PMI Carolina Virtual Meeting - Title : High Performance or Survival Mode? What Project Leaders Can Learn From the Veteran Mindset
Topic: High Performance or Survival Mode? What Project Leaders Can Learn From the Veteran Mindset
Learning Objectives:
- Understand why veterans often excel in complex project environments by exploring how military training develops adaptability, prioritization, decision-making, and the ability to manage multiple competing demands.
- Recognize the difference between high performance and survival mode and identify how operating in a constant “threat response” state can impact leadership, creativity, communication, and long-term sustainability.
- Apply lessons from the veteran mindset to modern project leadership by using strategies around preparation, prioritization, resilience, and responding effectively to uncertainty.
- Identify practical ways to build sustainable performance by balancing execution and achievement with nervous system regulation, recovery, and intentional leadership.
Inputs for PDU Processor:
- Top Skills - Strategic Thinking, Relationship Building
- Highly Desirable/Market Driven Project Skills - Demand for Emotionally Intelligent Leaders, Focusing on soft skills, mental health
- Talent Triangle - Ways of Working, Design Thinking, Performance Management
Speaker: Hadon McKinley
Speaker Bio:
Hadon McKinley is a certified coach, veteran, PMP, and founder of Confidence Collective Coaching, where she helps ambitious leaders break free from burnout, overthinking, and chronic stress so they can lead with clarity and confidence.
With a background in military service, project management, and corporate leadership, Hadon has spent years navigating complex environments where priorities shift, resources are limited, and the pressure to perform is constant. She brings a unique perspective on how high performers adapt, manage chaos, and execute under pressure, while also understanding the hidden cost of living in a constant state of readiness.
Through her work, Hadon combines psychology, neuroscience, and leadership principles to help individuals understand the connection between performance, mindset, and the nervous system. Her mission is to help leaders move from surviving constant demands to creating sustainable success.
