Chapter News

In adherence with PMI's core values of 'Be Welcoming,' this year's Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM) for Europe was held between the 11th – 13th of April in Berlin, Germany!

The purpose of LIMs has been to develop Chapter Leaders to be effective leaders using engaging and thought-provoking conversations impacting not just today but also tomorrow and the future. This is the perfect platform for updates on PMI strategy and initiatives, along with building alignment with PMI's cultural values and behaviors. Above all, such events are a hallmark of networking and collaboration with fellow Chapter Leaders, PMI Senior leadership and the Board of Directors.

As a recent addition to the Board of Directors in the Netherlands Chapter, LIM 2024 was my first experience and with all the learning and networking that spanned across the 3 days, I value it as a memorable experience. For easy navigation through the venue and sessions, the PMI Events App offers all the right information collated, like Agenda, Event feed, Speakers, Attendees and Networking.

The three-day event kicked off with the 'Chapter Presidents Welcome Session,' followed by the 'PMI Community Members Reception,' where all the Chapter Leaders and attendees of the Europe LIM joined together to celebrate the PMI community with great local food, music, and networking opportunities.

All the sessions were judiciously planned to cover the 3 aspects of the PMI Talent Triangle, i.e., Power Skills, Business Acumen, and Ways of Working. With the help of the support staff, the Event logistics were handled seamlessly. As a first-time LIM attendee, I pre-selected my sessions in the Events App, and collectively, there were 3 sessions I found particularly engaging.

Session 1: Volunteer Journey- Opportunities to Serve PMI Global

This session was about volunteering opportunities with the PMI beyond the Chapter, including project teams, outreach committees, Board Reporting Committees, and even serving on the PMI Board of Directors. It was hosted by Gamze Karayaz, Pat Lucey, Aija Moeller, and Yuliya Zhevno and was well received by the audience willing to learn more about serving the Global community.

Session 2: Keynote with Philip Keil

This session happened to be a spotlight session by the Aircraft Pilot, which highlighted several aspects of 'Captain's syndrome,' how embracing curiosity can help avoid survival mistakes, and, most importantly, how important it is to be confident of your inner compass in critical situations. The highlight of this session remained the brevity and quality of his presentation and the connection built with the audience. Philip Keil just did it the right way!

Session 3: Academic Outreach: Tools & Resources

This joint session was jointly hosted by Agnes Versteegen from the Netherlands Chapter & Todor Todorov from the Bulgaria Chapter. The focus was on opportunities to connect and impact the future of young professionals that help get their foot in the world of the project management profession and the message was even more impactful when the team distributed a badge, 'Be the Ripple!' highlighting the PMI values at the start of the session. It was great to ideate and reflect across whiteboards to improvise upon the strategies devised by the core committee. This helped the team have a more collaborative approach to problem-solving and decision-making.

With all the buzz created around PMI's new strategy by Pierre Le Manh(CEO & President of PMI) and team, PMI NEXT remained a key focal point in several discussions.

I was fortunate to be a moderator in one such session, aligning the strategy with key initiatives taken by a team from the Denmark Chapter (Enrico Toselli), the Croatia Chapter (Franka Jakolis), the Italy Chapter(Ersilia Pagano) and of course, the Germany Chapter(Eckhard Hauenherm and Jorg Glunde). Apart from learning their modus operandi in their local regions, my key takeaways from these sessions were that 'Volunteers remain at the heart of PMI' and aligning PMI's strategy and values across the Globe is of utmost importance.

Apart from attending these knowledge-packed sessions, the Networking luncheons and informal interactions were quite instrumental in bringing together the PMI fraternity under one roof.

One of the very insightful quotes from LuAnn Piccard, "The world is your Oyster," will remain my all-time favorite.

Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin! Until the next!