Speaker

TenneT, like many operators of critical infrastructure, is under massive expansion and transformation pressure: grid build-out, the energy transition, major new programs, more stakeholders, and more interfaces. This means more work, larger teams, and higher volatility. And it reveals an uncomfortable truth: complexity doesn’t live only “in the projects.” It emerges wherever multiple competencies, decisions, dependencies, and time pressure collide.

The typical response is more structure: templates, committees, PMO. Too often the outcome is predictable: higher overhead, slower delivery.

This talk presents a counter-design implemented in the finance context at TenneT: project management as a practical capability for all roles, not a job title and not a certification program, but an everyday operating system for collaboration and decision-making. Right where project-like work happens daily: onboarding in a growth environment, prioritizing competing initiatives, steering work packages with dependencies, ensuring clean escalation, and preparing decisions reliably.

You’ll learn three building blocks that made the difference in combination:

1. Role-based enablement with short learning paths and routines for non-PM roles (e.g., kickoff design, decision logs, a risk/dependency lens).
2. Lightweight governance with clear decision paths, visible prioritization, and a lean steering cadence - without heavy overhead.
3. A shared method and language capability: common understanding of approach, terminology, and quality criteria across functions, levels, and generations.

We also speak openly about the pitfalls and the adjustments that helped the system survive in an environment that keeps growing and changing.