smart, energetic project delivery

‘Sarah is highly energetic, pragmatic with a focus on delivering an outcome. As part of a senior management team Sarah brings focus and fresh ideas drawn from her broad experience’ ~ Mark Rodgerson, Head of Resourcing and Workforce Planning, Serious Fraud Office

My toolbox is jam-packed with processes, procedures, tools and techniques for planning, organising, monitoring and controlling projects. I’ve worked with different standards and methods, in the public and private sector, in very structured environments and those driven by organisational whimsy. I’ve worked directly with projects that have succeeded, learned lessons, been rescued, cancelled or failed. I provide leadership that inspires people to rise to the occasion and deliver as a team.

my genius

  • I am confident and outcome focussed, while acknowledging individual brilliance and crediting team-work for project successes;
  • I am structured, analytical and comfortable with routine, while providing a creative and flexible work environment;
  • I am able to work with ambiguity and uncertainty, while providing clear direction (I am a ruthless truth-teller);
  • I am used to working in complex, high risk environments, while always looking to make things clear and simple;
  • I am able to see how the project or programme contributes to the overall strategic benefit of an organisation, while able to get into the detail and unearth the devils;
  • I am direct and work with a sense of urgency, while being constantly mindful of the endgame and leading the team through influence and kindness to that delivery.

My combination of skills, experience and passion for this work provides a fantastic foundation for delivery success. Check out my CV and contact me to discuss your project.

‘Sarah is hard working and effective. She combines a good knowledge of IT and project management disciplines with excellent interpersonal skills and a flexible, “can do” attitude to business challenges. Definitely someone to have at your side in a crisis!’ ~ Bob Evans, Director of Corporate Services, Serious Fraud Office

turn your PMO into the delivery hub of your business strategy

Are you doing the right projects? And are you doing those projects right?

I work with leadership teams to ensure projects deliver business benefits rooted in your strategic drivers, key performance indicators, goals and dreams, by:

  • Facilitating interactive, creative forums for leadership teams to explore what really matters to your business;
  • Establishing a profile in order to objectively assess each benefit on its merits;
  • Turning your strategy into a roadmap of projects that will realise the high-value benefits first;
  • Identifying the relevant information required by leadership teams to accurately appraise continued project investment;
  • Rescuing failing projects quickly by conducting reviews at key points in the project;
  • Implementing a mentoring programme to keep your project managers supported.

I provide focussed workshops and/or ongoing support to implement a strategic project support function. If you are interested in a PMO that adds strategic value and focussed decision making, contact me.

‘It was great to have had the opportunity to work with Sarah. She has a great understanding of Project Management disciplines and has the energy and passion to implement these disciplines to the wider organization’ ~ Gerard O’Hara, Programme Director, Westpac Banking Group New Zealand

coaching for project managers

Focussed, creative, intuitive coaching sessions for project managers who feel stuck, overwhelmed or in need of clarity on their project.

Here’s why you need me:

  • You want to turn your idea into reality;
  • You want to through fear and anxiety on stressful projects;
  • You want help planning and prioritizing to lessen the overwhelm and start delivering;
  • You are working with team members who are not performing;
  • You don’t know where to start.

my coaching approach

Coaching with me is outcome-driven: my job is to enable you to explore issues, generate options and take confident action. I combine enthusiasm, real-world experience and genuine curiosity about you and your project.

I believe compassionate truth-telling is healthy and effective. This means I’ll challenge your ideas and share insights, giving candid, constructive and supportive feedback.

You want a result, a resolution, an objective reached, a project delivered; our sessions will focus on what that means for you. Together we’ll formulate ways to creatively resolve the barriers your project is facing.

the coaching process

  1. Status Check – 20 questions about where you and project are right now. Designed to pinpoint issues and success factors.
  2. Project Review – Before the Kick-Off Session I review any documents, websites, issues or risk registers, whatever you want me to see that will help with understanding where you are.
  3. Kick-off Session – 60-90 minutes. We analyse, strategise, prioritise. You get pragmatic help, insights, plans and ideas.
  4. Coaching Follow-ups – 60 minutes monthly or at key milestones to check progress, look at what challenges you are facing, resolve problems early or whatever else you need to support your delivery.
  5. MP3 or Skype – a record of our conversation for you to keep, emailed to you within 24 hours.
  6. 5% of your fee donated to Kiva.

how to book your coaching session with me

  1. Contact me about your project. If I feel that I can add value, then we schedule a session. I usually book two weeks in advance.
  2. Kick-off Sessions are £300 to be paid upon booking. Coaching Follow-ups are £150 (we can plan these in advance or you can request them on an ad-hoc basis). I’ll email you a PayPal (or paper) invoice.
  3. I’ll email you the Status Check questions in advance so you can complete these and send any other information for the Project Review back to me at least three days before our session.
  4. We have a Kick-off Session, supported by Coaching Follow-up Sessions at key milestones, or whenever is appropriate. All done via Skype or phone.

‘Sarah is diligent and has a nice combination of being both thorough and pragmatic. Her professional style of working is also complemented by her warm and friendly style, which was very useful in engaging all parts of our programme community and driving progress’ ~ Darren Womack, Senior Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers

‘Sarah is quick to grasp to root cause of problems and issues, she is extremely structured and outcome orientated’ ~ Aaron Kirby, Head of Architecture Services, Westpac Banking Group New Zealand