Blog

Each year, the Project Management Institute (PMI) hosts an annual professional development conference designed to provide chapter leaders with the resources, tools, and techniques required to run a successful chapter. Known as the “LIM” for short, this 3.5-day event brings North American chapter leaders together with world-class presenters to share and learn. This year was no exception as Chicago hosted over 1,000 attendees and delivered outstanding value. This is a great opportunity for our chapter, and every year, PMI-NSC sends 4-5 volunteers. Ruth Glatt, Pam Naicker, Barb Cross, and Jonathan Moore-Wright attended this year.

The first day included regional meetings. PMI-NSC is part of PMI Region 2 which includes 21 chapters from the mid-western US, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. We joined our R2 colleagues to discuss regional topics and to network with our peers. Regardless of chapter size, we all share many similar challenges with running a successful chapter.

The theme of this year’s LIM was all about being Change Makers, a very fitting message for us in our roles as project managers. Each of days 2-4 day kicked off with an inspiring keynote. We heard from Derreck Kayongo, founder of the Global Soap Project, who urged us to seek balance and to find passion in everything we do. Carey Lohrenz, the US Navy’s first female F-14 fighter pilot, challenged us to lead teams in dynamic, fast-paced environments. And Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World-wide Web, took us on a spirited journey through the history of the internet, encouraging us to foster creativity, collaboration, and attention to consequences in our chapters and our projects.

The rest of the time was filled with presentations and break-out sessions tailored in different areas for chapter success such as retaining members, recruiting volunteers, utilizing PMI resources, and strategic planning. Chapter leaders are able to sign up for a multitude of presentations based upon the needs of the chapter. The learnings from these sessions both inspire us and provide us with tools and knowledge to implement at our own chapter.

PMI makes every effort to celebrate success and throughout the LIM there were many awards ceremonies. Day 2 we attended an awards luncheon highlighting the accomplishments of chapters and their volunteers. The last evening of the conference we attended the annual PMI Professional Awards Gala that recognized outstanding organizations and individuals that make the greatest contributions to the project management profession. Inspirational!

There was time for a little bit of time for fun, too! Chicago is a vibrant city with many cultural, artistic, and sporting events. The evenings allowed for a good amount of networking with other chapter leaders, for re-connecting with friends, and for making new connections to continue to find new ways to better serve our chapter members.

And, there was deep-dish pizza!

After another successful LIM, we return to our chapter with excitement and motivation to continue providing our membership with the value that makes us all proud to be part of PMI. We’d love to share more about this experience, so please reach out to any of the attendees for more information.