AI Success Through Leadership: Insights from Samia Waqar

In this episode of AI Today, host Kathleen Walch welcomes Samia Waqar, founder of Role Agnostic Project Leadership (RAPL), CEO of SNS Coaching Consulting Services, and PMI Authorized Instructor with nine PMI certifications including PMI-CPMAI. Samia shares her journey from enterprise transformation to AI education, and how her experiences across global projects inspired her vision of the Leadership Economy. 

Kathleen and Samia discuss why many AI initiatives fail when managed like traditional software projects, and how the CPMAI methodology helps leaders avoid costly mistakes. Samia reflects on her first AI project misstep—skipping data readiness—and explains how sequence, governance, and leadership accountability drive success. 

They highlight how role-agnostic leadership equips professionals across roles to define work, govern it, protect investments, and deliver value. Samia emphasizes the importance of active executive sponsorship, trustworthy AI controls, and continuous monitoring, stressing that AI is not “set it and forget it” but a business transformation requiring oversight. 

Key insights include: 

• Learn why AI success is a leadership challenge, not just a technology problem. 
• Discover how data readiness and governance determine whether AI initiatives succeed or fail. 
• Understand why executive sponsorship must be active, visible, and engaged. 
• Explore Samia’s four guiding questions: define the work, govern the work, protect the investment, and land the value. 

This episode is sponsored by SnS Coaching Consulting Services, a PMI Authorized Training Partner.  

Samia Waqar, CEO of SnS Coaching Consulting Services, is the founder of Role Agnostic Project Leadership™ (RAPL) and author of the upcoming book The Leadership Economy.  

She is also a PMI Authorized Instructor holding nine major PMI certifications, including PMI‑CPMAI. Samia helps professionals move beyond exam preparation toward workplace performance, career advancement, and future‑ready leadership.  

To learn more about her work, visit snsccs.com, raplleadership.com, samiawaqar.com, and Samia Waqar on LinkedIn