Approach

By focusing on bringing people together to work towards a common goal, while ensuring they had the resources to be successful, the project began to turn around.

Listening and Understanding

The first step was to ask open questions and listen to the concerns of different groups within the firm. The approach for the internal finance team was a focus on team building, encouraging mutual support and collaboration. For the HR and IT teams, the start was to assess their level of integration with the project and quickly establish strong working relationships with the other teams, fostering a collaborative environment.

By pausing the project to reassess the situation, engaging with all vendors to understand their perspectives, and adjusting vendor relationships as needed, the firm developed a comprehensive project plan with stakeholder buy-in.

Engaging Leadership

The team worked closely with the firm’s attorney leadership to define what success would look like and helped them understand the additional financial investments needed. By collaborating with them to develop a clear communication strategy, the firm ensured all stakeholders were informed and aligned.

Leadership moved to a role of supporting the project as cheerleaders and enforcers, rather than getting involved in daily decisions. It was impressed upon leadership the importance of using the solutions themselves to set an example.

Building Culture and Collaboration

Team members were identified into three groups: proactive supporters of the project, persuadable adversaries, and active resistors. Clear expectations were set for all groups, and the project teams were balanced to include both supporters and persuadable adversaries. Resistors were coached to adopt the necessary changes.

The firm created clear roles and responsibilities within the team, with a robust structure to raise concerns and objections. This allowed team members to feel heard and valued. The firm assigned specific team members to particular parts of the project, significantly increasing their independent decision-making authority. They empowered those closest to the functions to lead decision-making, ensuring the best outcomes for the project.

Defining Success

The firm set clear and measurable goals for the team as a whole, and for individual contributors. This helped team members understand their role within the project while also focusing on the larger institutional goals. Having defined goals allows team members to self-assess, increasing confidence.

Building Trust and Engagement

The firm instituted regular meetings for managers and their teams, provided opportunities for junior members to take on bigger roles, and ensured continuous feedback. They organized social activities to foster personal connections among team members, and encouraged open communication, promoting a culture of experimentation and support.

To trust in others, you must first trust yourself. It was essential to conduct an honest assessments of team members' skills relative to their roles and brought in third-party help to supplement and support areas where internal capabilities were lacking.

Technology and Vendor Adjustments

The firm replaced the outdated paperless billing solution with a new vendor offering a proactive partnership and a superior product. They used the feedback from project vendors to change the approach and better utilize their skills, which was one of the major contributors to finishing the project under budget.