In this, the eighth of a series of ‘In our shoes’ blogs, Triad Delivery Manager Dan Moore talks about his typical day, from being a servant leader to encouraging collaboration.
Q: What is a Delivery Manager?
Good question! My background is in project management; however, my role has been more delivery focussed over recent projects, hence the job title change. The biggest difference between the two is that a delivery manager encourages collaboration and focuses on the time and efficiency of the team to deliver a quality product. It’s very much a servant leader role where your actions are for the benefit of the team and facilitates them to do good work by protecting them from issues.
Q: What is a typical day at Triad like for you?
Once settled with a coffee, the first task is to join the 15-minute daily stand up. This is a quick ‘round robin’ where the project team provide an update on what they did yesterday, what they plan to do today and if they have any blockers. A few issues usually need to be resolved, so I do a ring round of the team members who raised problems and see if I can help them. This can be as simple as being a sounding board and helping provide some direction, and sometimes it may require more in-depth discussion or other team members to resolve. If we’re approaching the end of a sprint, a sprint review would be next. This entails demonstrating features we’ve delivered as planned at the beginning of the sprint to the stakeholders. The stakeholders can be anyone interested in the product you are developing and provide their input on what has been created to help steer the next sprint’s aims. Later in the day, you might complete a sprint retrospective where, as a team, you discuss the processes: what went well and what could be improved upon for subsequent sprints.
Q: What’s the hardest thing about your role?
As a delivery manager, you must take a lot of information on board from many sources and combine all this to ensure you have a great understanding of people’s wants, problems and what they are currently working on. This can be difficult to manage and to see where the priorities lie, but tools such as Kanban boards can help immensely.
Q: What do you love most about your role?
Working with amazing people. It’s very satisfying to assist a team consisting of a mix of client and supplier experts coming together to produce something of real value to users.
Q: How long have you been at Triad? And what achievement at Triad are you most proud of?
I’ve been with Triad for over a year and a half now and have been involved with some exciting projects. Delivery of my first agile discovery project in the form of Clean Heat Market Mechanism for BEIS is up there. It was something I had never done, but exactly the sort of thing I joined Triad to do. The team worked well together, and we produced something of real quality for the client.
Q: Do you have a role model? And if so, how have they influenced you?
This is a difficult one. I’m not sure I have a role model, but I have some personal principles I like to apply to my working life. The main ones are:
- Be open and honest; there’s no point in suffering in silence.
- Act with integrity and stand by your strengths.
- Show empathy to others; it goes a long way.
Q: Marketing spin aside, what do you think makes Triad different from other IT Consultancies?
I really appreciate the flat structure of the company. I can approach “senior” team members about problems I am encountering without judgement, and they will strive to help me resolve them. Previous consultancies I’ve worked for can be a very hierarchical where it can be difficult to approach the higher-ups when you’re in need. I also feel that Triad genuinely cares about their consultants, achievements and development rather than just the bottom line.
Q: How would you describe the Triad culture, and how do you think it has changed since you joined Triad?
Super supportive. The company has guided me through my transition to a delivery manager, and the leadership team does everything possible to help you succeed. Since joining the company, I’ve been given opportunities that suit my management style and assignments that I enjoy.
If you have a question for Dan or the Triad team, please get in touch.
