Tag: #changemanagement

What does outstanding look like?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I am doing a piece of gap analysis work and using the NHS change model gap analysis tool to help with this.  Over the space of nine different tabs in a spreadsheet, the tool covers:

  • Shared purpose
  • Leadership by all
  • Motivate and mobilise
  • System drivers
  • Measurement
  • Project and performance management
  • Improvement tools
  • Spread and adoption
  • GAP tool

The last one is basically a pictorial representation of the scores entered in to each of the other tabs on where we are now and where we want to be, in a range for zero to ten in radar diagrams.

On each of the other tabs, the same three questions are asked with a different emphasis:

  1. What does outstanding look and feel like?
  2. What works well?
  3. What would be even better if…?

Of course, this is a work based tool, but it could so easily be used for everyday life too. The whole point of a gap analysis is to reflect on where we are now versus where we want to be in the future.  Then we can consider what actions are required to get us there and in what timeframe.

Even if we were to look at this as an individual wanting to make changes in our lives, we can consider each of these, for example, our shared purpose might be to provide a safe and loving home environment.  Leadership in that context might mean who is going to be responsible for what and when, it could be some home maintenance, it could be primary carer responsibilities and so on.  Then how we motivate and mobilise could encompass opportunities to engage with other members of our families or social groups to assist, if someone has some particular skills that could be made use of. You could resort to incentives to gain that assistance, like “if you come over and help me paint the lounge, I’ll cook you dinner”. 

What system drivers could be included in a scenario such as this? Maybe a driver for painting the lounge is because you’re putting the house on the market and you want to freshen it up for prospective buyers.  The project and performance management includes things like planning when the activity is going to take place, what you need in order for it to happen (buying paint and brushes).  The improvement tools could be as simple as a before and after photo of what the lounge looked like and how shiny and refreshed it looked after the decorating party.  Spread and adoption could extend to now you’ve decorated the lounge, how about the bedrooms and kitchen? 

But what does outstanding look and feel like?  Do you have a DIY snagging list that you can tick everything off to make sure that the walls have been painted, that the window sills and skirting boards have been done, that the doors have been refreshed?  

A rather trivial example, but you get my meaning.  It could be adopted for pretty much anything you want to change.

Taking a more philosophical approach, what does outstanding look and feel like to you as a person?  Are you the best version you could be?  By answering the other two questions, we can start to examine how we might see outstanding. 

What works well now?  What do we instinctively know is good behaviours, habits, personal attributes?  What do other people tell us?  What non-verbal feedback do we get from others that might indicate approval in what we do or say? What things can we build on or take advantage of to make our ambitions real?

On the other hand, what would be even better if….?  What has, or might prevent us from making our ambitions a reality? How could we respond differently to get a more positive outcome?  How could we be more assertive of our needs without being obstinate?  How could we be more empathetic towards others? 

What does outstanding look and feel like to you?

Changing the Goal Posts

Things are always changing. How many of us has had a job description that bears no resemblance to the role that we actually do? How many times have we decided on a particular course of action then something has come along and meant that we had to go in a different direction, whether wanted or not? For those who project manage, how many times has the scope of your project changed, and resulted in having to adopt different technologies or processes or had to be scaled back or scaled up? How many times has our personal circumstances changed over the years? Change happens all the time. Its how we respond to those changes that makes the difference.

My personal circumstances have changed over the years from being a child, leaving school for the workplace, changing jobs, changing partners, becoming a wife and a mother, going back to higher education, becoming responsible for the delivery of projects, becoming responsible for the delivery of service, becoming responsible for a team of staff, being responsible for bellringing activities locally, nationally and internationally.

If you’re not used to change though it can be uncomfortable. Kubler Ross’s change cycle likens the change process to the same phases that a person might go through the grief cycle: first the shock that something might actually happen followed by the denial that it will happen, the “how many times have I heard that one” scenario. This is followed by the frustration and anger when we realise that things are going to be different and then the depression of things that are happening that may be out of our control and the lack of energy to get involved with it. But then things start to look up again when we start to engage with what’s going on and start to get curious. Then we start to feel more positive about the situation as we learn more about it and experiment with how the new situation is going to work then we become fully integrated with the new ways of life. Of course, how long we individually spend in each of these zones is a purely personal thing and we don’t move on until we are ready no matter how hard someone else pushes.

Some people struggle with change as they fear that they may be losing something. It might be that they will no longer be the acknowledged expert in that field, or that they may be replaced by technology or a younger, cheaper model, or that they might not be able to cope with the change, particularly where new technology is involved. Where regular routine is changing some people might be fearful of a change in security or safety. People are likely to be more resistant to change if they are not involved in the process from the start. As well as being anxious, they can become downright obstructive.

Having a positive attitude to change means that we spend less time in the frustration, anger and depressing phases because our mindset is already moving on to finding what the positives are and how we can be involved and engaged with the change, and learn what the benefits are going to be. Looking to the past and accepting it for what it was is only useful if we learn from it and move on. Accepting and embracing change early on allows you to adapt more quickly and be more flexible. The more often we encounter change, the easier it becomes to adjust.

I find that resisting change takes far too much energy. Even if I don’t necessarily agree with the change that is being put forward, more often that not, its going to happen anyway, so I may as well accept that and make the best out of it. Who knows where it could lead ?