Agile Ideas

What happens when a journalist accidentally lands in project management — and discovers the same skills that drive powerful storytelling also drive successful delivery?

In this thoughtful and honest episode, Fatimah is joined by Eva Pareja, Integrated Project Manager, communicator, and multicultural marketing specialist, whose career journey spans journalism, media, advertising, public relations, and nearly 30 years of cross-f...

What if governance isn’t slowing your projects down—but the very thing protecting them from failure?

In this powerful episode, Fatimah is joined by Ross Garland, President of P3GQA and global expert in Project, Programme and Portfolio Governance (P3 governance), to unpack why so many delivery challenges have less to do with project management—and more to do with how organisations design governance.

With over 25 year...

In this special episode, we explore a challenge many regulated organisations face but rarely articulate clearly: why regulatory programs often struggle long after approval has been secured.

Most regulatory initiatives don’t fail because the obligations were misunderstood. They fail because the delivery model was never designed to operate sustainably once the program transitions into business-as-usual.

Using AFSL regulatory prog...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #7

Organisations invest heavily in Target Operating Model (TOM) design.

New structures are defined. Governance is redesigned. Processes are mapped. So why do so many of the same problems still remain?

In this final episode of Capability Unboxed, Fatimah Abbouchi explores why operating model redesign often fails to deliver real change — and why the missing piece is capability clar...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #6

Organisations invest heavily in compliance frameworks, policies, and controls. So why do regulatory failures keep happening?

In this episode of Capability Unboxed, Fatimah Abbouchi explores a critical but often overlooked truth: compliance doesn’t fail because of poor documentation — it fails because of weak underlying capability.

Across reulated industries, organisation...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #5

Capabilities don’t sit neatly inside org charts. But accountability still needs to.

In this episode of Capability Unboxed, Fatimah Abbouchi tackles one of the most avoided leadership questions: who actually owns a capability?

Because capabilities cut across teams, functions, and governance layers, ownership rarely sits in one place. And when it isn’t clearly defined, coo...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #4

Strategy isn’t usually the problem. Execution is. And more often than not, the real issue isn’t poor intent — it’s fragmented capability.

In this third episode of our Capability Unboxed mini-series, Fatimah Abbouchi explores why well-written strategies still falter once they hit operational reality. From digital transformation to customer-first initiatives, ...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #3

Ever heard someone say, “We don’t have the capability,” when what they really meant was, “We don’t have the person”?

In this episode of Capability Unboxed, Fatimah Abbouchi tackles one of the most persistent structural mistakes in organisations: equating capability with headcount. It sounds harmless — but it quietly fractures delivery, infl...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series (powered by CIAB+) #2

Most organisations plan for capacity and assume capability. And that’s exactly where things start to break.

In this punchy second episode of our Capability Unboxed mini-series, Fatimah Abbouchi unpacks one of the most common – and costly – misconceptions in planning: the belief that headcount equals capability.

She draws a sharp line between the two:

• Capacity te...

Capability Unboxed Mini Series – Powered by CIAB+ | Part 1

We use the word capability constantly, in pitch decks, strategy docs, PMO reviews, but rarely pause to define what it actually means. And when organisations assume it just means skills or headcount, that’s when delivery starts to stall and decisions get stuck.

In the first episode of our Capability Unboxed mini series, we slow things right down to unpack what capa...

Jump back in with Matt Draugun!

Join us in this insightful episode as we sit down with Matt Dragun, a seasoned change leader with over 18 years of experience in overseeing transformational projects across the globe. Matt, a self-proclaimed change geek, shares his unique perspective on change leadership and the key ingredients for delivering successful transformation programs and genuine business outcomes. 

Having worked with maj...

Dive back in with Martin Cooperwaite!

Martin Cooperwaite, co-founder of Kiandra, takes us from his early days of coding adventure games as a kid to leading one of Australia’s top software companies. Inspired by his dad’s source code books, Martin’s passion for tech evolved from childhood tinkering to co-founding Kiandra with a friend in 1995, starting with local projects and growing into a global digital transforma...

Dive back in with this insightful episode!

Ever wondered how to transform your PMO into a strategic powerhouse? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Laura Barnard, a trailblazer in integrating PMOs and project management with organisational strategy. Laura shares her extensive experience working with industry giants like JP Morgan, LinkedIn, IBM, and Amazon. 

Reflecting on the evolution of PMOs from the chaotic early do...

What does it take to run a global virtual conference with 1,000+ attendees, 75+ volunteers, live translation, and zero paywalls?

In this behind-the-scenes episode, Fatimah Abbouchi (Founder & CEO of AMO) is joined by her co-founder of The PMO Leader community, Joe Pusz—better known as PMO Joe—to unpack how a grassroots movement became a global platform for PMO leadership, learning, and real delivery outcomes.

Together...

The pace of change has outgrown old PMO playbooks—so it’s time for a new one. In this future-focused episode, we unpack five key trends reshaping the PMO by 2026 and share practical ways to shift from performative reporting to real value delivery.

We explore what it means to reframe the PMO as a capability architect—moving the conversation from headcount to a heat-mapped view of people, process, tools, and decision...

When decisions stall, frameworks bloat, and teams start spinning—it’s not always a process problem. It’s often a capability gap.

In this practical and insight-rich episode, I reframe how real delivery capability gets built—not through endless training or new tooling, but by aligning people, processes, and tools in a way that actually works across hybrid teams and operational realities.

I unpack a three-part ca...

What if governance didn’t feel like bureaucracy, but like momentum?

In this episode, we sit down with Amireh Amirmazaheri to explore how modern PMOs grow from “project admin” to strategic partner by blending trust, clarity, and creativity. We trace Amireh’s path from teaching and early IT architecture to leading major PMO transformations, showing how turning complexity into simplicity builds credibility and l...

Why does high-impact work so often go unnoticed?

In this solo episode, we explore the visibility gap—that frustrating space between the value you deliver and the recognition, resources, or trust you receive in return. Especially in PMOs, governance, and behind-the-scenes roles, quiet success can look like “nothing happened”... even when everything went right.

We unpack the real reasons why great work gets missed: pr...

What happens when the person behind some of the world’s most recognisable personal brands realises she’s neglected her own?

In this deeply honest and inspiring episode, we’re joined by Carlii Lyon—former international publicist turned personal branding expert and author of Courage to Be. After building the profiles of global names like Miranda Kerr and other thought leaders, Carlii found herself feeling invis...