Service Leadership Roundtable: People, Process, and Tooling
Where service management really goes wrong
In service management, failure is rarely caused by a single issue. More often, it emerges from a misalignment between people, processes, and tooling — with each being optimised in isolation rather than designed to work together.
In this virtual roundtable, service leaders come together to explore where service management initiatives most commonly derail. Drawing on real-world experience, the discussion examines why well-intentioned improvements so often fall short, and how the imbalance between people, process, and tooling creates friction, frustration, and diminishing returns.
This session is designed for Service Directors, Practice Leads, and senior service management professionals who are accountable for making service models work in practice, not just on paper.
Key discussion areas
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When people, process, and tooling fall out of balance
How over-emphasising one dimension creates unintended consequences elsewhere. -
Why tooling is often blamed — incorrectly
Understanding when tools are the problem, and when they are simply exposing deeper issues. -
The human side of service management
Capability, behaviours, and engagement as critical success factors. -
Process design versus process adoption
Why good processes fail when they are not embedded effectively. -
Identifying where things really go wrong
Early warning signs that service management is becoming misaligned.
Roundtable takeaways
From this roundtable leaders should gain:
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Greater clarity on why service management initiatives fail despite best intentions
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Peer perspectives on balancing people, process, and tooling effectively
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Insight into where to intervene first when services begin to struggle
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Confidence to challenge assumptions about tools and frameworks
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Why this matters
Many organisations invest heavily in new service management tools and process redesign, yet see little improvement in outcomes. When people, process, and tooling are not treated as an integrated system, service management becomes rigid, frustrating, and increasingly disconnected from reality.
For Service Directors, this imbalance often shows up as low adoption, workarounds, and declining confidence from stakeholders. Over time, service management risks becoming a compliance exercise rather than a performance enabler.
This discussion matters because it reframes service management success as a balancing act, not a maturity checklist. By understanding where alignment breaks down, service leaders can take more effective, targeted action — strengthening services without adding unnecessary complexity.