Let's Talk - the Elite Athlete Mindset

This is a report from the Let's Talk session on 16th April 2025

Dr Yvette Henry was the moderator for this session.

Below you will find a copy of the slide set, and also an AI transcript of discussions during the session.

The Athlete Mindset in Project Management-Brkfast Session 16 Apr 25.pdf

Download PDF • 323KB

• Introduction and Welcome: Claude welcomed everyone to the "Let's Talk Networking Session" focused on project delivery and The Athlete Mindset. He explained the purpose of these sessions, which is to share common challenges and learn from others' experiences.

  • Session Format: Claude mentioned that these sessions are designed to be interactive, encouraging active participation from attendees.

• Overview of Phetairos and PIPMG:

  • Phetairos Overview: Claude described Phetairos as a global community of subject matter experts and consultants dedicated to enabling organizations in the biopharma industry to perform to their maximum potential. This includes consulting, training, and staffing services across various areas such as project and portfolio management, integrated product development, and management consulting.

  • PIPMG Mission: John Faulkes elaborated on the mission of PIPMG which is to support and promote the development of the project management profession within the life sciences sector. He mentioned that PIPMG is connected with major project management organizations but focuses specifically on the life sciences world, offering support, networking opportunities, and customized training.

• Athlete Mindset in Project Management: Claude introduced the moderator, Dr. Yvette Henry, a freelance clinical operations specialist and competitive athlete. He mentioned her certification in PRINCE2 Agile Project Management and her extensive experience in leading complex projects in early clinical development.

• Mindset Application: Yvette opened the meeting by sharing that she thought it would be useful to discuss some of the key pain points project managers face and how the adopting The Athlete Mindset can help. The selected pain points were;

  • Scope creep and prioritisation

  • Time and task management overload

    • Too many tasks and too many tools

    • Avoiding burnout

  • Risk management

Scope Creep and Prioritization:

• Scope Creep Challenges: Yvette highlighted the common issue of scope creep in project management, where stakeholders request additional parameters that can derail the project.

• The Athlete Mindset: Yvette discussed how success on the track comes from sticking to a clear plan and avoiding distractions- laser focus but agile to value-added changes

• She applies her athlete mindset to project management, focusing on setting strict success criteria and pushing back on unnecessary additions from our stakeholders. She emphasized the importance of striking a balance between keeping projects on track without losing flexibility. She asked the attendees if they felt comfortable pushing back on unnecessary additions from stakeholders. One welcomed suggestion was to time-box additional requests, which allows requests to be explored within a set timeframe, while minimising the possibility of scope creep.

• Setting clear and relevant milestones. Maintaining non-negotiable milestones was discussed.

• Stakeholder Management: Yvette discussed the importance of communicating the trade-offs of scope changes early in the project. She emphasized the need to explain the wider implications to ensure stakeholders understand the impact on cost, timelines, resources and the overall business goals- the bigger picture!

• Success Criteria: Yvette stressed the importance of setting and adhering to strict success criteria to avoid scope creep. She shared her strategy of using these criteria to evaluate whether new requests add value to the project and to push back on changes that are less value-added.

Time and Task Management Overload:

• The Athlete mindset is always looking for continuous improvement to optimise performance and to be more efficient. Yvette asked how are we doing this in project management? Also are we utilising AI and any tools that help with automating some of our daily tasks?

  • Christiane shared her experience working with Copilot to summarise data quickly, while Merryn discussed using tools for research and training presentations freeing up time to work more strategically on a project.

  • Minimizing Distractions: Yvette highlighted that athletes are experts in minimising distractions to maintain productivity. She shared her observation of how notifications and emails can disrupt focus and suggested taking control of the notifications in these applications to reduce inefficiency. Especially since how we use these applications globally is unlikely to change any time soon.

  • Task Overload and avoiding burnout:

§  The Athlete Mindset: Yvette shared that ‘rest’ is not viewed as a luxury, but it is part of the process and prioritised. As project managers we should be able to say ‘no’ gracefully but firmly to additional work. It was discussed and agreed that most project managers are accepting of additional discreet pieces of work to help the business.

§  Yvette flagged that allowing work-life balance to be prioritised enhances our productivity.

Risk Management:

The discussions were extremely fruitful.

Yvette shared that athletes are continuously anticipating, preparing and adapting to potential risks, and asked participants, ‘How are we identifying and mitigating project risks? Are we getting better at this?

• Early Risk Identification: Yvette emphasized the importance of identifying risks early to manage them effectively. She compared this to an athlete's approach to injury prevention, where early intervention can prevent more serious issues.

• Proactive Risk Management: Participants discussed the need for a proactive approach to risk management. John highlighted one of the challenges, in that many organizations stop at identifying and scoring risks without taking further action. Risks need to be fully assessed and budget assigned to risk mitigation when needed. Christopher emphasized the importance of governance and oversight in managing risks.

• Supportive Culture: James stressed the importance of creating a culture that encourages transparency and early reporting of risks. He noted that addressing risks early can prevent them from becoming major issues and allows for timely intervention and support. Essentially, de-risking early is key.

Conclusion and Next Steps: Claude thanked Yvette and the participants for their active engagement. He highlighted the value of looking at project management from different perspectives, including The Athlete Mindset

• Next Session: Claude announced the next session on managing complex submissions.