Stephen Dowling

I started my working life as a management accountant but found myself wanting to flex my creative problem-solving and sense-making skills. I was drawn to project delivery because no two projects are the same. Each industry, business, and project has its own unique challenges and complexities, so you're always learning something new.

One of the biggest and most exciting programs I led involved delivering an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system upgrade for a large pharmaceutical company in Europe. It was then that I discovered my talent for untangling the messiness of big, complicated projects. I loved making sense of all the different moving people and parts and making the processes and technologies as simple as possible.

So, agile and lean principles were a natural fit for me. Rather than prioritising consistent and repeatable processes that focus on doing things the way they've worked in the past, agile is fit for the future. It seemed like common sense, but I found myself asking why the agile way of thinking wasn't being embraced.

This curiosity sparked my interest in unlearning. To adopt a new mindset and embrace change, you have to let go of old habits and ways of thinking which can be hard to do. As a teacher, trainer, and coach, I am passionate about helping people navigate change and open their minds to better and healthier ways of working.

I love getting involved in industry events and speaking at both local and international conferences. And when I'm not at work, you'll find me hanging out with my family or cycling around Melbourne.

My certifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Certified, PMI^®
• APMG Certified AgilePM^® Practitioner
• Professional Scrum Master™ Level 1 (PSM I), Scrum.org
• Certified SAFe^® 5 Program Consultant, Scaled Agile^®

My education:

• Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), University College Dublin
• Diploma in Project Management, Swinburne University of Technology
• Post Graduate Diploma in Market Research, Swinburne University of Technology