LeftField solutions
There's no such thing as a standard job when it comes to helping organisations to manage projects.
We can help you to direct your existing skills, strengths, resources and people to complete your project on time, on budget, and with results that exceed your expectations. We'll work within your business culture so that you are enabled to keep the ball rolling when it's time for us to leave.
So, rather than offer a standard list of services we think it's more useful to describe how we solve problems that you might encounter within your project.
We've done the training courses, we've got piles of notes and templates - why isn't our project working?
It's tempting to think that all those formal training courses will result in your project running smoothly and effortlessly. Higher quality courses can provide some guidance and practical tips. Unfortunately sometimes standard workshops just provide stacks of books and folders of notes that go unopened.
LeftField will provide you with useful advice that will help immediately, often showing you how and where to apply those formal project management concepts. We're more interested finding a strategy that works for you, your project team and your business objectives, than sticking slavishly to an off-the-shelf approach.
Our steering committee is off course and we're headed for the rocks!
If your project has you humming Six months In a leaky boat then maybe you've got a problem with your steering committee. To be fair, people aren't born knowing how to contribute effectively to such a committee - but they can learn the skills.
LeftField can work with you and with your committee to ensure you're all working towards the same goals - a project that delivers all the anticipated business benefits. Have you ever considered whether or not you really need a steering committee?
We have project sponsors and champions but we still don't have buy-in. What can I do?
Motivated and well-prepared project sponsors are essential to keeping your project on track and for preparing the whole organisation for changes brought about by a project. We can find ways to build more effective sponsorship. Recently we worked with Aurora Energy to design and run a survey to identify issues, designed and ran a half-day workshop and delivered this workshop several times.
As a result of our help, sponsors were more aware of their roles and were able to communicate confidently and effectively with their teams.
Have we covered all the bases? Are there risks we haven't considered?
As a trusted advisor who understands project management we have seen successful projects in all kinds of organisations. We often provide advice; not undertaking formal reviews or reporting, just being available to proactively help you to evaluate your plans, monitor progress and to provide a fresh pair of eyes.
If you've done all the courses and want some outside reassurance that you're on track this can also be a terrific form of applied professional development.
My project team isn't getting along (there's a lot of eye-rolling going on)
The people in a project can make or break it; the best processes and plans in the world aren't going to help if the project team isn't getting along. Friction within a team and open displays of negativity are signs that there's big trouble ahead.
Luckily you've noticed it early. We can certainly help.
We recently completed a large assignment for a major Australian petroleum supplier whose project teams were spread over different organisational groups and regions. We provided some group training to build basic project skills followed by one-on-one coaching so people could learn on the job. By working with the people in the project we were able to develop some useful templates and provide the type of coaching and support they valued.
This project just won't end - how can we finish it off?
It's frustrating when your project gets to 97 per cent completion but just won't make it over the line. However, merely ending your project won't mean that it has been a success for the business (or for the project team).
We'll help you to end your project successfully - deliverables delivered, benefits realised, the project team debriefed. You'll feel it was a positive experience; you'll even want to do it again!
Can you train us?
Yes, we can. We can teach your people to become more effective project managers and team members. After all, it's your people who ultimately will be responsible for the success of a project. This service deserves its own page - check out our workshops.