies

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen
Executives define strategy, but they don't always see what it takes to deliver it. That's where the PMO has a unique advantage.
In this episode, I'm sharing how PMO leaders can move beyond delivery oversight and step into the role of strategic advisor. Because the PMO sits at the intersection of strategy and execution, it sees the full portfolio of initiatives, resource constraints, and dependencies that shape whether strategy succeeds or stalls.
When leaders make decisions about new initiatives, shifting priorities, or reallocating resources, those choices affect everything already in motion. The PMO is often the only function with visibility across those interactions.
That visibility creates an opportunity.

I look at how PMO leaders can help executives understand the execution implications of their decisions, surface tradeoffs across the portfolio, and maintain focus on outcomes instead of activity.

What You'll Learn
Why the PMO's position between strategy and execution gives it unique advisory value.
How to help leaders see the portfolio IMPACT of new initiatives.
Why strategy decisions continue long after planning sessions end.
How PMOs help executives understand tradeoffs across competing initiatives.
Why strategic advising builds trust and elevates the PMO's role.

Press play to learn how PMO leaders can help executives make smarter strategic decisions and ensure strategy can actually be delivered.

P.S. International PMO Day is May 12th. Join Laura Barnard and Alexander David for a live 2.5-hour session showing how to close the gap between strategy and measurable business IMPACT.
→ Register free and get the Value Gap Assessment.
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
Mentioned in this episode:
355: The Strategy Gap Your PMO Must Close Now

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen

You have been told to “execute the strategy”, But does your organization even has one? If strategy looks like a list of competing priorities, you are not the problem.

In this episode, I’m talking about how PMO leaders can support strategic planning. Strategy belongs to executive leadership. PMOs can facilitate the process that creates plans people can actually act on. That means addressing the elephant in the room: What matters most? What should we stop doing? What has to happen first?

What You’ll Learn:
• How to move the conversation from project lists to outcomes.
• Why PMOs are natural planning facilitators.
• How organizational visibility improves prioritization.
• The questions leaders must answer before strategy becomes execution.
This also ties directly to the strategy lifecycle I teach inside The IMPACT Engine Book. Strategy moves through definition, translation, execution, and realization. Today’s focus is the beginning, where clarity is built before delivery starts.

Press play to hear how PMO leaders can guide strategic planning conversations, help executives prioritize what matters most, and translate strategy into work the organization can actually deliver.

P.S. Celebrate and Elevate the PMO with International PMO Day. This special event celebrates PMO leaders who make an IMPACT and earn their seat at the table by solving real PMO challenges. I see you. This event is for you. Learn more about IPMO day 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
Mentioned in this episode:
355: The Strategy Gap Your PMO Must Close Now

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!
PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working
Meetings aren’t the enemy. Dependency is.
In this episode, I address a problem many PMO and transformation leaders quietly create: operating models where nothing moves unless everyone gathers in a room. Meetings are part of leadership. Alignment, tradeoffs, escalation, and decisions often require conversation.
But when calendars become the operating model, execution suffers.
If your team spends all day in meetings and all night doing the real work, that’s not a productivity issue. It’s a system design issue.
Key Takeaways:
Why meeting saturation signals weak governance design.
How undefined decision rights create calendar dependency.
The difference between decision-driven meetings and status theater.
Why execution shifts to nights and weekends in over-scheduled cultures.
How to redesign your environment so meetings produce leverage

A portfolio review that makes no prioritization decisions isn’t governance. It’s performance.
👉 Press play to hear your next move. When meeting them changes nothing.
P.S. If your PMO is struggling to show strategic value, positioning may be the problem. Watch the free Rescue Your PMO webinar to diagnose what’s off track. Get the exact steps to turn things around fast. 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: Ways of Working

Most PMOs acknowledge risk management. Very few actually practice it. There is a difference between logging risks and managing them, and that gap is quietly costing organizations the projects they cannot afford to lose.

In this episode of the PMO Strategies podcast, I am joined by Russ Parker, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, PMI-ACP®, owner of 44 Risk PM and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. Russ draws direct parallels between military planning discipline and how project organizations should embed real risk expertise to stop operating in perpetual crisis mode and start delivering the outcomes they were hired to produce.

Key Takeaways:
Why risk registers get created once and never revisited, and the pattern behind it
The three root causes that turn risk management into an organizational formality
How project managers accidentally become fire starters instead of fire preventers
What a Risk Management Professional actually does inside a PMO
How AI accelerates risk identification, historical analysis, and risk workshop preparation
One of the most underused tools in project management
Why positive risks are being ignored and what that costs your project delivery
Practical steps to build risk management discipline right now

Press play to discover how adding disciplined, specialized risk management to your PMO structure could be the most strategic decision you make for your project delivery outcomes this year.

Connect with Russ Parker:
Follow Russ on LinkedIn
Learn more about 44 Risk PM
Subscribe to The Bearded Risk PM on YouTube

P.S. Is your PMO seen as overhead instead of strategic? Most PMOs don't fail because of people or tools. They fail because of positioning. Watch the free Rescue Your PMO webinar to assess what's going wrong and fix it fast. 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
Failure hits differently when you lead transformation.
When governance fails to stick. When prioritization gets ignored.
When a roadmap stalls. It feels personal.

But what if it's not failure? What if it's feedback?

In this episode, I challenge the belief that setbacks are verdicts.
We reframe them as data that sharpens strategy and design.

What You'll Learn:
• Why transformation setbacks feel personal for PMO leaders
• The difference between failure thinking and feedback thinking
• How governance breakdowns expose executive misalignment
• The early career lesson that led to The IMPACT Engine
• What failing forward looks like in disciplined PMO leadership

🎧 Press play to shift from protecting credibility to strengthening your system.

P.S. Is your PMO seen as overhead instead of strategic? Most PMOs don't fail because of people or tools. They fail because of positioning. Watch the free Rescue Your PMO webinar to assess what's going wrong and fix it fast. 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