Managing stress, maintaining work-life balance and avoiding burnout is a modern preoccupation. But let's not forget that the right level of stress can be enjoyable and motivating for many of you working in project management. To unpick these issues, Emma is joined by Dr Clara Cheung (University of Manchester), Veronica Sikombe (Mott MacDonald) and Rochelle Sampson-Clarke (NHS South, Central and West CSU). Veronica and Rochelle are both members of APM’s Women in Project Management Interest Network, and are active in its wellbeing subgroups. Clara is co-author of the APM report The Wellbeing of Project Professionals (2019). Find the Workplace Wellbeing Profile on the APM website here.

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Emma meets Jonathan Simcock, a highly experienced and respected project leader who has held executive roles in the oil and gas, energy, utilities and telecommunication sectors. In 2007, he took over what became the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (and is now NISTA). Until last year, he was chair of the Submarine Delivery Agency in the MOD. His book, The Delivery Gap: Why government projects really fail and what can be done about it will be published on 22 September 2025.

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APM CEO Professor Adam Boddison is joined by Steve Langbridge, Director of Programmes at SEA, a company based in South-west England which specialises in developing and delivering defence solutions to a global customer base. Its business areas include naval ship and fleet protection, and undersea surveillance systems. Steve was appointed to his Director role in July, having previously been Head of Project Management Office. Steve shares what it’s like to deliver projects and programmes in the defence sector – including the challenges of working in such a fast-evolving and complex space.

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Find out more about SEA at sea.co.uk

Emma goes behind the scenes at London's Natural History Museum, which is an APM Corporate Partner. The museum will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2031 and has therefore kicked off a programme that includes the creation of six new permanent galleries within the iconic museum building in South Kensington.

The first gallery has already opened, and that's where Emma headed. It's called ‘Fixing Our Broken Planet’ and focuses on the planetary emergency and the solutions that scientists, including those at the Natural History Museum, are working on. Listen to hear Emma interview the project professionals who delivered the new gallery.

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Emma visits Elstree Studios, which has been home to TV soap EastEnders since 1985. She goes behind the scenes of a project to create new production and post-production suites from a derelict building and to give actors new dressing rooms and make-up rooms. Get a flavour of what it's like on a construction project in a creative environment with cast and crew filming all around as the project takes shape.

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Emma meets Anne Marie Purcell, C-Suite Advisor in Transformational Change in Delivery and Transport; Nermeen Latif, Technical Director of Digital Solutions at WSP; and Glen Kelly, Programme Manager at CoStar Live Lab.

They discuss finding purpose and meaning in your work. For project professionals, a sense of purpose – that you're doing something not just for the bottom line, but also for the bigger impact that you can have – is where they get their motivation.

Listen on for an exploration of what gets project professionals to leap out of bed in the morning. Is it feeling part of a project that leaves the world a better place? Is it about a sense of achievement or fulfilment? Is it working with people? Or is it the challenge of getting stuck into really knotty problems and finding a way around them?

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Sustainability in project management remains a hot topic – but it can be hard to get to grips with. Depending on your specific role and level of seniority, you may feel unable to influence the sustainability of your projects. Perhaps issues like net zero and social inequality feel remote from your day-to-day.

In this episode, however, we hear why sustainability isn’t just a top-down directive. It can be driven by project professionals at all levels through small, meaningful actions that influence outcomes and contribute to long-term positive change.

This episode brings together some of the highlights from the two-day APM Conference 2025.

Super early bird tickets for the 2026 APM Conference are available here.

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The APM Salary and Market Trends Survey 2025 takes a snapshot of life on the frontline of project management, comparing how pay, compensation, job satisfaction, opportunities and challenges have changed since the 2023 survey and giving insights on hot workplace topics, including artificial intelligence, sustainability, government projects, and diversity and inclusion. It also charts the confidence of the profession, providing a litmus test for any project manager interested in understanding which opportunities are ripe for the taking.

Listen on for the key takeaways, and the views of some of our experts who help tell the story behind the data.

Read the report at apm.org.uk/project-management-salary-survey-2025/

Contact us: apmpodcast@thinkpublishing.co.uk