Optimizing the Human Side! Accelerating Change Adoption, Team Performance, and Executive Commitment with Thomas Luke Jarocki

What You Will Learn

Upon completion of this training, learners will be able to: 

  • Demonstrate the skills necessary to address the multitude of issues affecting stakeholder satisfaction, effective sponsorship, team performance, change adoption, and organizational value.
  • Gain greater executive support, commitment, and visibility by applying the 7 techniques proven to enhance the project sponsor/project manager relationship.
  • Engage in an innovative yet comfortable mini team building exercise that will provide the insights necessary to jump-start any project team into becoming better, stronger, and more effective.

Description

Learn how to better manage one of the most unpredictable elements of project success… people!  As many experienced project managers know, managing the unpredictability and fickle nature of stakeholders can determine the difference between success and failure. No wonder PMI states: “Stakeholder satisfaction should be managed as a key project deliverable.” After all, stakeholders can not only influence your timeline, scope, and budget, but also determine how well your team performs, how committed your sponsor is to you and your project, and influence whether or not your end-users will adopt change and actually create value for the organization. Although utilizing trendy pop psychology approaches or commercialized, yet ineffective, “change management” approaches to managing the people-side can be seductive, there are better, more effective approaches to managing the diverse needs of your numerous stakeholders.

In this dynamic and fast-paced training, we will tackle all the needs surrounding how to plan for, and better manage, the human side of projects. We will use proven processes, rigor, and structure rather than opinion, conjecture, or casual discussion in dealing with stakeholders. Whether we are negotiating with “less than ideal” project sponsors, challenging team members, or resistant end-users, this course will offer clear and practical solutions for planning, managing, and mitigating the human side of projects.

AGENDA

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    • Introduction
      • The Story of the Quarry Man and the Vision
      • Why Everything Comes Down to How Well You Manage the Human Side of Projects
      • Housekeeping, Introductions, and PDUs
      • The Creation of Project Value
      • Why PMI Is Increasing Its Attention on the Importance of Managing the “Human Side”
      • Who Are the Stakeholders That Are Most Critical to You?
    • Utilizing Project Management Principles for Managing Large Groups of Stakeholders
      • Utilizing Project Risk Management to Identify and Mitigate Human-Factor Risks
      • Incorporating Behavioral Change Management and Other Human-Factor Activities Into the Project Scope 
      • How Company Norms and Culture Affect Project Time, Scope, and Budget
      • Utilizing Procurement and RFP Processes to Gather Human-Factor Insights and Solutions
    • Augmenting Project Management Processes to Better Manage Individuals and Small Groups
      • Why Stakeholder Management Plans Actually Need Three Distinct Objectives
      • Building Strong and Visible Project Sponsorship
        • Defining the role of the sponsor
        • Working with the ultimate power couple—improving the project sponsor/project manager relationship
        • Developing leadership action plans (LAPs)
      • Building and Managing a High-Performing Team
        • Developing and setting the right expectations
        • Selecting and developing project team members: Who you want versus who you actually get
        • Using the four-step approach for managing conflicts
        • Dealing with difficult individuals
      • Accelerating Change Adoption and Utilization of Project Outputs and Deliverables
        • Understanding the importance of change adoption
        • Understanding the three main concepts behind change adoption
        • Using techniques for developing the right user adoption for you (hint: it is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach)
    • A “Next-Generation” Approach to Project Communications Management
      • Key Differences Between Managing Internal and External Communications Needs
      • Developing a Communications Management Plan That Reflects Stakeholder Needs
      • Thinking Beyond Emails and Typical Microsoft PowerPoint Slides
    • The Project Resource Management/Project Quality Metric Connection
      • Tips for Determining When to Do It Yourself Versus When to Outsource
      • Metrics for Evaluating the Human Side
        • Stakeholder satisfaction
        • Training plan effectiveness
        • User adoption rates
    • Integrating Project Management, Stakeholder Engagement, and Organizational Change Management
      • Bringing It All Together—Augmenting Project Management With Change Management 
      • Stakeholder Management Review and Summary
    • Wrap-up
      • Where to Go From Here and Additional Resources
      • PDU Credit
      • Stay in Touch and Safe Travels! 
      • Conclusion: The Story of the Quarry Man and the Vision

This training provided a true connection between PMBOK concepts and real-world applications, not necessarily technical area (example: soft skills area when working with people).

The instructor was knowledgeable and engaging. The content is easy to follow along with practical exercises and examples (case studies).

PDU Allocation Table

The table below displays the number of professional development units (PDUs) awarded for each PMI® credential, as they align to the PMI Talent Triangle®. Power Skills and Business Acumen PDUs apply evenly across all credentials and Ways of Working PDUs apply only to specific credentials. PDUs will be added in full to all eligible credentials. *Please note that the asterisked row below applies to the PMI® Agile Certification Journey and includes Disciplined Agile® Scrum Master (DASM), Disciplined Agile® Senior Scrum Master (DASSM), Disciplined Agile® Coach (DAC), and Disciplined Agile® Value Stream Consultant (DAVSC) certifications.
Ways of Working Power Skills Business Acumen Total
CAPM® / PMI-CP™ / PMP® / PgMP® 0 5 2 7.00
PMI-ACP® / Agile* 0 5 2 7.00
PMI-SP® 0 5 2 7.00
PMI-RMP® 0 5 2 7.00
PfMP® 0 5 2 7.00
PMI-PBA® 0 5 2 7.00
Ways of Working Power Skills Business Acument Talent Triangle

Instructor(s)

Thomas

Thomas Luke Jarocki

Thomas Luke Jarocki, managing director of consulting and training for Emergence One International, is an internationally recognized expert, author, and thought-leader when it comes to integrating project management expertise with organizational change management proficiency. A frequent and popular presenter with PMI audiences worldwide, Thomas has logged nearly 25,000 hours working with various project teams across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. His influential, practical approaches to managing people, projects, and change have been recognized and embraced by corporate leaders, professional organizations, government agencies, and project professionals worldwide.

Thomas was the lead architect of the innovative “E1 Method for Change Leadership and Project Execution” which incorporates organizational change and behavioral science components into the project planning, execution, and continuous improvements life cycles. This breakthrough approach that unifies the project management/change management disciplines is now in place at hundreds of organizations around the globe.Thomas holds an advanced degree in organizational behavior from Columbia University and served on the faculty of the University of Maryland. Clients have included Apple, Motorola, Chevron, McDonalds, HP, McKesson, Plantronics, Cisco, DIRECTV, PepsiCo, and Microsoft.

Training Information

PDUs
7
Level
Intermediate
Date
20 October 2025
Start Time
9:00 AM
Length
1 Day

Price

Member Price
US$881.00
(US$837.00 before 25 August)
Nonmember Price
US$1326.00
(US$1260.00 before 25 August)
Government Price
US$797.00
Student Price
US$383.00

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