from the 34th IPMA World Congress
REPORT
By Sebastian Wieschowski
Nuremberg, Germany
INTRODUCTION
The 34th IPMA World Congress in Berlin, held September 17–19, 2025, showcases remarkable thematic breadth. Every presentation delivers valuable insights and sparks new questions—five of them stand out in particular.
The Congress focuses on both current and future challenges in project management. Recurring themes include agility, sustainability (ESG), and artificial intelligence (AI), which feature prominently in keynote speeches as well as specialized sessions. The program also spans a wide range of other relevant topics, from transformation and digitalization in project work to various aspects of leadership, including managing hybrid and agile teams. The evolution of PMO and PPM (Project Management Office and Project Portfolio Management) is another focal point.
Sessions dive into specific project management methods, collaboration, innovation, efficiency, risk management, governance, communication, and knowledge management. Broader issues also come into play, such as intercultural dynamics and the role of project management in society. Real-world case studies illustrate these themes, often accompanied by unexpected and thought-provoking questions.
ARE GOLDFISH THE BETTER LEADERS?
At first, it sounds like a joke: in a leadership training session, participants are asked to take inspiration from goldfish. But this quirky metaphor comes straight from the award-winning Apple TV series Ted Lasso—and it offers surprising insights into modern leadership. Project management expert Constantin Hoya, Director of Global Agile Organization at Olympus, uses the show as a springboard for a practical look at agile leadership.
Hoya discovers Ted Lasso by chance, but he quickly becomes convinced. For him, the main character—a U.S. football coach who takes charge of a British Premier League team despite knowing nothing about soccer—embodies the ideal of contemporary leadership. Instead of focusing on technical expertise, Lasso prioritizes attitude, relationships, and adaptability. These qualities, Hoya argues, are crucial in a world where leaders are constantly thrown into new situations without perfect preparation.
Drawing from the show, Hoya identifies five core pillars of agile leadership:
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How to cite this paper: Wieschowski, S (2025). Five Questions (and Surprising Answers) from the 34th IPMA World Congress, report; PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue IX, September. Available online at: https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/pmwj156-Sep2025-Wieschowski-questions-world-congress-report.pdf
About the Author
Sebastian Wieschowski
Nuremberg, Germany
Sebastian Wieschowski is an editor at the German Project Management Association (GPM), the national member association of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) in Germany. He is responsible for developing GPM’s media relations and serves on the editorial board of PM Aktuell, a quarterly magazine distributed to more than 6,500 GPM members as well as external stakeholders.
Born in 1985 in northern Germany, Wieschowski developed an early fascination with journalism. His formal education began with active contributions to school and local newspapers. He later completed journalistic training at the Cologne Journalism School for Politics and Economics, earned a Master Level Diploma from the School of Journalism at Eichstaett University, and undertook professional training at a regional newspaper publisher. He also holds a postgraduate M.Sc. degree in Public Health from Hannover Medical School.
In addition to his freelance journalism for national and international outlets, including major German media such as DIE ZEIT, Wieschowski has held senior communications roles since 2012. He first worked as press officer for a private university specializing in social work, then for a psychiatric hospital, and later for an industrial company. In September 2024, he joined GPM’s Marketing and Public Relations department, where he focuses on strengthening the visibility and public relevance of project management through editorial formats such as storytelling.
Alongside his professional career, Sebastian Wieschowski is also active as a freelance author in his lifelong passion, numismatics. He writes for both German- and English-language specialist publications, and his work has been recognized three times by the Numismatic Literary Guild, a writers’ association based in the USA.
Sebastian is a reporter at heart and enjoys discovering inspiring stories and meet people from around the world, a goal that is particularly easy to pursue in the field of project management. He can be contacted at s.wieschowski@gpm-ipma.de.
