Reflections
From time to time it’s good to stand back and take a look at the bigger picture. With Reflections we do just that; Reflections are our thoughts on a variety of subjects offering insights into how we apply our knowledge, skills and experience in different ways.
Project Management Coaching
JA Consulting have developed something we call project management coaching. We’ve deliberately put the focus on coaching to help make projects work.
Most consultancies either do the project management for you or teach you how to do it. Our experience has been that the former approach develops dependencies and the organisation does not really develop its skills. The latter, teaching people what to do, is very helpful but often leaves people floundering when it comes to applying the theory in practice.
So our approach is about working alongside those who are managing a project and applying the theory in practice. That way the project benefits, the individual benefits and there is much less dependency on the consultancy all in all providing results whilst keeping costs down.
Independent facilitation
Commercial relationships are becoming even more complex. That is partly driven by an objective of increasing value for money, partly driven by increasing numbers of “partnering” type arrangements and often influenced by the need to involve a variety of stakeholders in solving complex issues. It is no longer simply a matter of tight commercial sub-contracts, but adjectives such as “partnering”, “joint”, “flat structure”; “open” are becoming more popular. Processes involving a slow cascade of formal change through long sub-contractor chains are no longer acceptable.
Many clients we have spoken to mention their frustration with what they see as a genuine desire to have effective working relationships with their suppliers and customers but struggle to implement the reality – especially when things get tough! Often they find that independent facilitation can help.
Coaching
Coaching is one of JA Consulting’s great passions, be it one-to-one or working with larger management groups. Our aim is to make people more effective by pushing the boundaries of what they think they can achieve, taking on a total business and personal perspective at the same time for maximum effect.
Many of our clients are in senior management. A common scenario is a client who is an expert in their field, which has seen them quickly promoted to a senior position. With coaching and mentoring we help people learn new skills, acquire knowledge, build their confidence and motivation to maximise their potential.
