Project leaders today are being asked to deliver more with fewer resources, tighter timelines, shifting priorities, and rising expectations. Many teams are dealing with stress, change fatigue, unclear direction, and pressure to produce results fast. In this high-energy keynote, Saby Waraich shares a practical leadership approach to help project professionals move from SCARE (Stress, Chaos, Anxiety, Resistance to Change, and Ego) to CARES leadership. Through real-world stories from complex digital transformation efforts, cybersecurity incidents, public sector projects, and leadership moments under pressure, Saby will show how project leaders can create clarity, build trust, stay calm, and deliver impact even when the path keeps changing.
Saturday September 26, 2026 9:15am - 10:15am MST Arizona Ballroom
This session explores how artificial intelligence can support project risk identification and improve the selection of project management approaches. Drawing on findings from a design science-based case study, the session demonstrates how AI-driven decision support can enhance transparency, reduce subjective bias, and improve strategic alignment during project planning. Participants will gain practical insights into integrating risk assessment with the selection of predictive, adaptive, and hybrid project management approaches to improve project outcomes.
Successful transformation requires more than delivering projects on time. It requires a people-centered approach that drives adoption and lasting change. This session explores how Organizational Change Management (OCM) and Project Management work together to improve employee engagement, align change and project plans, optimize resources, and ensure initiatives are not only delivered successfully but embraced across the organization.
Many project managers are expected to lead teams without formal authority. This session explores how PMs can build trust, influence stakeholders, and deliver results through intentional leadership behaviors. Drawing on real-world experience and psychological safety principles, participants will gain an understanding of how to foster open communication, establish credibility, and lead confidently, regardless of title or tenure.
Change-makers generate powerful ideas for improving products, processes, and organizations, yet many stall when asked for a project plan. This session introduces a battle-tested framework for building a credible, leadership-ready plan in four hours, with no software required. Using a real cost-reduction program as a live example, you will integrate scope, milestones, risks, costs, and assumptions into one compelling document that is rigorous enough for executives and fast enough to actually complete. Walk in skeptical. Walk out with a repeatable framework.
What do you do when priorities shift mid-project, a key stakeholder changes course, and your AI tools are confidently wrong? As the delivery landscape changes, project leaders are expected to blend Agile, Hybrid, and AI-enabled practices to keep delivering impact. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore realistic project scenarios where priorities shift, stakeholders evolve, and technology influences decision-making. Through simulations, collaborative exercises, and practical discussions, attendees will learn how to select and adapt delivery approaches, leverage AI responsibly, and strengthen stakeholder engagement to achieve successful outcomes in rapidly changing environments.
Race against the clock in this immersive team-building session! A simulated ransomware attack has compromised state project files, and only your core project management instincts can save them. Teams must collaborate to analyze a corrupted WBS, RACI matrix, Kanban board, and Gantt chart to find the system override code. Put your PMBOK knowledge to the test, master workflow constraints, and discover how strong governance prevents real-world chaos.
Influence is how project managers move teams toward outcomes, and it is not built by nailing your big moment. People trust patterns they experience over time: how you communicate under pressure, clarify ambiguity, and respond when priorities collide. People do not trust isolated performances. They trust patterns. In project environments where authority is limited, uncertainty is constant, and pressure is normal, those patterns quietly become your reputation long before you realize they are being observed.
Enterprise transformation is not primarily a technology challenge. It is a leadership challenge involving trust, continuity, and difficult trade-offs. Drawing on two multi-year modernization journeys, this session explores how project leaders can preserve essential operations while introducing automation, integrated workflows, and modern delivery practices. Attendees will learn how successful transformation depends on sequencing change, building stakeholder confidence, governing complexity, and connecting technical decisions to meaningful organizational impact.
Rolling out a new timekeeping system across a city government is more than a technology implementation. It is an organizational change effort that affects employees, supervisors, payroll processes, compliance, and daily operations across many departments with unique requirements (Police, Fire, Library, Planning & Development, IT, Finance, and more). This session is a real-world project story that demonstrates how change management practices were applied from day one to support the implementation of a new timekeeping system for the City of Glendale.
This session explores the successful implementation of an Enterprise LLM, such as ChatGPT Enterprise, within a fast-paced organization. Using a real-world collaboration between PassionIT Group and a multi-million dollar entertainment organization, the presenters will highlight how effective training, project management, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning supported enterprise AI adoption. Attendees will learn how organizations can prepare employees to use AI responsibly, align business and IT objectives, manage implementation risks, and drive user adoption across diverse teams. The session concludes with key lessons learned, practical recommendations for implementing enterprise AI, and insights into the critical role project managers play in leading successful technology adoption initiatives.
