Assessing impact- foundation for good strategic planning
Having undertaken a number of reviews and service impact assessments in recent months, their value in strategic planning and decision making is obvious. Impact assessments aim to gather data from a range of stakeholders so that you can better understand the personal, social and qualitative impact of your services, decisions and activities. They also give insights into what can be adapted or changed to remain aligned to stakeholders, including service users’ needs. Integrating this wider feedback into your strategic planning, elevates leadership and management thinking beyond productivity and efficiency metrics, to focus also on ‘sustainability’ and ‘humanity’ perspectives.
As a consultant, I find the direct connection with people during the research phase very rewarding. I notice, however, some recurring issues, which are worth considering, if you do commission a review or an evaluation.
Some stakeholders, particularly staff can be reluctant to open up in the ‘research’ stage, to disclose ‘warts and all’, concerned that negative issues might reflect badly on them. It is important to reaffirm:
-a review is not a staff performance review– however, it can highlight areas for improvement, such as opportunities to expand service reach or a need to focus services more on key areas. Reviews can also highlight systemic and organisational cultural issues which impede responsive delivery, creative thinking and openness to change. Communicating positively and early, particularly with staff about the purpose and the broad (systemic) nature of reviews will help.
Client organisations typically recommend happy and positive staff and stakeholders to participate in the qualitative research. As a result, it can be difficult to get a rounded understanding of issues, including, what is not working with the services. In contrast:
-a review is an opportunity to hear a wide range of voices, including alternative, unheard voices, so it is important to hear from ‘fans’ and those who don’t use the services or have uncomfortable feedback to provide. The uncomfortable feedback is an opportunity for fresh thinking. Depersonalising the process for staff by reinforcing the benefits of feedback for service improvement and for delivering on vision and goals should help.
People are often so busy ‘doing’ that it is difficult for them to think forward. But as Gandhi said:
-“the future depends on what we do in the present”. Therefore, use the review to reflect on what that future should look like and determine how well you are achieving it. Ask in your discussions, “what decisions are we making now to ensure we build a better future?” and “how can we bring additional value?”
In my experience, understanding the impact of your decisions either stirs you to make changes that are needed or helps you to build energy and commitment that can sustain you through the inevitable challenges in delivering strategy.
Therefore, the evidence gathered through a review process supports more responsive and people centred thinking. A review can also enhance reflective practice in your organisation and strengthens your ability to communicate strategic objectives with confidence. The feedback from the process can be a strong source of objective affirmation and validation for staff. As a result, a review can be a positive, energising and enriching experience, enabling your wider team to reconnect with people and purpose and to take pride in their achievements.
In conducting a review, you thus strengthen the foundations of strategy. These foundations are the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the process but critically, the foundations are the people you are trying to reach and those who deliver the strategy. Taking a more ‘human’ focused approach builds sustainable foundations. This makes for good strategy.
Coaching self through worry
We all worry in different ways and about different things at different times. I am referring to ‘every day’ worry, the kind that is more about ‘short-term’ concerns, thoughts, which can be resolved by problem solving. I am not referring to ‘anxiety’, a deeper worry and tends to be something we ‘experience’ and may need a support from a specialist (Psychology Today).
Between everyday life of family, friends, health and jobs, there’s enough to worry about. Add world issues of wars, recessions, rising costs, shortages and more into the mix, it’s hard not to be consumed by worry. Wouldn’t it be better if we could find ways to stay ‘on top’ of the worry and channel our energy into areas and activities that will help us?
In coaching my clients, I have seen three approaches help them to ‘deal with their worries’, including
- Name it – say what you are worried about, if you can. Acknowledge the actual worry, helps you to ‘accept’ it and deal with the issue head on.
- Break the issue into smaller manageable pieces – so you don’t feel overwhelmed. In this way the ‘worry’ begins to seem less significant, you are ‘taking control’ and don’t feel controlled by it.
- Reframe the challenge into something positive – learning from experience. There are always alternative angles on issues and other ways of approaching problems.
Adapting some tools and techniques so that you can self-coach, will help you to build self-reliance and resilience and with practice, get you back on track for a happy, fulfilling life more quickly. The more we understand how we worry, and about what we worry, the more we are armed to ‘deal with it’ better. For example, asking yourselves questions such as:
- What’s important about this issue for me?
- What do I know and what am I assuming about this issue?
- What is the impact on me?
- What are the other ways to look at this issue?
- What part of this is something I can solve and control?
- How would I like to feel?
These questions can help you to see options previously missed. You can be better equipped to take issues ‘head on’ and work through them. Also, as leaders and managers, when you deepen understanding of yourselves, you can learn to better understand other people.
In or On, that is the question!
I was working recently with a management team to improve implementation of their new strategy when a reason given for little progress was, ‘we’re too busy doing the job, we don’t have time for strategy’. In conversation, a CEO of a state organisation attributed, ‘being too busy doing’ that they ‘failed to demonstrate their purpose and value’, as the reason they were ‘merged’ into another organisation. Last year, with another client, two of the executive team of six, lost their jobs because they weren’t doing their job.
I’m therefore often struck by how many in upper management talk about ‘being stuck in the weeds’…..or ‘can’t see the wood for the trees’ …..even ‘I like to roll up my sleeves and be part of the team’. Far from being an indication someone likes to work hard and get the job done and who values ‘being ‘part of the team’, quite often these comments can signal deeper issues- a leadership challenge that needs to be addressed.
The in/on question is therefore, not a philosophical question but a highly relevant and often a challenging one, which can be posed to anyone in the organisation but particularly to those at the strategic apex, given their impact on the wider organisation. With increasing emphasis on effectiveness, performance, innovation, agility and people and well-being, it is a vital question which helps people reflect on how they add value in the organisation.
What draws people “into the weeds”?
There are a number of reasons many at the strategic apex, work ‘in’ the details, operations and implementation of the business rather than working on or for the business. Some of the issues I have observed, with remarkable consistency across sectors, include:
Trust issues – not believing others can do the job or as well as they can. But what is often going on, is a lack of ‘self-trust’, because of their comfort zone –limiting themselves to what they know, like or are good at, rather than ‘risk’ doing something new or different. As a result, they have a more limited portfolio of competencies – leading to an over-reliance on what ‘got them here’, rather than developing competencies to get them to where they need to be now or in the future -i.e., thinking and working strategically. This means that, no one or nothing is stopping them getting ‘stuck in the weeds’ –so they remain unaware that or ‘getting away with’ neglecting their strategic responsibilities.
To thicken the plot, the recurring comments from staff and middle management in conversations and workshops centre overwhelmingly on feeling ‘squashed’, like the bit of the sandwich in the middle. They complain of ‘too many cooks’ or ‘no opportunity to develop and grow. They talk about ‘lack of strategic direction and clarity as to what they are doing and why’, often leading to dis-engagement and sometimes leading to ‘burnout’ or departure.
Can anyone deliver value in this situation?
Strategic leaders need to be strategic for an organisation to be strategic. By thinking about what is best for the business as a whole, rather than focusing on one functional or operational area, you are thinking about the well-being of the whole organisation.
Strategic leadership therefore brings perspective– a wider view of issues, which can strengthen thinking and challenge ‘tried and tested’ approaches. Strategic leadership is also about direction. You can’t chart a safe and expedient course towards your destination, if you can’t ‘see the wood for the trees’. Strategic leadership can therefore be energising – giving people a sense of purpose, reminding them of their contribution, which increases engagement, commitment and performance.
You can take a number of steps to ensure everyone can contribute in a way that adds value and to think and act strategically, relevant to their role, including:
- Define Value- build a collective understanding of what it means in practice, how to demonstrate it and how to build mutual accountability and a culture focused on delivering value.
- Agree an approach to leadership that reflects current needs and future developments, so everyone is armed with the knowledge of what is expected of them, the behaviours and competencies needed to contribute valuably to the organisation. A cohesive approach can be aided by competency development programmes and coaching to help people explore trust issues and build confidence to expand beyond their comfort zones.
- Enable sustainable approaches for surfacing issues– engagement, 360-degree feedback frameworks and well-being surveys can help generate evidence. But create avenues to channel the outcomes of your ‘speak out or call out’ culture into better work practices which support strategic thinking and behaviour.
You demonstrate value, not by rolling up your sleeves and solving problems for others or by being ‘in’ the business but by creating the environment for them to be the best of themselves. If you’re doing their jobs for them, where do they go? Your knowledge of the trees and the weeds, i.e., the details of the business can help you to lead better, more strategically. Zooming out of the details to see the wood for the trees and work ‘on’ the business, brings you and the organisation many more benefits.
Changing your picture of effective leadership and how you add value at the strategic apex is the first essential step. Having an agreed understanding of what demonstrates value and represents strategic thinking and behaviour is also essential. Zooming in on yourself and reflecting honestly on where your focus is, is a critical first step.
So, where are you now, in or on the business?
New Beginnings -Taking the Past with Us
Recently I shared a post about Dublin Civic Trust receiving an ‘exemplary achievement’ from the 2021 European Heritage/ Europa Nostra awards. Since then, I have reflected on what lessons can we learn from this that are relevant to organisational life.
As a society we’re beginning to embrace the concept of sustainability and valuing existing resources. Rejuvenating buildings to be of better use now, retaining their character while infusing contemporary looks, materials and improvements is truly an art form. We may not need to hire plasterers, ironworkers or master crafts people to cover up the old cracks, mend bits here and there or restore our cornices but in reality, to develop and grow as people and as leaders, we need to be master crafts people, working on ourselves.
As in life, the solutions to personal or organisational challenges are not always found in new resources or starting from ‘scratch’ but can be and must be found in re-using what already exists and strengthening these to achieve better results. In change, we talk about ‘Adaptation’ or “becoming better suited” to current needs and as with restoring buildings, we are essentially ‘re-using’ material from our past, in new or different ways.
However, to help clients re-imagine their strategic focus and how they achieve their personal and organisational goals, we often also say to clients ‘what got you here, may not necessarily get you to where you need to go’. While, so true, this point can suggest to people that they should forget experiences from the past! Even Bridge’s Transitions model, which I often use with clients, talks about the importance of ‘letting go’ to be able to move forward. On the surface, you might think that Bridges is saying that ‘the past is holding you back’. But this is not the case.
Bridges model recognises that as part of the process of ‘letting go’ we must acknowledge the contribution of the past to who we are now, to what we’ve become. Valuing what has preceded the ‘here and now’ is an important step in thinking about and moving towards the future.
What can you value from the past to bring with you? While this varies by person, ideas can usually be grouped under:
- Lived Experiences and Memories: these shape our mindsets, skillsets and approaches to things. They influence our energy, commitment to and resilience in matters.
- Values: these are the building blocks or foundation of ‘who’ we are and how we make decisions and act. They can provide a guide, sense of direction in how we navigate the world and a benchmark for how we do things.
- Skills and Knowledge: these give us the capability to respond to situations more effectively and follow through on commitments, translating our aspirations, values etc into practice and give shape to who we are.
- Strengths: we all have these and we need to acknowledge them, protect them and nourish them as a resource, as something distinctive about us.
Similarly, to our restored buildings, these points provide a foundation or framework for a new beginning. It can be liberating to review what we need to leave behind, e.g., patterns of thinking, behaviours or memories which hold us back and are no longer aligned to our future direction or purpose.
Through coaching we can repair memories and experiences to become more constructive and supportive, where necessary. Through self-development work, we can reconnect with the positives in our skills-and-toolkit and use these as a source of strength for the future ahead.
It is energising when we feel ‘unhindered’ or uninhibited by our past. We have a sense of freedom- a freedom to think and to see things differently; a freedom to try new experiences and activities. It is this freedom of ‘expression’ that will allow us to more freely collaborate with others; combine our perspectives and experience for greater innovation; free up space to integrate new skills for positive leadership impact. We are ‘re-using’ material from our past, in new or different ways. But we also challenge what we are taking with us to ensure it is ‘fit for our new purpose’.
As with the building conservators, in bringing modern life to old structures, we’re restoring our own features to highlight authenticity, we’re ensuring resilience for an even longer future, we’re nurturing and nourishing the best of our structure.
What are you consciously doing to restore yourself, to enhance your character and craft a contemporary look to your leadership and impact?
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