From Connection to Action: The questions I'm taking to APM WiPM 2026 Conference

“When individuals have the confidence and tools to share their brilliance, amazing things happen.”  - Shola Kaye 

That line particularly resonates with me as I look ahead to Shola Kaye's opening keynote at this year's APM Women in Project Management Conference. 

Shola has spoken about her own experience of being afraid to speak up earlier in her career. My experience has been simil. There have been times when I've had a question and haven't asked it, not because I was afraid of the answer, but because I worried about what asking it might say about me. Would people think I didn't understand? That I didn't know what I was doing? That perhaps I didn't belong in the room at all? 

These days, I'm much more comfortable asking questions like, “What does that actually mean?”, “What would that look like in practice?” and “What are you actually asking me to do?” I've come to see those questions not as evidence of a lack of knowledge, but as part of creating shared understanding. 

That's one reason why I'm particularly interested in Shola's work around psychological safety and what she calls Emotional Audacity: having the courage to empathise, communicate bravely and act with both compassion and boldness. 

I'm curious about the conditions that allow that courage to exist. It's one thing for an organisation or leader to say that questions, challenge and different perspectives are welcome. It's another for someone in the room to genuinely feel able to offer them. 

One of the questions I'm taking into the conference is: how do we create conditions where asking “I don't understand, what does that actually mean?” is recognised as curiosity and critical thinking, rather than a lack of competence. 

Connection needs somewhere to go 

Shola describes her work as helping people speak up, listen well and lead with heart. Her recent work also brings courage explicitly into the conversation: recognising what good workplace culture could look  but also being willing to act when doing so is uncomfortable.  

That feels very relevant to Connection to Action. 

Professional events give us opportunities to connect with people and ideas. We hear something that resonates, recognise an experience we have had ourselves, exchange perspectives and leave with several pages of notes. 

But what turns that connection into something more? 

For me, action doesn’t necessarily have to be something enormous. It might be asking a different question in the next meeting. Challenging language that everybody appears to understand but may be interpreting differently. Listening more carefully when somebody's experience doesn't match our own. Or noticing the difference between what we intended to create and what somebody else actually experienced. 

Listening for something different 

I'm looking forward to hearing Shola's perspective, but I'm equally interested in the conversations it might create in the room. 

I want to hear what others recognise from their own workplaces and where their experiences differ from mine. I'm also interested in the conversations that continue between sessions and over coffee, when somebody says, "That's made me think about..." 

I don't want to attend only looking for confirmation of things I already believe. 

The most valuable connection might be an idea that challenges one of my assumptions, a question I haven't considered before or a conversation that changes what I do when I return to work. 

That's the measure I intend to take into the conference with me. 

Not, “what did I hear?” 

But, “what will I do differently?” 

 

You may also be interested in:

• Get your tickets for the APM Women in Project Management here
• Join the Women in Project Management Interest Network group
• Beyond our projects: The value of attending the WiPM conference