Sustainable Performance for Project Leaders: Driving Results Without Burnout

Natalie Berkiw-Scenna

Founder

Project Management Life

About the Presentation

Sustainable performance is the ability to deliver consistent, high-quality results without burning yourself out in the process. Project management is constantly evolving and today’s project leaders are navigating increasing complexity, tighter timelines, and rising expectations. Beyond execution, we’re expected to think strategically, influence stakeholders, and lead with confidence in high-pressure environments.

However, sustaining this level of performance requires more than technical skills. It requires a deliberate approach to managing focus, energy, capacity, and boundaries.

Participants will explore four core elements: protected focus, intentional energy management, realistic capacity planning, and professional boundaries. Through real-world examples and actionable strategies, you’ll gain practical tools to reduce overwhelm, improve effectiveness, and lead with greater clarity and resilience in demanding environments.

Key Takeaways:

Define and recognize the difference between sustainable and unsustainable performance.
Identify common habits and ways of working that contribute to overwhelm and reduced effectiveness.
Walk away with practical strategies to improve your focus, manage your energy, plan your capacity, and set healthy boundaries.

About Natalie Berkiw-Scenna

Natalie Berkiw-Scenna, PMP is the Founder of Project Management Life (PML), a community and platform dedicated to helping project leaders lead, perform, and live their best life. With a passion for redefining what high performance looks like in today’s demanding work environments, Natalie brings a human-centered perspective to modern project leadership that values both results and well-being.

Drawing from her 25 years of experience leading complex projects and working with diverse teams, Natalie focuses on helping project professionals navigate pressure, complexity, and constant change with greater clarity and resilience. Her work empowers leaders to move beyond reactive ways of working and toward more intentional, sustainable approaches to performance.

Through her work with Project Management Life, she supports a global community of project professionals committed to growth, balance, and long-term success.

Natalie has international project experience in both Canada and the United States, and has worked primarily in the healthcare and non-profit sectors. From this experience, she brings the lens of health, well-being, and self-care to the project management community.

Follow Natalie Berkiw-Scenna on LinkedIn.