This past week and half has been all about asking a team to change how they do things, to see the value of recording their movements and clear the backlog for the greater good down the track
In their mind I have become a 'royal pain in the a...' because as tiring as it can be I'm not going away
- I am in contact
- I am persistent
- I am searching for barriers that I can remove
- I am not going to accept excuses and I am going to raise expectations
By Friday there had been a shift - it had all become a bit of a laugh with comments like "boys, don't forget to do your sheets or you'll get a visit from Naomi" or when I said "I'll see you Monday 'yay'", they cheered... it wasn't fake was it?
When implementing change or systems I try to follow natural behavior and have the philosophy that if it's not natural it won't happen or it will never work that well. Take this as an example, think of a stream and the flow of water, the water will not change its natural form, it will always be water but it will adapt, it will adjust, it will change course, it will add an activity along the way (eg create electricity) and it will find a way through, even if it's the long way around.
Now apply that to a team in your organisation - they are employed to do "the job", what is "the job" in their mind? does everyone agree on "the job", is there a problem with "the job" or perhaps the process to getting to, recording of, resourcing of "the job". I'll leave that with you to think about.
There is a method to my madness, I work heavily on the process to begin with, streamlining and simplifying it, listening to the people involved, understanding the frustrations or hearing the passion. What makes people want to do "the job" in the first place - I work on process first, people second.
Why? Because experience has taught me that many issues can be fixed quite naturally with process, that the team will tick along nicely if you get:
- the process right with noise reduced
- put tools in place so the process is visible and can be monitored
- leader's are empowered or taught to manage variations to the process quickly through toolboxes, huddles, expectation setting or training
Of course, I am also a realist and know in reality that the issues can be far bigger than the team.... but that... well, that is another blog for another day.....
Back to the present, in the last week and half, based on findings from working with the team and auxiliary teams, the project team has been streamlining the process, removing double handling, putting tools in place and guiding staff through expectations (the why). Everyone has has responded well, almost a little too well in my opinion but I'll park that as a red flag for the moment and move forward. At this stage, part one of the plan is executed, now the harder part two will begin.
Part two is where we focus on keeping team momentum going, this is where:
- the changing team should start to kick back a bit and that kick back will need to be managed
- old habits creep back in and we will need to move them back on track
- the core work will be done for successful implementation
- the project team can get frustrated because they feel like they aren't getting any wins like they were in Part one, or its not quick enough, or they are getting pressure from outside sources.
I have allocated one month for successful execution of part two excepting it to be resource heavy for the first two weeks then tapering off to roll into part three of the grand plan beginning of March, monitoring of the implementation.
Humans are amazing creatures when it comes to change. Completely capability but don't necessary have the appetite or buy in. Getting buy in is all on the project team and my role in the project team is working on the floor so for the next month I will continue to be a royal "pain in the a***", I will be in contact, I will be persistent, I will be searching for barriers that I can remove, I will not accept excuses and I will be raising expectations.
I will also be in my happy place, interacting with a great bunch of people, hopefully making their lives easier and achieving what needs to be achieved!
