Critical Thinking

Thinking is the foundation of everything that we do, and for the most part we are thinking all the time. Critical thinking is different. Most people describe it as ,”analytical, thoughtful, questioning, probing, nonemotional, organized, innovative, Socratic, logical, methodical, not taking things for granted, examining, details, exhaustive, outside the box, scientific, and procedural.” (Kallet, 2014, pg. 3). Odds are most people are not even aware of how this type of thinking occurs. Critical thinking is a manual thinking process that is purposeful and includes tools to help one become aware of the partiality of their thinking.

Critical thinking is manual thinking and not automatic thinking. Have you ever driven your car to a destination and then when you arrived you didn’t remember even driving there? That is automatic thinking. Automatic thinking is something that occurs when you may not even be aware that you are doing it. Try to read this text:

“You mghit tnihk i’ts aaminzg that you can raed this with vrlialuty no diluftficuy even tuohg the ltetres are mxeid up. It trnus out that all you need are the fsrit and lsat leetrts in the crocert pcale. This is an eaxplme of your barin running in aoumtatic mdoe.” (Kallet, 2014, pg. 3).

You may wonder how your brain can read that, but the reason that you have just been able to read that is called pattern recognition. Basically your brain recognizes the patterns in words and then mentally searches each word that you know that looks familiar to the scrambled words above.

Now try this activity: count the number of F’s in the next 15 seconds.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC

STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

How many did you count? Most people failed to count the six F’s in the sentence. They simply overlooked the word OF. This is a classic example of how our brain discards information. It does this all of the time. Why? We often operate on automatic mode when this occurs. Our brain processes enormous amounts of information. Often as part of the sorting process our “brain throws things out that it doesn’t deem important or it thinks it already knows.” (Kallet, 2014, pg. 5).

Your brains automatic thinking is very important, but it often distorts, discards and creates information that may or may not be all that helpful in the long run. When we want valuable, logical information we need to use our critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is purposeful. You make a conscious effort to use this kind of thinking. You become very aware of what you are thinking about and you are thinking to discover a solution or resolve an issue. Critical thinking is manual thinking. Your goal is to learn something.

Critical thinking means you are aware of the partiality of your thinking. As human beings we are influenced by “emotions, biases, and prejudices that stem from our values.” (Kallet, 2014, pg. 5). Obviously it is incorrect to think that it is unemotional thinking. It is wise to consider that this type of thinking plays an important role in how one comes to conclusions.

Critical thinking is a process that requires one to understand a situation, come to a conclusion on what to do and then take action on that conclusion. (Kallet, 2014, pg. 7). It is a series of sequential steps designed to narrow down the problem in an attempt to find a logical solution.

Critical thinking can significantly enhance your ability to make clearer, better-quality decisions, with a more focused outcome. Benefits of critical thinking include:

ü  Clear understanding of problems or solutions

ü  Faster and accurate conclusions and quality decisions

ü  A richer variety of explanations and solutions

ü  Opportunity recognition

ü  Mistake avoidance

ü  Thought-out strategies and early elimination of dead ends (Kallet, 2014, pg. 7)

Critical thinking enables you to look at problems from a different perspective in order to come up with new and innovative solutions. Most often we are used to viewing problems from a viewpoint that we have honed from our past experiences. For instance, suppose there was spike in the workload from your department. If you thought this spike was only temporary you would probably ask your employees to work a little over-time. But if you looked at data about the spike, relied on other’s input and evaluated the problem from several different angles, you might conclude that you need to hire a short-term contractor. You might also think that it would be best to hire a new full-time employee so you would want to start hiring right away. Was you can see, these different perspectives require different solutions.

Remember in the examples above how we discovered that our brain hides information, images and discards data? For example, our brain could misinterpret a request from a customer, it automatically thinks that we had already handled that customer’s request. Issues that we think are clear may not necessarily always be clear. This is an example of us automatically thinking that the situation at hand could be different from a prior experience.

Finally, critical thinking provides a framework to think in. This framework in turn provides two huge benefits: it helps to organize and guide our thinking while “leveraging and incorporating others’ input as well.” (Kallet, 2014, pg. 9).

ü  Organizing your thoughts: Often we think in such a haphazard way that we actually rethink the same issue over and over and actually forget what we have already figured out, assumed, or even decided. When we critically think about an issue we are able to clearly sort it out, by using logical steps.

ü  Incorporating other’s thinking: An important part of the critical thinking process is listening to others explain their thinking—this give and take allows you to hear their thoughts on the issue and allows them to hear yours. It stimulates your thinking, shows errors in your logic or gaps in your thinking process.

Critical thinking is a “purposeful method for enhancing your thoughts beyond your automatic, everyday way of thinking. It’s a process that uses a framework and tool set. “(Kallet, 2014, pg. 9). The benefits from this process are that we think in clear way and are better able to resolve a problem or issue in a manner that is satisfactory to most individuals. Ideally we have an exchange of multiple ideas that we probably never would have had in the past. Critical thinking is clear thinking and ultimately this is the kind of thinking we as leaders and managers want to model for our employees.

(Kallet, M. 2014, Think Smarter)

 

The Art of Providing Feedback

Most experts would agree that individual development happens on the job and the best way to promote and encourage that development is through feedback. Sound, clear feedback not only helps correct mistakes but builds a foundation that reinforces positive behaviors. Both employees and employers have goals that include the need for accurate information, guidelines for success and a clear definition of processes and objectives.

Feedback is imperative for employee development and the best way to promote that development is to provide clear information. As a leader, it is important that the employee is lead through this process of discovery in a very constructive way. Feedback is an opportunity for mutual growth and understanding. Negative feedback would be an attempt to persuade or deliver information instead of working together to discover possible links between your perspective and that of the employee.

Feedback should be adaptive and scaled specifically to the person and situation, and not formulaic or rehearsed. One of the most important aspects is that the conversation in non-judgmental. If an employee is approached with feedback that on the surface seems judgmental, it is likely to elicit defensiveness and eventually a total shut down of the dialogue. One way to provide this effective feedback is to regularly provide it so that it is more of a process and less of an event.

Additionally feedback should be a conversation, an exchange of goals, perspectives and ideas and not a lecture. A change in employee performance will only happen when they fully and clearly understand “the difference between their intentions and other people’s perceptions of their behavior.” (Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, 2010, p.385.) Most often employees have no idea how they are being perceived by their coworkers, supervisors or customers until open, honest feedback occurs.

Finally, a definition of processes and objectives fall on deaf ears if there is a lack of clarity or too much feedback is given at one time. Often employers feel a need to attempt to convince the employee that they are right, or they feel the need to dilute their message so that they don’t overwhelm the employee. Often they use qualifiers like, “‘maybe, perhaps and a little.’” (Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, 2010, p.385.) The best method is to simply state the feedback in a positive light and then allow a period of silence in which the employee can absorb, ponder and dissect the message. As an employer you will need to learn how to read the non-verbal clues that indicate whether you should elaborate, provide support or provide space for the employee to process the information and their feelings.

As an employer one of your primary responsibilities is to help equip employees with the ability to embark on their own search for clear, accurate feedback. Employees should be educated on how to ,”ask direct, specific questions, probe for additional information, avoid defensiveness, and show appreciation for feedback.” (Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, 2010, p.386.) As an employer provide multiple outlets for employees to receive feedback. An employee that feels comfortable asking for feedback will continue to do so and as a result they will become a well rounded and developed employee that will reflect back on the employer in a positive way.

(Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, et. al., 2010, Successful Manager’s Handbook.)

Adapt Responsibly

Often people react to change negatively. It upsets and disrupts their normal patterns and quite often pushes them violently from their comfort zone. One easy way to bring everyone around to the idea of change and the positive reasons for it is to simply ask people what they need to see or hear to convince them that the change is for the better in their organization. As a manager it is imperative that you lead by example and show employees that they must adapt appropriately to their new competing demands and shifting priorities in their professional lives.

As a manager you will frequently need to remind your employees that change is inevitable and that frequently they can expect changes in processes, procedures and other work methods. “Most organizations want to do things better and faster; this means that everyone’s work will be affected at times. “ (Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, et. al, 2010, pg. 555). One way to soften this news is to commiserate with your employees and let them know that you also are adjusting to the increased work load that these new changes have brought about.

When you first encounter a new way of doing something try not to react immediately. As a manager employees are watching your reaction to the change. Attempt to give the change some time before you express your opinion, attempt to express it in a positive light and try to focus on the benefits that this new approach will bring to the organization. If you spread a positive message odds are your employees will too.

Attempt to understand what is driving the change in your organization. Be sure to attend all meetings and training sessions and read all emails associated with the change. As you learn the reasons for the change, send that positive and informative message to your employees.

Examine why you may be having difficulty getting behind the change. Do you have personal motives for keeping things the way they were? Perhaps you are comfortable with things the way they were or maybe you view the new change in terms of how much additional work it will bring to your plate. If you can’t get behind the change and reflect a positive attitude about it, your employees will definitely see that and they will develop a negative attitude in conjunction with your own.

Resist the urge to say, “That’s the way it has always been done.” This defense of the old way of doing things subtly tells the employee that you really don’t view the change as valuable and probably won’t participate actively in encouraging them to accept the change.

The best way to bring your employees onboard with the change is to encourage them to become invested in the concept of the change. For instance, show you are flexible to the idea by opening up a discussion about the change at a weekly meeting. Focus on listening to the employees concerns and ideas without looking for answers or solutions to their concerns.

Resist the urge to micromanage and realize that there are several ways to achieve a goal. Ask your employees for their ideas and suggestions on how to implement the change. Investigate if some of the deadlines are negotiable and if so inform your employees that their anxiety can be alleviated a bit because of time constraints, but they also should be aware of the downstream consequences of the change in the deadline.

As leaders you often face challenges that cause stress in your working environment. Be straightforward with your employees about priorities and about the strategies that you have used in the past as you navigated the murky waters of change. The best managers respond resourcefully to new demands and challenges and encourage their employees to follow their lead and to do the same. Change is inevitable, but the stress and negativity that comes with change can be monitored, predicted and managed to increase the productivity within the organization.

(Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, et.al., 2010, Successful Manager’s Handbook).

Problem Based Learning for LMDP II

PBL is consistent with the tenets of active adult learning. Its emphasis on self-directed learning means students must engage and move through learning with a high degree of accountability. General steps to follow are:

• Identify, consistent with the learning objectives of your lesson or topic, potential “problems” for work in the class setting

• Brainstorm a possible “problem” that will illuminate the concept within that application or setting

• Select at least one “real-world” application or setting for that concept

• Ensure the problem scope and focus is conformed to the scope and nature of effective PBL problems as described below

• Further develop one problem for the envisioned class

              •  Identify potential “chunking” of the problem to allow it to unfold in the time available for its work

Structure the problem, including the initial and essential questions that will induce students to discuss the issue

    To Facilitate Knowledge Transfer

For any self-directed learning exercise, the instructor should be mindful of concepts consistent with effective adult learning. In a police academy setting, that may also mean breaking through the barrier of conformance and discipline to offer students time to devote their focus to self-directed and small-group study rather than more structured class lectures or similar activities. Consider for PBL or any similar approach that:

• Adults must be partners in their own educational plans & evaluations

• Adults learn experientially based on positive and negative experiences

• The material must be relevant to the adult learner

• Problem-based learning is more effective than content-based instruction

The PBL Method

PBL problems are constructed within a problem one could encounter in real life, and which is consistent with the trainee’s intended or actual skills and traits. They may be as short as a few hours, or may be scaled to run across the length of a semester course. All PBL problems, however, share five core aspects:

How Does It Work?

              Individuals(or groups) are given a problem to solve

• The problem should relate to the current or future anticipated work of the group and be based on complex “real world” situations

• The problem should not offer easy or clear solutions and be “ill-structured”

• Information needed to solve the problem is not initially given. Learners must identify possible needs, locate potential resources and use them appropriately

• Problems should drive the need to learn more as a process of resolving it

• Learning is initiated by the problem, and not content or information

• Learning is active and integrated

• Ideas

• Known Facts

• Learning Issues

• Action Plan

• Evaluate process & product

In other words:

• What do I know?
• What do I need to know?
• Why do I need to know it?

How will I use it in the field?

Characteristics of Effective PBL Problems

Good PBL problems encourage students to be energized to resolve it, and from which they can derive learning applicable to their future work. As you plan and create that “problem” consider these necessary characteristics:

• They require contemplation and decision-making on behalf of students

• They will be multi-stage, with information unfolding from stage to stage

• They are designed to encourage group problem-solving

• They are aligned with course learning objectives and higher-level Bloom’s critical thinking

PBL Construction – A Learning Activity

If stuck at any point, consider the envisioned outcomes for participants as described by course goals and learning objectives. How best might you construct a self-directed activity to accomplish them? Brainstorm, toss in ideas that may seem outlandish to others, and feel free to include incidents from your own or a peer’s experience. The core idea of PBL is to provide opportunities for participants to refine critical thinking, problem-solving and resilience when faced with problems in real life. The ideal PBL problem will fold in elements to address each of these concepts.

Remember:

The problem precedes instruction

Transference of learning reinforced by attachment of issues to real life

The most important part of the problem is that it be REAL

•Relevant – Is the problem relevant to the work of a police professional?

•Engages Learner – Can they take interest and find ownership in the problem?

•Assorted Solutions Expected – Can they envision more than one viable solution?

•Learning Objectives Clear – Can they identify what knowledge they need to acquire to solve the problem?

The Five Basic Steps in the PBL Process for students:

1. Ideas (“Consider the problem”)

2. Known facts (“Defining the problem”)

3. Learning Issues (“Learning about the problem”)

4. Action Plan (What will be done”)

5. Evaluate product and process (“Is the problem solved?”)

Ideas –

This is the phase during which brainstorming, group collaboration and the generation and collection of all ideas should occur. Work in this phase is often “raw” and less judgmental of the “right” answer than the possibility of identifying and using possible resources to resolve the problem. Careful thought should be given, however, to what “the problem” truly is, and not inadvertently focusing effort on symptoms at the expense of core issues.

Known Facts

– This phase devotes efforts to identifying what is known about the problem, helping to clarify the depth and complexity of issues. Facts may also include relevant laws, policies and procedures and any methodologies for resolving the problem.

Learning Issues

– This phase seeks to answer the question of what needs to be known to solve the problem, and may entail consulting others, uncovering necessary information, refining ideas and known facts as new understanding emerges and eliminating ideas or options that are seen as unworkable or irrelevant.

Action Plan

– The problem-solver (or team) develops a plan of action grounded in the known facts, learning issues and conclusions regarding the possible resolution of the problem.

Evaluation

– In a training setting, an assessment of the success of the individual or team most often is completed using a rubric known to the learners prior to the start of the PBL effort. It should assess how the problem was solved (did the chosen approach solve the problem in an appropriate manner?) and the effective use of the PBL protocol. The rubric may also assess what was learned and how the learner might transfer new understanding to their real-world issues.

Evensen, Dorothy & Cindy Hmelo (eds) (2000). Problem Based Learning – A research Perspective on Learning Interactions. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc. Publishers.

Barrows, H.S. (1985). How to design a problem-based approach for the preclinical years. New York: Springer

 

Feeling Focused and Action Focused People

Feeling focused and action focused people often find themselves in conflict. This conflict is often irresolvable until the other person feels that their perspective has been fully heard and understood. It is imperative that as leaders we make sure to cultivate an environment where understanding between all employees is reinforced. It is generally true that each perspective is valid in some small way. Appreciating others’ differences can help us grow. Wholeness and integration in the workplace comes about when we encourage both feeling and action focused employees to contribute to the organization without feeling stifled.

Characteristics of feeling focused people:

1. Believe that feelings, and sometimes intuition or creativity are what really matter
2. Closely observe their emotions, creativity and intuition throughout the day
3. Are relatively willing to disclose vulnerable feelings
4. Believe workplace climates and processes should support employees
5. Believe discussions of feelings helps to cement a team
6. Think emotions can be a guide to action
7. Tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty relatively well
8. See life as a fundamentally an inner journey
9. Try to extract emotional meaning from experiences
10. Often suffer from hurt feelings and may shut down in meetings and become non-contributors

Characteristics of action focused people:

1. Happiest when actively doing something
2. Focus on the external world of ideas
3. Resist the expression of vulnerable emotions
4. Focus almost exclusively on tasks and output when in the workplace
5. Build rapport through the exchange of concrete information and conversations about activities and objects
6. Use logical thought to plan action
7. Are often willing to take risks
8. Believe life is about mastery of objective facts and circumstances through action
9. Aim for competence and want others to trust and respect their abilities
10. Often are considered as aggressive or too assertive

Cornelius, H. (1998) The Gentle Revolution

(Conflict Resolution Network, http://www.crnhq.com)

Maxwell’s Leadership in Action

 

Maxwell’s Leadership in Action

Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author. He is the founder of INJOY, Maximum Impact, The John Maxwell Team, ISS and EQUIP, an international leadership development organization working to help leaders. Maxwell speaks annually to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and organizations as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point and the National Football League. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell was one of 25 authors named to Amazon.com‘s 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Three of his books, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader have each sold over a million copies. In May 2014, Maxwell was named the #1 leadership and management expert in the world by Inc. Magazine.[

Management (Production skills, order and consistency) Organizing, staffing & providing structure Developing incentives Allocating resources Controlling & problem solving Setting agendas, timelines, & deadlines Planning and budgeting Hiring & taking corrective action

What is a leader? Are they born or developed? The answers vary. A better question might be what is the difference between leadership or management?

Leadership (People Skills, change and relationship building) Setting strategies and communicating goals Seeking commitment and creating vision Building teams Empowering employees Satisfying unmet needs Motivating, inspiring, encouraging Modeling the way

 

 

Notes about the 5 Levels of Leadership

• You can move up a level, but you never leave the previous level behind.
• You are not the same at every level with every person.
• The higher you go , the easier it is to lead, but the more time and commitment is required.
• Moving up a level occurs slowly, but going down can happen quickly.
• Being stuck at the first level limits you, your employees and coworkers.
• You cannot climb the levels alone.

 

Level One-Position

As a positional leader you are a new supervisor or manager. People follow you because they have to. You are the boss. Your authority is recognized. This is your opportunity to grow as a leader. You have an opportunity to grow personally and to shape and define your leadership tools and abilities.

However; positional leadership can also be a difficult starting point and the learning curve can often be difficult and unpleasant. In short, being in this position can promise more than it can deliver. Often leaders who are stuck in this position create low morale because their goal is to actually move up to the next level as quickly as possible. Often because of their own insecurities about being a new supervisor or manager, leaders end up making employees feel threatened or small. Leaders at this level tend to feed on office politics.

Often leaders stuck at this level focus on control and remind employees often that they are the boss. They work to create little empires and look to add more titles, change titles to their advantage or work to expand their staff or budget. They inadvertently create departmental rivalries; they often play the “boss is always right” card.

For an employee under this kind of leadership it is like working in a mind field. There are often unwritten rules, hidden agendas and new policies or procedures that seem dictatorial. These leaders quickly develop a sense of entitlement and often expect their employees to serve them. This leadership level is very lonely and most often employees start to look for other employment. Employees under this leadership tend to be clock watchers, mentally absent and there is a high rate of absenteeism.

Leadership Mindset Let’s work together. I’ll come with you. What do you think? Together we can. I’m here to help you. I believe you can do this.

Positional Mindset I’m the boss and over you. Fake it till you make it. Never let them see you sweat. You’re here to help me. I determine your future. Do this or else.

Tips to move on to the next level:

Leadership is continually earned there needs to be a shift of one’s focus to building relationships with employees and earning their trust. As a leader you need to move away from your position on things and move towards your employees. You shouldn’t wait for them to come to you , you should be actively seeking out their thoughts, ideas and perspectives. You need to willing and able to leave your comfort zone.

Good leaders know that titles don’t give the job a purpose. The purpose is to create a positive change and impact for the organization. Good leaders know that the employee is the companies’ most valuable asset. They recognize that they do not have all the answers that collaboration with their employees makes for the clearest answers. Good leaders always include others.

Level Two-Permission

                This level’s main focus is on relationships. People follow a leader at this level because they want to do so. The positive aspects of this level are that foundations have been built and so work is done on a “want to” not “have to” basis. Every effective leader knows that good relationships create positive outcomes. People do their best when they think that the leader wants the best for them. The key to success is two-way communication. “You can care for people without leading them, but you cannot lead them effectively beyond level one without caring for them.” (Maxwell, 2011). At this level trust is the building block for the foundation.

Self-trust is when the leader recognizes that they are truthful and honest and model that behavior with others. They are courageous and look out for the good of others. Their character is obvious to their employees. They are known as fully competent and this is obvious by the high level of their skills, abilities, talents and knowledge. They stay relevant in their field and run with their strengths as leaders. They take responsibility for their actions and results. They have a strong expectation for themselves that they can lead a team to win and to finish strong.

Relationship trust is where you model to others your character and competence. You declare your true intent by talking straight and not having hidden agendas. You consistently demonstrate respect by being fair, kind and civil to others. You admit your mistakes and offer a true apology. You promise results and then deliver them. You clarify expectations and practice accountability to yourself and others. You listen first and try to really hear and understand others before you try to diagnose or advise; but most important is that trust is extended to others. Some other kinds of trust are organizational, market and societal trust. If these kinds of trust are shaky then the actions of a few can affect the many. The organization can very quickly become toxic.

One of the main challenges at this level is that a leader may be viewed as too soft or weak by some people. They may find it hard to make decision and they may not always have buy in from everyone. Kindness is sometimes mistaken for weakness and boundaries are often not respected.

Many of these issues can be resolved by becoming a people-oriented leader. The best way to do this is to listen, learn, lead and have an open-door policy. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. When people feel respected it dramatically and quickly changes the work environment for the better.

Level 3-Production

At this level, leadership takes off and shifts to a higher gear. This level serves to separate true leaders from people who just occupy the leadership position. Good leaders make things happen and get results. One of the dangers at this level is that often you think you’re being a leader when really you are not. There is a difference between being a producer and being a leader. Often producers make things happen for themselves but they end up ignoring and demoralizing the team. Being a leader at this level requires continual attention to relationships and requires making difficult decisions. As a leader at this level one needs to accept responsibility for personal results and admit mistakes quickly and humbly.

To be successful at this level, one must be willing to be a change agent. Progress in an organization requires change and it takes positive leadership to make a positive change. People resist change when it doesn’t serve their purpose, the reason is unclear, there is a fear of failure, the leader isn’t respected, or the rewards don’t match the effort. In order to fully institute change there needs to be a common ground for vision, values, relationships, attitudes and communication.

Level 4-People Development

                At this level you as a leader are doing a lot for yourself, your department, your organization and your employees and others. Your employees success becomes your success but only if they are loyal to you and the organization. This is the level where you are training and equipping your employees with the tools they need to succeed and prosper.

Level 5-Pinnacle

                This level is called the pinnacle because at this level you have attained what many leaders never mange to acquired: respect. At this level people follow you, “because of who you are and what you represent. “ (Maxwell, 2011). Maxwell thinks that one of the best ways to achieve this respect from others is to start with respecting you. He feels that this can be attained by some self-discipline. Other helpful tips to achieve this goal are:

ü  Be honest and supportive

ü  Pay attention to detail

ü  Possess strong ethics and integrity

ü  Value people

ü  Be consistent

ü  Never stop improving yourself

Maxwell admits that many of these things seem difficult and in all actuality they do involve lots of hard work, but the bottom line is that if you want to be a successful leader in your organization, then you need to focus on these five levels. The pay off in the end in huge!

 

 

Charlie Sperry Interview About the LMDP Problem Presentations

Importance of the Presentations

For the first time ever, FWP, agency specific problems were introduced into the curriculum of LMDP XI in 2015. Participants spent the year long program working on resolutions to the problems and in the process learned about team work, conflict resolution and skill building specific to the agency.

Team members completed a presentation to a group of FWP managers and then wondered if the final presentation was in fact the end of the work on their problem. Management gave verbal feedback and asked questions to the presenters and expressed their appreciation of the hard work that the team did.

Many individuals wondered if the completion of the LMDP program was also the end of their efforts and if their work would go towards any kind of a final resolution or would be considered any further by management.

Charlie Sperry, a Responsive Management Supervisor who was at the final presentation at Camp Mak-A-Dream in December recently spoke to me about the significance of the problem solving portion of the Leadership Management Program. The following is the interview that Mr. Sperry was kind enough to respond to:

1. Me: What is the overall purpose of the problem research and presentations?

Mr. Sperry: “ I assume this question is referring to the special projects assigned to LMDP participants. This approach is an add-on since I was a participant in LMDP several year ago and I think it adds value. I believe these special projects can serve as a learning opportunity for the participants, an opportunity to function as an interdisciplinary team while working on a topic that is important to FWP.

It appears that the topics selected for the recent LMDP class were carefully selected in terms of relevance and applicability to the department; that is important. Perhaps there could be a vetting or screening process for selecting topics, a process that involves the management team. This would help to ensure that topics are relevant and have perceived value. The vetting should also consider what is reasonable in terms of an assignment for LMDP (something that can reasonably be addressed/completed over the course of a LMDP session).”

2. Me: Now that the presentations are over, what further action if any will management take with them?

Mr. Sperry: “ The Responsive Management Unit is coordinating the department’s ‘15 and Forward initiative. My plan is to provide the LMDP reports to the Planning Team that will be assisting with ’15 and Forward. In addition, I spoke with the Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations and conveyed my opinion that the LMDP presentations were very informative and warrant consideration in coming discussions. “

3. Me: Has management discussed these presentations after the session?

Mr. Sperry: “As mentioned previously, the DO has been informed of the quality and relevance of these presentations.”

4. Me: Is there a need for a different way of reporting out or presenting in the LMDP session?

Mr. Sperry: “Ideally, the presentations reach a large audience of FWP decision-makers. Knowing that this is not always feasible, I think it would be valuable to produce a final report or white paper outlining findings, something that can be reproduced and shared to a broader audience. Another thought is to film the presentations and make them available to all staff. I really enjoyed the presentations this past session and think others would too.”

5. Me: What kind of value do the presentations bring to the LMDP program or its participants?

Mr. Sperry: “I think one value is the opportunity (challenge) of taking on an assignment with a diverse group of staff representing the various regions and divisions of the department. Working in this interdisciplinary fashion is a good learning opportunity. I also think that if attention is given to the topics selected, it is a unique opportunity for the participants to work on an issue that is really pertinent to the department. It offers a chance for the participants to work outside their normal job duties on a topic that they might otherwise not have a chance to be involved with.”

6. Me: Can presenters expect any kind of future meetings with management of their presentations?

Mr. Sperry: “ There has been some talk about the idea of coordinating LMDP presentations with Management Team meetings. As stated previously, the ’15 and Forward initiative will benefit from the presentations. I suspect the presentations/reports will be a part of the reference material made available to the Planning Team.”

7. Me: Any other comments?

Mr. Sperry: “ I could tell that the presenters put considerable work into their projects and I think it showed. I very much enjoyed all three presentations.”

LMDP participants can be proud of the work they did on their presentations and it appears that they will be considered far beyond the presentations. Thanks to Mr. Sperry for his willingness to participate in this interview and to all of the LMDP participants on their excellent work!

 

 

Checklist For Changing Organizational Culture

Checklist for Changing Organizational Culture

Steve Denning’s most recent book is: The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace For the 21st Century (Jossey-Bass, 2010).

Steve Denning’s most recent article on changing organizational culture takes a look at top leaders or organizations and evaluates their success at being able to lead change in their organizations. He looks at The World Bank, run by President Robert McNamara (1968-1981), Bank of America, President Tom Clausen (1981-1986), J.P. Morgan, President Lew Preston (1991-1995), Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz (2005-2007) and Ford Motor’s Allen Mulaly and of course Steve Jobs at Apple.

Denning believes that if change isn’t promoted correctly, the organization will revert right back to its previous state. This is expensive and it kills morale. Denning creates a list of some do’s and don’ts that will either help an organization prosper or hinder its success.

Denning (2010) noted that some frequent mistakes that hinder a change in culture include:

• Overuse of the power tools of coercion and underuse of leadership tools
• Beginning with a vision or story, but failing to put into place the management tools that will cement the behavioral changes in place.
• Beginning with power tools even before a clear vision or story of the future is in place.

In particular Denning (2010) noted the success of World Bank’s McNamara who transformed the World Bank into a leading worldwide institution. He noted some things that McNamara avoided doing to make this change happen:

• He didn’t change the managers or bring in his own staff. He worked with the existing employees and recruited new younger people from within the organization to help lead the change.
• He didn’t start by reorganizing. The most important first step is to clarify the vision and then work with management to ensure that they support your vision. It was four years after McNamara became President before he started to do any kind of reorganizing.

Denning (2010) also felt that a new President of an organization could be successful by following some particular methods that other successful leaders have used:

• Come with a clear vision of where you want the organization to go. Work diligently to make sure the organization embraces the vision and change.
• Identify the core stakeholders of the vision and drive the organization to be responsive to those stakeholders. Communication is key here.
• Define the roles of managers and employees and draw on their talents and skills to help promote the change.
• Quickly develop and put into place new systems and processes that reinforce the vision of the new future that you want to project.
• Communicate horizontally not just top-down within the organization. There can never be too much information in regards to an organizational change.

Kotter’s 8 Step Model of Change

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model

There are many ways to initiate change in an organization. Some are more effective than others. In his 1995 book, Leading Change, John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School and world renowned change expert introduces us to his highly successful strategy for instigating change.

Step #1- Create Urgency

One way to make change happen is to promote the idea that the whole company wants it. According to Kotter, (1995) “75 percent of a company’s management team needs to ‘buy into’ the change.” Create a sense of urgency that the change is past due or necessary to help move the company forward and make it more progressive. Your goal is to get people talking and thinking about the change in a positive way. Some ways to promote change are:

•   Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing what could happen in the future.
•   Examine opportunities that should be or could be exploited.
•   Start honest discussions, and give dynamic and convincing reasons to get people talking and thinking.
•   Request support from customers, outside stakeholders and industry people to strengthen your argument.

Step #2- Form a Powerful Coalition

Just talking about change isn’t enough. You have to lead it. Be sure that you have commitment to the change from top leadership. Don’t rely on word of mouth while you try to decide who these people are, but actually form a coalition of like minded people. Try to choose people from different job titles, levels of status and political experience. Once formed, this change coalition must work as a team to strategize ways to create momentum and build urgency.

•   Identify key leaders and stakeholders in your organization and ask for support
•  Work on team building within your coalition
•  Check your team for weak areas and make sure you have a good mix of people from different departments and different skill levels within your organization.

Step #3- Create a Vision for Change

When you first start thinking and then talking about change there are going to be many great (and not so great ideas) floating around out there. Listen to them and then form a clear vision statement. A clear vision statement is part of a clear vision and it helps everyone understand the reasons for doing something. When people see the “why” behind the change movement, they then begin to understand what their role in the change might be. What you can do to start the change process is:

• Develop the values for the vision statement and develop a short summary of your intentions
• Create a strategy to execute the vision
•  Ensure that your team can describe the statement and goal in just a few minutes
•   Practice your vision statement often with your team

Step # 4 Communicate the Vision

Be sure to communicate your vision often and embed it in everything you do. “Walk-the-talk” and demonstrate the kind of behavior you want to see in your team members. Some things you can do to be credible are:

• Talk often about your vision
•  Address people’s concerns and answer their questions openly and honestly
•   Lead by example
• Apply your vision in different ways such as: meetings, emails, presentations and day-to-day conversations.

Step #5 Remove Obstacles

Once you have put your vision statement into practice and you are working to create change, there may come the inevitable obstacle. Often these obstacles are either people who are resisting the change; or processes and structures that are blocking the change. What you can do:

•   Identify or hire change leaders whose main goal is to institute the change
•  Look at your organizational structure, job descriptions, and performance and compensation systems to ensure they are in line with your vision
•  Recognize and reward people who are making your vision happen
•  Identify people who are resisting the change and work to discover why they are not on board with the change
• Take quick action to remove all barriers (human or otherwise).

Step #6 Create Short-Term Wins

Create short-term targets with one long-term goal. Make sure that each short-term target is achievable. Once you have reached a short-term target be sure to let your team members and others in your organization know. Celebrate your victory! If you do not publically and loudly celebrate this mile marker then your critics and doubters will become very negative and vocal.

•   Look for sure-fire projects that you can implement without help from critics of the change
•   Don’t choose projects that are expensive. You want to prove that you can create fiscally prudent change.
•   Be sure that your early projects can and will work. You don’t want to have a failure.
• Reward the people that helped you to have your first successful goals.

Step #7 Build on the Change

Kotter, (1995), argues that “ many change projects fail because victory is declared too early. Real change runs deep. Quick wins are only the beginning of what needs to be done to achieve long-term change.” In short, each new success provides the opportunity to evaluate what went right or wrong. It provides an opportunity for improvement. Some examples are:

•   After each success analyze what went right and what needs improving
•  Set goals to continue building on the momentum you’ve achieved
•   Work towards continuous improvement
•   Keep ideas fresh by bringing in new change agents and leaders for your coalition

Step #8 Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

To make any change work, it must become a main part of your organization. The core values of the change must show in your day-to-day work. It is important that you make sure that the change is seen in the everyday workings of your organization. This will help to give the change a solid foundation in your organization’s culture. It is extremely important that top leaders and managers continue to support the change. If you lose these key people’s support then the likelihood is that the organization will revert back to the previous way of doing things.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your change remains in effect:

•  Talk about the change and of course your success every chance you get
•  Include the change ideals and values when hiring and training new staff
•  Publicly recognize key members of your original change coalition and make sure the rest of the staff (both new and old) remember their valuable contributions.
•   Create plans to replace key leaders of your coalition as they move on. This will help to ensure that the legacy of your change is not lost or forgotten

You have to work hard to create change in your organization and you have to work even harder to maintain that climate of change. With a great team helping you, all of this work becomes much easier. By following the steps above you can be the instigator of change, and your organization will be that much more successful because of it.

 

 

 

Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Change

Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Change

Because of today’s economy more and more organizations have make drastic changes to survive. All organizations have to face change over time, the question is whether they will be able to embrace change proactively or will they be forced to react when it is thrust upon them?

Most often, there is a disconnect between expectations and the end result. Pexton (2002) in her article, “Overcoming Organizational Barriers to Change in Healthcare” states that “{s}tudies conducted by Harvard and other venerable institutions have shown a failure rate anywhere between 60 and 80 percent.” Failure rates for organizations can be extremely expensive.

The following are some common barriers that can occur:

1. Cultural complacency, resistance or skepticism-Change is hard so be prepared for dissent from some individuals within the organization. Some may feel that the change threatens to upset the way they have done things. Others have “been there, done that” and gone through several changes (successful or not). Be sure to demonstrate to those individuals why the change is important and try as soon as possible to demonstrate to them some measurable wins. Build a strong foundation and have a good plan on how to reach your goal.
2. Lack of communication-The most common communication blunder is thinking that you are putting out a clear message and objective when you are not. Misunderstandings that arise from muddle communication will quickly derail your efforts to create change. Be sure to clearly define your goals and vision. If you can’t clearly articulate what your plan is, then others will not be able to either. Keep honing your statement until you can clearly state it in just a few minutes. Take some time to clearly identify who the stakeholders are and then communicate constantly to these key individuals what the vision is for change in the organization.
3. Lack of alignment and accountability- If a project is not part of an individual’s goals and objectives and they are not being held accountable in any way for the results, then the change realistically will not occur. Don’t skimp on the planning phase of the project. Make sure that people are correctly aligned, if not, be prepared to make necessary changes.
4. Passive or absent leadership support- Without crucial support from leadership and management; your project is doomed to failure. Walk in the footsteps of your team and insist that management provide their unequivocal support and involvement. You should include them on report-outs, meetings, and project review sessions.
5. Micromanagement- Creating a command and control environment is sure fire way to stifle innovation and engagement from your employees. Be flexible and able to share the spotlight with your team members. Successful managers, “establish the vision, empower the team and help to remove barriers—including (if necessary) an overbearing, autocratic manager.” (Pexton, 2000).
6. Overloaded workforce- A heavy workload and a shortage of resources are a common complaint when it comes to creating change. This obstacle can be overcome by communicating to your workers that the change is created with the idea of making the individual workload shorter and easier. Demonstrate the benefits of rethinking the workflow and encourage workers who attempt to use the new system.
7. Inadequate systems and structures-Your chances of success will be greatly diminished if you do not have the correct systems and structures in place to support the change. For instance, you may need to upgrade or update your computer system and software. Make sure that the systems and structures you set up are based on the desire for change and are not just a different kind of the same old system.
8. Lack of control plans to measure and sustain results- The largest issue with change implementation is making sure that the change sticks. The best way to do this is to develop mechanisms to monitor the change. Some organizations hire actual change agents who do the foot work involved with overseeing the change initiatives. A quick, efficient way to monitor change is to have groups that report to a central program office. Additionally, others can rely on system-level dashboards, control charts or scorecards. With a plan in place, it is much easier to catch issues before they become concerns and derail your project.