Speaker

Joachim Dehais is an enterprise architect at the Swiss Federal Archives and founder of J.Dehais Consulting, where his work examines how power, influence, and organizational politics shape project outcomes. His professional lens combines technical systems thinking with the social dynamics of leadership and decision-making inside complex organizations. His path into this material began in AI research, building decision support systems in the highly regulated medical devices field, before he moved into IT, data, and management consulting. That combination of technical and organizational experience shapes how he helps teams turn complexity into actionable strategy, work recognized with the Best Presentation award at PMI's 2025 Leadership Institute Meeting and a keynote invitation from PMI Sweden's Passion for Project event. He holds a PhD alongside PMP and TOGAF credentials.

 

Realpolitik: The Strategies of Office Political Success Every project runs on two systems at once: the official one, and the political one. Joachim Dehais unpacks the second in his session, "Realpolitik: The Strategies of Office Political Success". This candid, no-nonsense session explores how project professionals live and lead within a social world, one where understanding and playing the political game shapes outcomes on every level (personal, team, and organizational), offering fresh perspectives and actionable insights to move from naive delivery to real influence. Joachim starts with the political game itself (the interests and incentives at play) before turning to the group dynamics that determine whether teams collaborate or clash. From there, the session moves into more uncomfortable territory: personality dynamics, fighting tactics, and the less flattering side of organizational life, equipping participants to recognize manipulation and strategy in others, and to build strategies of their own. Participants explore how to win people over and build alliances, how to identify who stands to lose from a project and move them out of its way, and how to protect the value they are delivering over time. The session closes on a provocative question: do you want to simply survive, or do you want to leave a legacy of success?

 

Learning goals summary:

• Understand that it's not just about doing good project work – it's about understanding and playing the political game that determines whether that work succeeds.
• Empower project professionals to see office politics not as an impediment to delivery but as an opportunity to build alliances, influence outcomes, and protect value.
• Learn to read group dynamics – how teams organize themselves and tend toward collaboration or conflict.
• Gain practical strategies and techniques for recognizing manipulation, countering opposition, and building support for your projects.