At a glance
- Diverse perspectives (not more experts) uncover the real problem faster
- Hiring for how people think, not just what they know on paper
- No micromanagement - teams that challenge, not just execute
- Most project issues start at framing, not delivery - get the team right first
Featuring Beau Jagger
SAP & Data Capability Manager of COSOL
A funny thing happens in complex technology environments. Put ten highly qualified people in a room, give them a multimillion-dollar problem to solve, and within minutes, they’ll start designing a solution. Not defining the problem or challenging assumptions. Designing.
Why teams default to solutions before fully understanding the problem
Beau Jagger, SAP & Data Capability Manager at COSOL, has spent enough time in those rooms to know exactly how that plays out. More importantly, she’s built her teams in a way that interrupts it.
She doesn’t see team building as a support function to delivery. It’s the starting point. The way a team is constructed shapes what gets heard, what gets missed, and ultimately, whether the right problem is solved at all.
“I’ve built a really strong team where everyone brings a different perspective,” she says. “SAP is so vast that no one can be an expert in all of it. Anyone who claims that is setting themselves up to fail.”
That idea sits at the core of how she approaches her work. Rather than looking for individuals who can cover every base, she is deliberate about bringing together people who see things differently.
From functional consultants and solution architects to client-facing leads, each of them hears something slightly different in the same conversation, and that is exactly the point. When those perspectives are brought together early, the picture becomes clearer, and the risk of solving the wrong problem starts to fall away.
Beau’s approach to hiring reflects the same thinking. Technical capability matters, but it’s not the only lens she uses, and often not the deciding one.
Hiring for how people think, not just what they know
“Rather than focusing purely on whether someone ticks every box on paper, I look at how they interact, answer questions, and whether they’re a cultural fit,” Beau explains.
In practice, that means she is paying attention to how people think, how they communicate, and how they are likely to contribute to the broader dynamic of the team. She’s not trying to assemble a group of individual high performers working in parallel. She’s building combinations of people who make each other better.
There is a pragmatism to this that comes from experience. Over time, Beau has seen what happens when teams are built around narrow definitions of expertise. Gaps appear, often in places no one anticipated, and those gaps tend to surface later in delivery, when they are far more difficult to resolve.
That experience also shapes how she leads, because she has very little interest in control for its own sake.
“I don’t believe in micromanagement. I think it ends up being more of a hindrance than a help,” she says. Instead, her focus is on creating an environment where people are expected to think for themselves and contribute ideas, rather than simply execute what has been decided elsewhere. It is a subtle shift, but it changes the energy of a team. People become more engaged in the outcome, and more willing to challenge assumptions when something does not feel right.
Creating an environment where people challenge, not just execute
“I focus on helping people develop their own ideas,” Beau explains, which is philosophy that carries through into how her teams approach problem-solving with customers. There is a strong emphasis on listening, not just to what is being said, but to what sits underneath it.
“It’s incredibly important to sit back and just listen. If you let the conversation flow, you can start to tease out the real problems,” she explains. This is where the composition of the team really comes into its own. Different roles pick up on different signals. A functional consultant might notice inefficiencies in a process. A solution architect will be thinking about the implications for the broader system. Someone closer to the client relationship might hear hesitation or uncertainty that hasn’t been fully articulated. When those insights are brought together, the team is far better equipped to understand what is actually going on.
It is a way of working that has been shaped, in part, by seeing what happens when those perspectives are missing. Earlier in her career, Beau often found herself stepping into what she describes as “problem child” accounts, where projects had gone off track.
“When you dig deeper into those accounts, you often find that what was sold didn’t align with what the customer actually needed,” she says.
How the right team changes the outcome before delivery even begins
Those experiences leave an imprint. They make it very clear that most issues do not begin in delivery; they begin much earlier, when the problem is first framed and the solution is first proposed. If the team involved at that stage is too narrow in its thinking, the consequences tend to play out later, when they are harder to unwind.
It also explains why Beau is comfortable taking a more measured approach with customers, even when it means not moving straight to a sale.
That level of honesty is easier to sustain when you have confidence in the people around you, and Beau really trusts and she relies on her team.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with very strong solution architects, technical consultants, and functional consultants. Over time, you absorb knowledge from them. You fix problems, and eventually you find yourself repeating insights you’ve learned along the way,” she explains.
There is a sense of continuity in how she describes it. The lessons she learned from others are carried forward into how she supports her own team, not through formal structures, but through day-to-day interactions. “I try to replicate that by giving the same kind of guidance to others,” she says.
One example she points to is supporting a junior salesperson coming into a complex environment. Rather than leaving them to navigate it alone, the team works collectively to help them build confidence and understanding.
All of this adds up to a way of building teams that is both deliberate and practical. It is not about assembling the most impressive individuals on paper, but about creating a group that can think clearly, challenge each other constructively, and stay focused on what actually matters.
In environments where the technology is complex and the stakes are high, that becomes a defining advantage, because long before a solution is designed or implemented, the outcome is already being shaped by who is in the room, how they think, and how well they are able to see the problem for what it really is.
About COSOL
COSOL is built on one belief: in asset-centric industries, reliability is everything. We’re a trusted, data-led asset management partner for organisations around the world who can’t afford to fail. And known for our deep expertise, dependable delivery, and ability to keep critical assets performing at their best.
The company recently celebrated 25 years in business, are Australian-owned and operated, and recognised as reliable partners by their clients across the globe.