PMI Houston North: "Beyond the Textbook: Mastering the High-Impact Art of Project Leadership in the Real World"
Pre-Dinner Presentation: Dismantling the Myth of Soft Skills: Working With Your Toughest People
Joseph Cope, The Empathy Guy, has built a reputation around redefining empathy as a fierce, practical leadership skill. This foundational belief has fueled his journey from award-winning educator to highly sought-after speaker, and it’s what keeps his work rooted in presence, curiosity, and courageous human connection. Whether he’s speaking from top stages, guiding leadership teams with deep intention, or helping individuals reconnect with their own voice, Joseph’s mission resonates: Create space for people to choose growth, firstly for themselves, and then for others.
Topic Synopsis:
This session tackles difficult work relationships by challenging the widely held belief that empathy and self-awareness are “soft skills” and therefore signs of weakness. Participants learn that creating space for others begins with living in alignment with their own values, especially under pressure. Drawing on research and applied frameworks from Martha Beck, Brené Brown, and Daniel Pink, attendees leave with a practical way to turn personal values into usable, repeatable life skills they can apply immediately with their toughest humans
Learning Objectives:
• Understand how empathy, when used intentionally, reduces friction, misalignment, and rework on teams.
• Identify core personal values and translate them into observable behaviors for real, high-stakes conversations.
• Apply a repeatable framework to create space with their toughest humans without people-pleasing, emotional overload, or loss of authority
PDU Triangle:
0.5 Ways of Working and 0.5 Power Skills PDU
Dinner Presentation: Beyond the Textbook: Mastering the High-Impact Art of Project Leadership in the Real World
Born in Nigeria and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Daniel Abbe brings a global perspective and disciplined engineering mindset to technology, infrastructure, and innovation. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, establishing a technical foundation for a career in complex systems and large-scale project delivery.
Daniel has built a distinguished career in project and product management across the utility and healthcare sectors, leading mission-critical initiatives to modernize infrastructure and improve operational resilience. As a keynote speaker, he delivers insights on leadership and infrastructure modernization, drawing from extensive experience managing high-stakes projects in regulated environments.
Topic Synopsis:
This keynote session, Beyond the Textbook, pulls back the curtain on what actually drives results in high-pressure, complex capital enterprise environments. We move past the mechanics of the Triple Constraint to explore the nuanced realities of project leadership, from navigating invisible organizational politics and managing stakeholder egos to maintaining radical resilience amid volatility. Attendees will learn why "Power Skills" like emotional intelligence and strategic business acumen are no longer "soft skills," but the essential hard requirements for the modern Project Management Professional.
Learning Objectives:
1. Navigate the "Unspoken" Project Landscape: Learn to identify and influence the hidden motivations, fears, and political dynamics of stakeholders that a standard registry cannot capture.
2. Leverage EQ as a Technical Asset: Apply specific emotional intelligence strategies to de-escalate high-pressure conflicts, manage team chemistry, and maintain momentum through the "trough of despair" in the project lifecycle.
3. Transition from Manager to Adaptive Leader: Shift from a focus on linear task completion to a focus on business value delivery, using "Radical Resilience" to make high-impact decisions in VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environments.
PDU Triangle:
0.5 Power Skills and 0.5 Business Acumen PDU
Event Information
| Event Date | 03-26-2026 5:00 pm |
| Event End Date | 03-26-2026 8:00 pm |
| Cut Off Date | 03-26-2026 8:00 pm |
| Capacity | 40 |
| Registered | 0 |
| Individual Price | $30 Members / $40 Guests / $20 Student/Unemployed |
| Location | Valley Ranch Grill & Barbeque |