Presentation: Sustainable Leadership: Managing Yourself Before Managing the Project
Abstract: Burnout isn’t just a personal struggle anymore; it’s a real project management risk. This session helps leaders and project managers focus on the one variable that’s often left out of every plan: themselves. In fast-paced environments, leaders are often praised for keeping projects on track but rarely for protecting their own energy and capacity. This conversation reframes leadership as an inside-out practice, showing that sustainable results begin with personal wellbeing and mindful energy management.
Through a mix of realistic, practical tools/frameworks, guided reflections, and perspective shifts, participants will learn how to blend wellness with project planning in ways that feel doable, not idealistic. The first half introduces The Menu Framework, a flexible approach to building routines that support balance and consistency even as project demands shift.
In the second half, we’ll explore capacity budgeting, a hands-on process for looking at how time, energy, and resources are being used across competing priorities. You’ll walk away with a new understanding of capacity and a clear understanding of the role rest and efficiency play in project success.
Key Takeaways:
- Introduction to the Menu Framework: a tool for cultivating consistency with personal wellness through the changing demands seen throughout the varying phases of the project life cycle
- Tools for calculating personal and team capacity from a holistic lens
- Viewing rest and efficiency as crucial considerations during the project planning phase
PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working
Biography: Kimberley Clemonts is the Founder and Lead Project Manager of Grounded Consulting Agency, specializing in operational process improvement for creative agencies and mission-driven organizations. Her work focuses on helping agencies upgrade their systems and workflows to create work cultures where people are at the center and technology serves as a supportive tool. With over seven years of project management experience, a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology, and extensive personal study in holistic wellness, Kimberley blends technical and strategic expertise with a deep understanding of people, team dynamics, and wellbeing. Through her agency, she has supported entrepreneurs, agencies, and organizations in developing systems that function seamlessly on both operational and human levels. Her approach combines practical management tools with holistic principles that honor energy, capacity, and balance—because when leaders manage themselves with the same care they bring to managing projects, burnout becomes preventable and success becomes truly sustainable.
