Jeff Flesch 7:50 pm on September 16, 2020
Tags: buildingbalance, businessinnovation, creatingalignment ( 2 ), creatinginnovation, creatingsafety ( 3 ), developingbalance, establishingtrust, innovativeleadership, institutingaccountability, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipcahange ( 3 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipinpractice ( 3 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), organizationalinnovation, teamdevelopment ( 21 )

The Big 5: Developing An Innovative Culture

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is javier-trueba-vfjnewjaa2g-unsplash.jpg — Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash

When I worked as a District Sales Leader at Frito-Lay, the company had an operating system for their sales teams, known as the Big 3, which consisted of the following.

1W1’s
Monthly Team Meetings
Ride-Alongs

I have no idea if the Big 3 is still in place, however, I do know that the system worked well. Why? There are 5 reasons. Ready? Let’s go.

Establish Trust
Create Alignment
Develop Balance
Build Collaboration
Institute Accountability

Little did I know then, that these five outputs would actually show up in a different way 20 years later. Yep. How?

They showed up as important to developing and building an innovative culture. A culture grounded in trust, alignment, balance, collaboration, and, yep, accountability. The outcome? Innovation.

Alright, let’s now call these, just for fun, the Big 5. What, then, do we get when we instill the Big 5 into our teams, businesses, and organizations? A culture where innovation can thrive.

Implementing the Big 5 into your team is about developing culture. As your culture develops, you can then wrap processes and systems around that culture.

You may be wondering about developing systems first, then culture. I would advise against it. Why? Culture matters more. Simple.

Alright, let’s take a look at the Big 5.

1. Establish Trust

I’ve written about establishing trust a couple of times. In 3 Steps and 9 Keys to Creating Safety on a Team in 5 Minutes, I write about 9 keys to creating safety on teams. And, inside of creating safety is establishing trust. Very important.

Establishing trust must come before people will feel safe. If people do not feel safe, they will hold back. Makes perfect sense. However, when there is trust, people will give all that they have, and they will also be vulnerable, try new things, go out on limbs; and, that is where innovation lives.

When there is trust between you and the team, and between each team member, you have an opportunity to create outputs and outcomes that have never been seen before. Why?

Because trust + safety + vulnerability = innovation.

Once trust and safety are in place, creating alignment is next. Creating alignment can take time. It took the team I currently work on over 2 years to create alignment. Year 1 was creating trust and safety. Year 2, creating alignment.

2. Create Alignment

Alignment takes time. Really. It is normal for teams to move in different directions at the beginning. If you are unsure about this truth, that’s okay.

You can implement systems and processes upfront to ensure creating alignment quickly. However, as was aforementioned, creating those systems and processes early will also create a barrier to innovation. Why?

Because innovation thrives in an open environment where all the answers are not figured out. Though this can be stressful, know inside of an innovative environment, where safety, trust and vulnerability thrive, systems and processes will come.

Alignment comes when a vision is cast and strategy is created to tie the day-day operations to that vision. Each person on a team has a role to play in the execution of a vision.

When you get clear on everyone’s role and responsibilities, you are ready to create alignment between the vision and the day-to-day operations.

Here is how it looks linearly.

Create a 10-year vision
Create a 5-year vision
Create a 3-year plan
Create this year’s objectives
Create 90-day priorities
Create work of the month
Create work of the week
Create work of the day

Though that list looks long, it really isn’t that much, though it does take time. There is a very good resource for creating this kind of vision system, it is called Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, by Gino Wickman. I highly recommend it to all leaders in all organizations.

Alright, now that you’ve established trust and created alignment, the next step is to develop balance. Sounds simple. Yet, developing balance takes practice. Let’s take a look.

3. Develop Balance

As a leader, should you focus more on culture, or more on performance? Hm. Both are important. I like to think about culture and performance, like a see saw. Focus going back and forth. Sometimes, culture takes precedent, and sometimes, performance.

However, you must have both.

If you have a strong culture, and performance issues, you are not moving forward. If you have excellent performance metrics, and no culture, people will burn out and leave.

Developing a balanced approach to culture and performance takes practice, and an open mind. Meaning that when people bring you intelligence that a shift towards culture, or towards performance is needed, be open to shifting focus. Important.

In an open environment where trust and alignment have been created, the team will let you know. Really, they will. However, you still need to pay close attention to the team, and each individual on the team.

Like anything, developing balance takes time, and practice. You will know when you stray too far into one realm or the other. You can feel it when a team is not moving, or is moving too much. Watch, listen, and feel.

Collaboration is another important component to build in the journey towards creating an innovative culture. Some might say it is one of the most important.

4. Build Collaboration

Why is collaboration so important? Well, to develop an innovative culture, building collaboration is a must. On teams where trust, alignment, and balance have been instituted, vulnerability will also typically be present.

And, being vulnerable with each other in an environment where collaboration is high is a natural breeding ground for innovation. Why?

Because where vulnerability meets collaboration is an open space ready for innovation to occur.

Actually, where vulnerability meets collaboration is where innovation is already happening. Really, it is.

Innovation needs spaces that are open, collaborative, and safe. Further, alignment and balance also help create innovative spaces. Though we’ve already discussed these two, there are two more reasons that showcase just how true the last sentence is.

Because when your team is aligned, you are all on the same page, moving in the same direction. You are one.
Because when there is balance, you also have balance with innovation. For instance, if all you do is innovate, then nothing will move forward. Similarly if all you do is execute, then innovation will founder. You need both. Both innovation and execution. A must.

Alright, now, let’s talk about accountability.

5. Institute Accountability

You may be asking yourself right now, what in the world does accountability have to do with innovation? Well, a lot actually. Let’s go.

Fostering an innovative culture, which also executes is imperative to actually creating newness in the world. You have to develop both sides of the equation. Similar to developing balance. And, how do you instill accountability into your culture? It starts with you.

You must practice accountability. Holding yourself accountable, first. You must also be open to the team holding you accountable. Accountable for what, you ask? For what you say and do. Integrity.

Developing an innovative culture means that each individual, starting with the leader, holds themselves accountable for the actions they take, and sometimes, don’t take.

The same goes with the team. When each individual holds themselves to the culture of innovation that you are developing, the team is also simultaneously held accountable. And, when people don’t perform?

Well, you must understand why. If it is a skill issue, offer them the opportunity to develop, to grow. If they are interested, great. If not, well, that is their choice.

If it is will. Then they also have a choice.

Bottom line. Developing an innovative culture means that accountability is taken seriously. As seriously as having fun, growing together, learning from each other, and innovating new products and services. Same.

Alright, that’s the Big 5 of developing an innovative culture. Fun. And, guess what? You can develop an innovative culture anytime. Really. How? Well, like all things, one step, or action at a time.

What will you develop next?

#buildingbalance, #businessinnovation, #creatingalignment, #creatinginnovation, #creatingsafety, #developingbalance, #establishingtrust, #innovativeleadership, #institutingaccountability, #leadership, #leadershipcahange, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipinpractice, #leadershipmindset, #leadershippractice, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #organizationaldevelopment, #organizationalinnovation, #teamdevelopment

Jeff Flesch 7:44 pm on September 14, 2020
Tags: firefighters, inspiring, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipinaction, oregonfires, oregonwildfires, wildfires ( 2 )

Clouds In The Sky

Alright, so I got home form work today about 5 pm. I was feeling tired before even getting home, so took a nap. Yep. Today, I sleep when needed. Not something I did for most of my life.

Anyway, after my nap, I wanted to go outside. As I walked out of my apartment and looked up and to the left, I squinted. The sun, wait, what?

For those of you wondering what I’m talking about, I live in Oregon, where for the past 7 days the sky has been filled with smoke and ash. No sun in 7 days.

Now, no sun is a normal part of living in the PacNW, yet, not, as it was these past 7 days, due to the largest wildfires in OR history, burning over 1 million acres.

I looked back down, and up and to the right. And, there it was. The sky! The clouds, wow, what a wondrous sight. Beautiful. And, at the same time I was feeling joy and wonder, I was also feeling sadness and worry. Why?

Because the fires are still raging across the state. Many of died, tens of thousands have had to evacuate their homes, many, many, many have lost their homes, and, in several instances, whole towns have been destroyed.

This post is for all of them, and for the amazing firefighters on the front lines battling the wildfires each and every day.

We are thinking about you, sending love, energy, and support to all of you, and appreciate your leadership, dedication, and persistence.

Lead well, and be safe.

#firefighters, #inspiring, #leadership, #leadershipinaction, #oregonfires, #oregonwildfires, #wildfires

Jeff Flesch 8:00 am on September 9, 2020
Tags: creatingalignmentinyourwhy ( 2 ), leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipmindset ( 15 ), Relationships ( 28 ), simonsinec, systemstheory, youroriginstroy, youtwhy

An Insight: Creating Alignment in Your Why

September 8, 2020

The ability to share why you do what you do, is much more important than sharing what you do, or how you do it. Simon Sinek talks about this at length in his famous Ted Talk. In this video, we explore an insight I had last week, about the importance of aligning your why with your team, business, organization, and community. They are all related.

#creatingalignmentinyourwhy, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmindset, #relationships, #simonsinec, #systemstheory, #youroriginstroy, #youtwhy

Jeff Flesch 7:56 pm on September 6, 2020
Tags: businessdevelopment ( 4 ), developingteams ( 3 ), developmentandgroth, leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), Learning ( 15 ), learningandengagement, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment ( 21 ), teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 ), teamtraining ( 2 )

The Blog + Video Series #13: Moving From Concept to Execution: Implementing Developmental Growth Opportunities at Work

This week I’ve been reflecting upon how we learn. Though there are learning styles, which are important to know, I’ve been reflecting more upon the process of learning. How we take in new information, process it, reflect upon it, adapt it, and formalize it into the other processes and systems we currently use.

Why might this be important to consider, understand, and become familiar with?

Good question. It is important to consider and understand, because this understanding can help leaders create bridges for people. The familiarity of which can create a bridge for your team and move you from concept into execution. Let’s take a look how.

Learning

It’s important for everyone to have access to developmental opportunities. To learn and to grow. Important. Knowing this, how do you suppose you create these opportunities? While larger organizations typically have a model for training staff, it does not always follow that everyone in the organization has the same access to developmental opportunities. Hm.

What to do, then, when your business or organization does not offer training, or those training programs are limited in some way, or designated for only mid-level and executive employees?

Create them from within

As a leader, you can create opportunities for your team to develop and grow. How? Find out what each person’s strengths and weaknesses are, always starting with yourself first, and then find ways to engage them with new concepts and tools to stretch them, and help them grow.

For instance, we created an opportunity in our second year as a team to develop strategic thinking skills, which included several training days. The culmination of which was deploying a system for organizing our daily work and balancing strategy. The need was there, and we moved it forward, and so can you.

Here are some considerations on how to get started.

Define the need – here are some questions to assist your thinking.
- Where is the gap?
- What training is needed to fill the gap?
- Who will facilitate the training?
- When will you implement the training?
- How will you evaluate the training’s effectiveness?
- What is the return on investment of the training?
Create a training plan with internal or external training professionals – here are some questions to consider.
- What is the training goal?
- How will you know when you’ve met your goal?
- What does post-training traction look like?
- What metrics will you use to measure traction?
Implement – communicate about the training, create buy-in with staff, and implement.
Evaluate – make sure you have traction.
Repeat – we created a system of training once a quarter. Worked well.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is gaelle-marcel-l8snwgunqbu-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Adjustment

With any learning process, there is a period of time that people need to adjust to their new workflow reality. How can you assist staff in making these necessary adjustments?

Here are a few ideas.

Create a post-training system to ensure that you have traction – the system should at the very least include:
- Post-training follow up – what did you and the team learn, and how will you move the new concepts and tools forward.
- Periodic staff check-in’s – I’ve always used one-with-ones to ensure that staff have the support they need, and are adjusting well to their new workflow reality.
- Measure your movement – create a way to measure your post-training progress. This might be quantitative metrics, such as increases in revenue, or it may be qualitative, such as increased workflow effectiveness.
Continue to follow-up – to really gain traction, the new concepts and tools must be incorporated into everyone’s daily work, including yours. There really is no other way. If this does not happen, the new concepts and tools you are implementing will lack traction.
Create consistency – once you have movement, start talking with the leadership team about the next training. Be consistent, and offer training opportunities at a regular drumbeat, so staff can count on, and expect them.
Monitor progress – continue to check in with staff on their progress. Monitor traction. You may find that after three months, the team needs a refresher on a topic you’ve already covered. That’s okay. What really matters is that you’ve created access for your team to develop and grow; and that you will remain committed to doing so, refreshers and all.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jj-ying-7jx0-bfiuxq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Integrate

Once the team has adjusted to their new reality, which includes new concepts and tools, you will need to devise individual development plans. These plans will ensure that each staff integrates the new concepts and tools into their current workflow in a way that suits their learning style, which will increase retention, mastery, and traction.

Where to start?

As was aforementioned, I’ve used one-with-one’s often in my professional career. I find that they work well to create plans tailored to the individual. These plans can also be used to track progress and as a coaching tool.

The most important thing about integration, is that all staff actively integrate the new concepts and tools into their daily workflow. You are building healthy habits in this regard. Really. People like habits, and once you have created that habituation within yourself, a must, you can deploy that to the team.

Here are a few examples.

Whiteboards – some people are very visual, and literally need to see the work drawn or sketched out. I’m like that. If you have staff that are visual, do whiteboard work with them, so they can see the new concepts and tools inside of their current workflow. Important.
Post-its – funny. I always say it matters less how you organize yourself, than it does that you develop a system that works for you. And, if post-its work for you, like they do me, use them. Again, what matters is that the staff member can feel a level of comfort with the new concepts and tools, inside of a system they’ve already developed.
Calendars – a good way to organize by setting reminders for new tasks. For instance, after we completed a strategic thinking training day last year, I had every staff member add one hour per week of strategic thinking to their calendars.
Project Management Systems – we’ve been using a project management system for over a year now. Works for some on the team, and not as much for others. Yet, having a systematized way to move larger projects forward is important. I’ve found this addition helpful, and a contributor to the team’s overall traction.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jesus-santos-zbbkk2-cgf8-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Reflect

We all need time to process new information, time to reflect. I advocate for giving your staff the same consideration you give yourself, especially when incorporating new concepts and tools into their daily work. You need it as a leader, and so do they. We all do.

How do you incorporate reflection time into the day?

If you use reflection often as a daily strategy this will be simpler. If you do not, there may be a stretch here for you, however, I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor. We are all inundated with constant stimuli, and the need to take a break from that stimuli to really get clear on our work is necessary and needed.

Here are a few strategies you can try.

Build that time in for yourself first – the only way to create traction with anything, is to create it for yourself first. Once you have a system down, you can coach and guide people into it. If you are not familiar with reflection time, add 30-minute reflection times into your daily calendar. Try it a couple times a week, with a goal to have it worked into your calendar daily.
Coach the team on taking the same time – once you’ve practiced taking reflection time for yourself, you can advise the team on doing the same thing. Have them build it in similarly. A day or two a week to start, with the goal of having daily reflection time.
Create reflection time after meetings and one-with-one’s – another strategy that we employ is taking time to reflect upon decisions. As you practice this strategy, you will come to see, as we have, that many decisions do not need to be made quickly. You have time. Take it, and use it wisely to reflect and engage with yourself and your team on the best course of action.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ux-indonesia-qc2n6rqu4vw-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Formalize

Once you have strategies in place to incorporate new learning, integration, adjustment, and reflection time into everyone’s workflow, you can start to make plans to formalize these new processes and systems. Simply meaning that to build these healthy work habits, and to have them stick, they must be practiced daily; and they need to be documented.

As we’ve discussed, people all learn differently, so create a few different ways to engage with the team, which will ensure you maintain traction on the aforementioned learning strategies. The main way we move projects of this size forward is to input them into our project management software, which has worked pretty well.

Again, what you use to formalize and document a new system or process, of which learning and development are two, matters less than you taking the time to create a learning and development plan for yourself, each team member, and the overall team.

I think you will find that the payoff in terms of work efficiency, overall team moral, and team cohesion will increase as you continue to create opportunities for people to learn new things, and to develop themselves at work. And, once that is accomplished, you and your team will be ready to move from concept to execution, and into the traction zone.

Be well, and lead well.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is daria-nepriakhina-zocdwpuirua-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

#businessdevelopment, #developingteams, #developmentandgroth, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmindset, #leadershippractice, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #learning, #learningandengagement, #organizationaldevelopment, #teambuilding, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral, #teamtraining

Jeff Flesch 5:18 pm on September 5, 2020
Tags: acceptance ( 6 ), acceptanceslkills, businessdevelopment ( 4 ), businessplanning ( 3 ), businessstrategy ( 3 ), covid-19anddevelopment ( 2 ), covid-19andresilience ( 4 ), covid-19businessdevelopment, covid-19leadership ( 2 ), covid-19organizationaldevelopment, covid-19teamdevelopment, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), listeningskills, listentothosearoundyou, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), persistencewithoutresistance ( 3 ), teamdevelopment ( 21 ), teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 ), teammorale

4 Keys to Creating Persistence in the Face of Resistance Through Acceptance for Yourself, and Your Team, Business, or Organization

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is lucas-myers-r7fcipagre4-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Lucas Myers on Unsplash

What types of resistance do you face at work, in life? And, how do they affect your daily work, and the people that work around you? In the article, 7 Keys to Balancing Strategic Thinking with the Day-to-Day Operations of Your Team, Business, or Organization, persistence is the first key that I talk about. Right now I do believe it is the most important. Why?

Because, as leaders, there are two ways we are confronted with resistance on a regular basis; and, being persistent is the key to continuing to move our teams, businesses, and organizations forward.

Here are those two ways.

Resistance to the ever-changing realities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resistance to the current COVID-19 pandemic reality as compared to our previous realities.

Both of these instances of resistance can cause pain and suffering, for ourselves, our teams, businesses, organizations, and all of those that we serve.

What are some strategies that we can use to notice when we are resisting our current reality, regardless of whether it is due to resisting the amount of daily change we are confronted with, or resisting our new reality in comparison to our previous realities?

Here are 4 tips you can use to persist in the face of resistance

1. Notice when you are resisting the current reality

The first step to shifting your attention from resistance to persistence is to know when you are resisting. Sounds simple, yes? It is and isn’t. Noticing when you are resisting the current reality may pose more challenges today, as we are all living and working through so much change.

Combine that amount of change with other environmental stimuli and we have a situation where paying attention to how we are feeling is more challenging.

These are not normal times. Better language. Normal is only relative to what we once knew, and whatever “new normal” we think will show up, it will not be what was. We need to face this reality, get used to it, and learn how to do our work inside of it.

Doing so means learning to notice when we are actively resisting the current reality. How? Practice. Pay attention to how you feel. For me, frustration or agitation are relatively good indicators that I may be resisting the current reality. When I feel frustrated or agitated, I ask myself, why?

What’s the reason for the frustration and agitation?

When the reason is known, and the reason is that you are actively resisting the current reality, you can begin to consider shifting your focus from resistance to persistence through acceptance.

2. Shifting your focus from resistance to persistence through acceptance

Acceptance of the current reality is key to shifting from resistance to persistence. It is a must. When we do not accept the current reality, we are also actively resisting the current reality.

Either by living in denial, disagreement, disapproval, opposition, or complete refusal of the current reality. And, what happens when we are living and working this way?

We cannot create new ways to move ourselves, and our teams, businesses, and organizations forward. Maybe better language is that we are limited in our capacity to move ourselves, and our teams, businesses, and organizations forward. Why?

Because when we resist the current reality, we are limited by that focus. And, resistance is a very limited frame of reference. Whereas, persistence is about continuing to move forward in the face of any and all adversity. A much wider frame of reference.

Movement and this wider frame of reference are key. And, when the movement has stalled, as leaders, we can then create that movement. Creation and persistence go very well together. Creation and resistance? Not so much.

When you’ve moved from noticing your resistance to actively shifting your attention to persistence through acceptance, you can create new possibilities for yourself, and your team, business, and organization.

*3. Listen to**those around you*

Another way we can become more aware of our own resistance is to listen to those around us. When people point to our resistance, it is very helpful. It may not always feel helpful, however, as leaders being open, available, and flexible is important.

When we are open, available, and flexible, we have the ability to take constructive feedback and do something with it. And, doing something with that feedback is important for us, and the teams, businesses, and organizations we lead.

Here is a quick example.

Today I was in conversation with a staff member that was questioning the need for a recurring meeting, as we had recently discussed the need to pause this work for now. Freeing up that staff member to work on the current business needs that are most pressing.

Whereas I was not openly resistant to the idea, upon reflection I noticed that I might have inadvertently been resisting canceling those meetings for various reasons.

However, none of those reasons were more important than the facts. We don’t need that meeting right now. And, that is what the staff member was pointing to. Extremely helpful.

As is the knowledge that sometimes our own resistance of a situation or event may be very subtle; and, not something that we are doing purposefully. An important distinction to be clear on.

You don’t get a demerit for being resistant. You are a human being. We are all resistant at times. Important to remember, as being upset or frustrated with your own resistance will only bring more resistance and frustration. Not helpful.

Listen to the people you have surrounded yourself with.

They are there for a reason. And, that reason may just be to point out your resistance, which is helpful. Knowing this allows you to move from resistance to acceptance and into persistence.

4. Invite your team, business, or organization to do the same

If you are at times resistance, then so are those that you work with, and serve. Important to understand. As you work on your own resistance, you can assist others in working on their resistance. Sometimes it is simply pointing it out. Other times, it may require a deeper conversation.

Either way, that you know about your own resistance and know how to shift to acceptance, means that you can also coach others on moving into acceptance. It is so important to create more flexibility and adaptability today.

The change we’ve all been through and the change that has yet to come are going to require more flexibility and more adaptability. In turn, they will also require acceptance of what is. Acceptance of the current state of reality today. And, the current state of reality tomorrow. However, they show up.

When we can fully accept what is before us, we can begin to create new pathways for ourselves and our teams, businesses, and organizations. And, when we can create these new pathways, whether they are new business models, new engagement systems, or new staffing models, we can serve our clients, customers, and community in more effective ways. Why?

Because we are not resisting the current reality, pretending that normal will come back. Normal is gone. Let it go, and move from resistance to acceptance and into persistence.

Be well and lead well.

#acceptance, #acceptanceslkills, #businessdevelopment, #businessplanning, #businessstrategy, #covid-19anddevelopment, #covid-19andresilience, #covid-19businessdevelopment, #covid-19leadership, #covid-19organizationaldevelopment, #covid-19teamdevelopment, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmindset, #leadershipvalues, #listeningskills, #listentothosearoundyou, #organizationaldevelopment, #persistencewithoutresistance, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral, #teammorale

Jeff Flesch 7:41 pm on September 3, 2020
Tags: businesscoaching, businessmetrics, creatinga10-yearvision, creatingstrategy ( 3 ), creatingvision ( 6 ), develpingmetrics, goalsetting ( 3 ), leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipinpractice ( 3 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), strategicplanning ( 7 ), strategicthinking ( 11 ), team ( 3 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment ( 21 ), teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 )

Leadership in Practice Series Part 2: Creating 90-Day Priorities Inside of a 10-Year Vision

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is matt-noble-bptmnn9jsmq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Matt Noble on Unsplash

Once your vision is created, then what? Regardless of whether it is a 10-year, 5-year, or 3-year vision, you will need to put plans in place that will connect the daily work to that vision. That is how your 10-year vision will become a reality.

What, then, are the first steps to ensure that your weekly, monthly, and quarterly work connects to the long-term vision?

In this article we will walk through the process we went through to connect the 10-year vision to our 90-day priorities. First, another question.

Where does a leader start when they want to ensure that everyone’s daily work on the team, or in the business or organization they belong to is contributing to the long-term goals?

Let’s take a look.

Start with the 10-year Vision and ask yourself a couple of questions.

What are the goals of the 10-year vision?
What are the metrics of the 5-year plan?
What will the current year look like?

Let’s look at each question, one at a time.

What are the goals of the 10-year vision?

Once the vision is created, it’s time to create the goals that will drive all of the work. However, before you move on to creating those goals, which will drive the objectives and priorities, ask yourself what your vision will look like in reality.

What will the revenue and service look like, what will the staffing model look like, will you add positions between now and then?

Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, or ones that are more important to your particular vision, start to build out what that vision will look like in reality. Here is an example, vision first, then what it will look like in reality.

Here is the vision

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2774.png

Here is what it will look like

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2775.png — Note that the word profit in this instance is referring to department reinvestment funds.

Once you’ve created the 10-year vision, and also know what it will look like, you are ready to work backward. When I went through this exercise last year, I started this part of the planning session with year 5. I looked at the previously designated metrics and asked myself what they would look like in reality. For instance, what would revenue look like, and how many people would we serve.

What are the metrics of the 5-year plan?

Here is what that looked like

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2777.png

It is a wonderful exercise to start with the larger 10-year vision and to work backward to the 5-year plan, creating more clarity as you go. It is how you begin to connect the 10-year vision with the work you need to do today.

Once you’ve worked backward to year 5, you are ready to work backward once again to year 3, or whatever the current year is for your team, business, or organization. It is important to continue to get clearer on what the future reality will look like.

What will the current year look like?

Year 3 Department Objectives

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As you continue to work backward from the 10-year vision to year 5, to the current year you are planning for, in this example, year 3, the objectives that will lead the team to that 10-year vision do become more clear. Important.

And, as these objectives become more clear, so will the priorities that will drive each person’s work. For instance, in our year 3, we had 1-year objectives, which we executed on in 90-day chunks. Meaning that we focused on moving forward our yearly objectives with 90-day priorities that would shift as needed, yet the objectives would remain the same.

Year 3 Staff Objectives

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Once you get to 90-day priorities, it is time to create a coaching model that will mirror all of the aforementioned. Fully discussing this coaching model is for another article, yet I would like to share with you the simple template we created, so you can see how a 10-year vision can connect to a staff member’s daily work.

Coaching Model Template

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Though you can only see a portion of the form, you can see the overall process, where the yearly objectives (on the left) are connected to the department objectives (on the left in bold), while the specific priorities and actions to move that work forward are on the right. Fun.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote the following article, One BHAG, Two BHAG, and Creating a Disruption Vision, in which we discussed the possibility of creating a disruption vision or BHAG inside of a 10-year vision. And now, the planning process we’ve walked through in this article is being recreated. The difference?

Because there is so much change right now, we have a 1-year BHAG, which lives inside of the 10-year vision, and 30-day priorities, instead of 90. I am in the process right now of re-instituting one-with-ones so that we can discuss, plan, and create our next actions one month at a time. Allowing us the pivotability, and flexibility needed.

Very well. There you have an example, with tools, on how you can connect your team, business, or organizations’ 10-year vision to the work that needs to be done daily to ensure that the 10-year vision will live in reality.

Be well, and lead well.

You can reach Jeff Flesch at fleschj@linnbenton.edu

#businesscoaching, #businessmetrics, #creatinga10-yearvision, #creatingstrategy, #creatingvision, #develpingmetrics, #goalsetting, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipinpractice, #leadershipmindset, #leadershippractice, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #strategicplanning, #strategicthinking, #team, #teambuilding, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral

Jeff Flesch 8:00 am on September 3, 2020
Tags: changeagency, changeagent ( 2 ), covid-19leadership ( 2 ), createthefuturefromthefuture, creatingchange ( 10 ), leadershipandtransformation, leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipmin, leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), lettinggoofthepast ( 2 ), persistencewithoutresistance ( 3 ), questioningourbeliefs ( 2 ), recreatingourbeliefs ( 2 ), transformationalleadership ( 4 )

The Transformation Video Series #2: Leadership, Transformation, and Becoming An Agent of Change

The Transformation Video Series #2

#changeagency, #changeagent, #covid-19leadership, #createthefuturefromthefuture, #creatingchange, #leadershipandtransformation, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmin, #leadershipmindset, #leadershipprinciples, #lettinggoofthepast, #persistencewithoutresistance, #questioningourbeliefs, #recreatingourbeliefs, #transformationalleadership

Jeff Flesch 8:29 pm on September 1, 2020
Tags: businessdevelopment ( 4 ), creatingstrategy ( 3 ), creatingvision ( 6 ), employeemorale, innovation ( 11 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipstrategies, motivation ( 6 ), motivationfromwithin, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), responsibilityandmotivation, servantleadership ( 5 ), strategicplanning ( 7 ), strategicthinking ( 11 ), teamdevelopment ( 21 ), teammoral ( 4 )

Maintaining Motivation Inside of Innovation: An Investigation and Invitation

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is peter-fogden-z7oytxgi6vi-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Peter Fogden on Unsplash

A different kind of post today. I am interested in investigating how it is that teams continue to stay motivated, at the individual, and team level, during times of great change and innovation. Have you ever made this consideration? Yes, no? Here is how I began to consider the topic.

COVID-19 has created contexts in teams, businesses, and organizations that have required great strides in innovation. Innovation that is continuous. Every day. Making choices about how to continue to pivot your business model, to keep up the momentum, stay relevant, and remain sustainable. We’ve been inside such a context, much, I’m sure, like you have.

Then about two weeks ago, we had a team assignment connected to the department’s disruption BHAG, which I wrote about in, One BHAG, Two BHAG, and Creating a Disruption Vision . The assignment was to create our top three priorities for July. Why only July? Because, as was aforementioned, the amount, scale, and speed of change right now is so great, creating priorities for more than 30-days seems unreasonable.

During that time, one of our team members asked this question.

How do you maintain motivation inside of innovation? A wonderful question.

It is inside of this question that we will do two things.

Investigate how to continue to create motivation, inside of vast amounts of change and innovation.
Invite you to respond with your thoughts, ideas, and best practices.

We have, then, an investigation, and an invitation. Ready? Let’s go.

First, I have questions. Here are a few that will guide our investigation.

Where does individual motivation come from?
Where does the team’s motivation come from?
What does the larger institution, organization, or business have to do with individual and team motivation, and morale?
What strategies can leaders deploy to ensure that each individual team member and the team as a whole stays motivated during great change?
What is the responsibility of each individual team member when considering motivation inside of innovation?

1. Where does motivation come from?

Though many people look for motivation in things that live outside of themselves, motivation actually comes from within. You become motivated by doing things. For instance, if you want to become more organized or organized differently, you must try new things. Put a new system in place, and practice it. If it works, awesome, if not, try something new.

When we actually practice that which we want to become better at, motivation will arise inside of that practice. In this example, becoming more organized happens as we practice and learn about how to better organize ourselves.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is allie-z7v1izmeqrq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Allie on Unsplash

2. Where does the team’s motivation come from?

From a psychological perspective, each individual contributes their individual motivation to the collective team. And, from a sociological perspective, the collective team motivation is an output of those individual motivations. The leader of that team must then direct both the individual and team motivation toward the vision, goals, objectives, and priorities.

However, I think it important to remember that when priorities change often inside of creating new business models and learning about new ways to do business, motivation can become precarious. Not necessarily because people are unmotivated, though that is also possible. More, I think it has something to do with just how much work it takes to continue to pivot your business. Again, and again.

3. What does the larger institution, organization, or business have to do with individual and team motivation, and morale?

For me, the answer to this question is rather simple. Whether it happens or not, may not be as simple. All people that work within an organization need to understand, have access to, and be able to connect their individual work to the larger institutional vision. Important.

When these connections can be made, there is more cohesion, and the possibility of motivation remaining higher. We must also remember, however, that there will be varying levels of motivation inside of the institution, organization, or business, dependent on how each team leads their work. There will be differences.

These differences can affect motivation and morale when people cannot see themselves inside of the vision. When creating new visions during times of great change and innovation, these visions should connect to the larger vision. Also important, people need to see themselves inside of these visions.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is rahul-bhosale-ybgc-qvcxmg-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Rahul Bhosale on Unsplash

4. What strategies can leaders deploy to ensure that each individual team member and the team as a whole stays motivated during great change?

Difficult, as leaders may also be struggling with their own motivation during times of great change. Yet, there are things leaders can do for themselves, and their teams to keep motivation present for people. All the while recognizing that there will be times when people are unmotivated. That is also okay. It’s part of the human process.

What things can you do to stay motivated, and to keep the team motivated.

Create a new vision – when things are changing on such a vast scale, creating new ways to conceptualize your work is critical. If people continue to do their work just like they did before, which may not work, motivation may remain elusive.
Be flexible – flexibility goes hand in hand with adaptability. You must be flexible to adapt to changing situations, no matter how small or large they are. Be open.
Listen – understanding how each person is doing on the team is very important. And, you must listen well to really know how they are doing. You need to create individual time with people, and listen.
Provide feedback – honest and direct feedback is helpful. We all need to know that we are heading in the right direction, and when we are not, to be guided back. If you lead teams, your team can also do that for you. Important to have that reciprocal relationship.

5. What is the responsibility of each individual team member when considering motivation inside of innovation?

There is really only one thing I want to write about in this area; and that is about Communication. Communicating with each other often by telling each other how things are going, where changes or adjustments are needed, when we are feeling unmotivated, or especially motivated is extremely important. I cannot overstate this fact.

When there are communication breakdowns, people have limited sight on what is happening and understanding of what is known. And, when there are limitations on what people know, people will fill in that gap with what they believe is happening.

Typically, however, the stories that are generated to fill these gaps are incomplete. And, they are only so, because people don’t have all of the information they need.

Communication is one of the most important principles to practice at any time on a team; and now, during COVID-19, it is even more important. Staying connected, and in good communication with your team is essential to maintaining motivation inside of innovation.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is mimi-thian-vdxmsix-n6m-unsplash-1.jpg — Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Closing

Alright, there is an investigation into motivation inside of innovation. I believe that the investigation has yielded a few possible insights, so let’s capture them again here.

Motivation comes from within ourselves – motivation does not live inside of concepts or objects in the outside world.
The team’s motivation is individual and collective – team motivation comes from each individual’s contribution and the teams combined motivation, which are guided by the leader.
Motivation, vision, and morale – individuals must be able to see themselves inside of the overall vision, and visions need to be connected. Remember also, motivation will go up and down, and that is okay.
Leadership strategies – create a new vision, be flexible, listen well, and provide feedback.
Responsibility and motivation – communicate, communicate, communicate. Important.

Now for the fun part.

My invitation

I am inviting each of you to contribute to this post. I would like to know from your perspective, how do you, or how do you plan to maintain motivation inside of innovation. You can use the questions that were used to guide this post, or you can use the ones that follow.

Here are some questions for you to consider?

What strategies do you use to maintain motivation for yourself and your team?
What strategies have worked well in maintaining motivation on your team?
What other strategies have you not yet tried that you plan to implement soon to increase motivation for yourself and your team?
What strategies did not work as well, and why?
What other insights do you have to share about motivation and innovation?

Okay, there we have it. An investigation and invitation in how to maintain motivation inside of innovation. Was fun.

#businessdevelopment, #creatingstrategy, #creatingvision, #employeemorale, #innovation, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipstrategies, #motivation, #motivationfromwithin, #organizationaldevelopment, #responsibilityandmotivation, #servantleadership, #strategicplanning, #strategicthinking, #teamdevelopment, #teammoral

Jeff Flesch 1:37 pm on August 29, 2020
Tags: businesstraining, creative process ( 3 ), creativity ( 34 ), developinghighqualityrelationships ( 3 ), developingourselves ( 7 ), developingprocessesandsystems ( 2 ), developingresilience ( 7 ), developingteams ( 3 ), development ( 35 ), developmentandgrowth ( 18 ), experientiallearning, individual learning ( 2 ), individualtraning, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction, leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), Learning ( 15 ), learning and engagement ( 2 ), professionaldevelopment ( 13 ), team ( 3 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment ( 21 ), teamtraining ( 2 ), training

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