I have often been asked, “What is the most important skill that any organization needs, and successful organizations have in abundance?” My answer is simple – leadership.
As world-class organizations grow, so do the challenges of talent and sourcing the right staff for large PMO functions. We see organizations working hard to source from a variety of sources including FTEs, consultants, and staffing resources. Often, it can be the case that a combination of resources may or may not complete projects on time and within budget and are viewed as tactical and highly inconsistent in their approach due to turnover and lack of the right talent. As talent and trends change, so should tactics to build the right teams.
We see many organizations either outsourcing completely (low time, high investment) or focused on finding and recruiting individuals with specific skill sets (high time, low investment). There’s a middle ground. For your client’s next move, we recommend considering how to optimize across three “C” dimensions:
- Capacity
- Capability
- Community
Capacity identifies leaders. Capacity is more than just filling roles and hoping things work out. It’s taking the time to find the right leaders that will deliver high quality work products on time and on budget, allowing a thoughtful approach and focus on how to set up the larger organization for success. Whether aligned to SLAs or focused on meeting demand and scaling, the objective should be to fulfill a need and drive results.
Capability requires leadership. Capability can be bringing the unexpected and turning it into the expected. It’s about raising the bar of the team and the organization. At the center of strengthening capability are quality and performance. It starts with assessing the current organization, bringing value today, and building the foundation for continued success tomorrow and beyond. This matured capability and focus on continuous improvement builds trust and positions your teams as critical in the organization’s overall success.
Community refines and strengthens leaders. Community is not simply delivering training. It is building purpose-driven teams who prioritize development and sharpening their capabilities. It is demonstrated through enhanced soft, consulting, and technical skills. High-performing teams and an elevated employee experience are the output. Whether it’s through trainings, professional certifications, or regular coaching and mentoring, building knowledge-based communities is critical and will make any team irreplaceable.
Leading with a focus on building capacity, capability, and community enables any team to deliver impactful results and build a stronger organization. However, what enables this is a special type of leadership that yields positive returns, in terms of cost and employee engagement.
For more information on North Highland’s approach to Managed Services, check out our new video – The Future of Managed Services.
