The CoP Power Skills is back with a lot of power after the summer holidays. We (re-) started with a lot of enthusiasm the Community of Practice Power Skills and quickly recognized the following topics for us:
- Psychological safety (Project manager and team)
- Stakeholder relations, conflict and expectation management
- Development trends in digital infrastructure and willingness to change
- Leadership, motivation, sustainable project results
The first partial results were developed in these different working groups. And after the summer holidays, we, 13 CoP members so far, will continue to work on it in order to soon be able to show noteworthy insights for our chapter members.
There are also a few changes
There is an innovation in our CoP: We want to introduce a new format that has already been effectively approved by the Lean-Agile CoP. We want to hear new input from invited inspiring speakers on a bi-monthly basis, and we would like to invite all other chapter members to these inspire sessions, provided they are interested in the topics.
And a second innovation: There is a new subgroup in the CoP: Course correction – projects in trouble: analysis, stabilization, orderly handover, in a lived error culture (Chatham House)
At the same time, another member has spoken up with a completely new topic: the one program that no one likes to talk about
Our new CoP member Peter Scharr describes his thoughts on this topic as follows:
"Most of us have experienced something like this: a project that got off track and couldn't find its way back. It is rarely told because one's own name is attached to it. To this end, an anonymized exchange will be created in the CoP Power Skills: one real case per round, Chatham House, and at the end two to three lessons that can be applied."
The event will be moderated by Peter Scharr. Have you had such a case? Get in touch at cop-powerskills@pmi-gc.de, it will turn into a one-on-one conversation.
About the term Chatham House:
On the one hand, Chatham House (officially the Royal Institute of International Affairs) is a British organization founded in 1920 and based in London that deals with the analysis of global politics and international relations. The institute is known worldwide in particular for the Chatham House Rule, which allows anonymous and open discussions at conferences.
On the other hand, it is also a communication rule for conferences and meetings. So, if someone says: "We are meeting today at Chatham House", the person does not mean the organization, but the principle of communication: information may be used, but the identity and affiliation of the speaker may not be revealed. The rule, introduced in 1927, states:
- Content allowed: Participants are free to use the information they receive.
- Identity protected: Neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers or other participants may be disclosed.
- Objective: To promote free speech and open, informal debate without fear of public criticism.
The first round of Chatham House is scheduled to start on Friday, 16.10.2026, at 1:30 pm. And anyone who brings their own case can participate. The lessons from each round are then given to the whole CoP, even if you don't have a case at the moment.
So, grab your keyboard or smartphone and register for the next session on September 21, where Peter will present the new topic (and thus a new working group): https://pmi-gc.de/en/event/cop-termine/cop-powerskills-2026-september
Or pick up speed with us beforehand, an e-mail to cop-powerskills@pmi-gc.de is enough.
