02 Feb Common process improvement mistake #3: No agreed upon purpose
One of the more irritating aspects of process work are the assumptions (1) everyone knows there are problems, (2) everyone wants to fix these problems, and (3) no one has time or money or energy for either the problem or the potential resolution.
These are not true in any context, and by design? default? they can (and do!) derail and problem and solution identification efforts before they start. Why? Because there is no compelling case to clear the table of the assumptions and make people uncomfortable with the possibility of change. So, instead, irritation with the first, confusion as to what’s the second, and dismissiveness for the third reigns across the project, department, organization when someone whispers of taking the initiative.
Consensual inaction is difficult to budge out of comfort zones but it can be done – gain agreement on a workable purpose at the highest level possible.
Without a purpose for moving ahead with process work, you are headed towards a rocky trail signposted with generalized discovery, poor analysis, and a limp along solution(s) bordered by a lack of unanimity and a non-binding alignment. No compelling rationale means no tactical purpose. If you want substantive and sustainable results, you need to get to a “why”, agree on the response, and stick with it.
Process Practice Suggestion
➤ LISTEN FOR THE PROBLEM
… rather than the permission so you may know when to start solving for what is/are the grounding issues within the process improvement structure and not be weighted down by the superficial ones glossing the day-to-day surface and blocking progression.
SO YOU CAN: Cancel out the noisy roadblocks and distractions people lobby onto the pathway out of fear or anxiety or disinterest in order to dissuade clearly answering – “what problem do we need to address?“
➤RESIST
… running towards solutioning before formalizing that everyone involved has arrived at an agreed-upon understanding of the problem(s).
SO YOU CAN: Be assured each person can articulate this understanding in their own way and words without introducing dissonance when answering – “Why is this a problem(s) we should focus on now?”
➤PIVOT
… to clearing a path through messy narratives by banishing ambiguity, confusion, and resistance around the general idea of process improvement.
SO YOU CAN: Produce a clear guiding principle for process improvement that you can use at the detail task and action levels when answering – “What are our objectives for examining this process?“
Getting agreement on these three questions – in whatever order you need for the situation at hand – will aid in arriving at a purpose for process improvement that is clear, concise, and understood. Gaining agreement at this point will be the punctuation needed to move from the abstract “yeah, we should do something” to the concrete “we are doing something and this is how we can start”.
With an agreed-upon purpose, the need to force people into a change(s) they may view as a challenge or direct threat will lessen. It ensures there is always a solid starting point you can cycle back to if/when progress becomes muddled or erratic or stalled. The purpose is now the call to action and no longer hiding behind calls for action.
