Pathway to leadership series: Celebrating diversity in project teams

The APM UAE Network held their second webinar in their new webinar series, Pathway to Leadership, Celebrating diversity in project teams on Wednesday 30 July at 18:30 GST.

It’s commonly accepted that the more diverse a team, the more productive it is – which in itself can lead to greater project success. But how do employers go about creating environments of inclusion? This webinar highlighted the unique perspectives of within diverse teams by delving into topics such as neurodiversity, importance of male allyship, and the role inclusive leaders play in fostering an environment of psychological safety within project teams.

Key themes:

• How inclusive leaders drive inclusive workplaces
• The importance of male allyship in project environments
• The power of neurodiversity in project teams

Webinar host:

Mishiel Ayub, Project Manager and Assistive Technology Specialist at The Butterfly

Mishiel serves as the Project Manager and Assistive Technologist at The Butterfly. Chris and Mishiel collaborate to deliver training on inclusive employment practices and disability awareness, and they believe their work aligns closely with the themes of this session.

Speakers:

Sarah Christensen, CEO Christensen Consultancy

Sarah Christensen is a DEI strategist, organisational change expert, and founder of Christensen Consultancy. With over 20 years of experience, Sarah specialises in designing inclusive, human-centred strategies that align culture with performance. Her work spans leadership development, talent solutions, and end-to-end transformation programmes that create sustainable engagement at every level of the business. Sarah is also a lecturer on the Edinburgh Business School MBA programme and a published author, with a strong academic background in Occupational Psychology.

Sarah Christensen
Chris Dimal, Communications Associate, The Butterfly

Chris Casper Dimal is the communications associate at The Butterfly, a social enterprise for empowering People of Determination/People with Disabilities in the Middle East, both in the facets of family and work. A passionate and committed speaker about neurodiversity and disability awareness, Chris is autistic and seeks to spread the message about neurodivergent experiences and why it is important to be aware in order to strive for an inclusive and sustainable society. Besides representing The Butterfly in various events, he has attended panel discussions and spoke on the radio.

Chris Dimal
Ciaran Sloan | BSc (Hons) MSc ChPP MAPM, Senior Project manager at CSQ

Ciaran is a Senior Project Manager at CSQ with over 10 years of experience in the construction industry. He has successfully led a diverse range of high-profile projects, currently managing commercial fit-out projects across Abu Dhabi, and a luxury residential villa in Dubai which involves closely working with international design team members based across 4 different countries. 

Ciaran is passionate about leadership, neurodiversity, and inclusion - principles that are central to his daily work and project coordination. Recently chartered with the Association for Project Management (APM), he also holds a Level 7 qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). His approach emphasises the importance of leadership while managing diverse high-performing project teams.

The speakers have very kindly allowed their presented material to be made available for viewing. The webinar recording on Vimeo is now available in our APM resources area and also embedded below for reference.