-How do you make a project run smoothly and effectively?
-What are the main causes that things often go wrong? (I will call them practical pitfalls later)
-How do you make positive use of the diversity of the team?
These and other aspects are discussed in my blog of approximately 10 minutes reading time with a short analysis, the problem behind the problem and of course full of tips that work.
Recently, an associate asked if I would be willing to think things through with him for 'a moment'. As a fan of the book 'Getting Naked' written by Patrick Lencioni and the ideas behind it, I was happy to make some time for him (Nb.
(for those who still have doubts about reciprocity in a business relationship; highly recommended reading).
His 'Problem Sketch': “Due to the current situation, more of our people are working remotely.” Therefore, his company is working more frequently with TEAMS as an online tool.
It suddenly turns out that 'working remotely' can be quite difficult. Especially if you have ongoing projects involving various disciplines within your company.
He had noticed (following my blog 'From Covid19 to Topfit20') that people are indeed working very concentratedly within their own square meters. That is fine and good for efficiency, but sometimes it leads to a lack of understanding for one another.
While one person still has questions or wants to investigate something in peace, another is already working on the next phase or is simply arranging things on his own initiative.
THE OWN SQUARE METER:
People like to focus on their own roles. Roles such as Account Manager, CFO, CPO, Product Manager, Purchasing or Logistics Manager (and we could go on).
There is nothing wrong with that because the focus is on the work and that provides stability and certainty when defining tasks and responsibilities, so that you can switch quickly.
That is why you can be particularly productive at home. Although, unfortunately, that can also be a pitfall.
'Working with focus' and 'depth' in the job has led to more and more specialist positions. This way we get the most out of it, get into a flow faster and achieve better results. But then on that proverbial 'own square meter' and that is where the danger immediately lies.
I hope that many specialists work at your company who are driven, enthusiastic, and passionate about helping clients move forward. I hope even more that they go through life with an open mind and collaborate closely with colleagues.
Moreover, everyone has their own specific tasks to deal with, meaning that subconsciously or unconsciously slightly different interests may come into play, even though everyone sincerely has the best intentions.
t. the company. Failing to recognize and acknowledge these different interests makes the difference between 'oil or sand' in the gears.
It is a bit like the difference between the left and the right Twix in the TV commercial. Differing 'self-interests' can lead to significant mutual annoyance. It requires coordination, give and take, and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses.
A good team has, as it were, a single heartbeat. How good is your team, and do you have “employees,” “co-workers,” “collaborators,” “co-workers,” or a mix? I sincerely wish you many “co-workers.”
So much for the retrospective.
My relationship noticed that the team members (with different levels of knowledge and experience) are all very committed to the company, but that somehow there is more and more misunderstanding and bickering (fortunately at a distance, otherwise they would also attack each other).
He asked me for a simple short-term solution.
PROCESSES ARE GETTING FASTER:
Within companies, multiple processes are increasingly running simultaneously. Within the good old hierarchy, it was clear who did what or who had to do what. In any case, there was more time to think things over, put them aside for the week, and thus keep progress going step by step.
Actually, we don't do things any differently these days, and there is nothing new under the sun, except for the essential difference that everything proceeds at a much higher speed. Slacking off or slacking off for even a moment increases the risk of errors. This, in turn, requires recovery time, and time is money.
Organizational structures are also becoming increasingly intertwined, people work more often in matrix structures, and everyone contributes a smaller piece to the puzzle. As a result, overview and involvement can be lost.
It causes grumbling, misunderstandings and jeopardizes mutual trust relationships.
The ultimate damage will be many times greater than just the directly attributable costs. For when people no longer understand or want to understand each other, resistance arises naturally and mutual trust disappears.
Just as many dissatisfied customers don't complain but simply go elsewhere to buy, dissatisfied and misunderstood employees look for another job, where even in times of crisis, the good people always find that other nice job.
-A- Gone is the talent for the future.
-B- The company may once again incur costs in searching and finding good people.
-C- New people have to be trained again, you have to get them involved within the group, you have to obtain and maintain their motivation and all this in such a way that they will contribute to the result (or simply earn money for you) .
All this requires more than just time and effort. Have you ever thought about all the invisible costs of this story? (Be warned, because you will be shocked when you do the calculation).
HOW DO YOU AVOID ERRORS? A SIMPLE METHODOLOGY:
Making mistakes to learn from is good, preventing mistakes is better. Within “Lean Six Sigma” there is the DMAIC Circle. A handy 5-step methodology to guide processes and, above all, to stay on the same wavelength and always take the next step together;
-Step 1: Ddefine, or; What is the question, problem or goal?
-Step 2: Meat; Take care of the baseline measurement. Provide data. Provide insight. What do we have? What else do we need? How big are the challenges in obtaining this information?
-Step 3: Aanalyze; What are the main causes of congestion? How do these affect the problem or goal? What does it take to get progress? What result do we want? Who do we need?
-Step 4: Iimplement; What are the best solutions? Formulate SMART and determine: Who will do what? Do a pilot before the final implementation takes place.
-Step 5: Cuncheck; How do we safeguard and verify the results? How do we ensure continuous improvement?
Tip 1: Involve your customers at an early stage, go for the WOW factor. Include “the customer” from step 1 in the plans, make the journey together. It will increase involvement and therefore commitment, prevent unnecessary errors and better meet all wishes.
Tip 2: Of course, something can go wrong at any stage, in fact, I think someone who doesn't make mistakes probably also has something to hide (or is just not doing anything). Therefore work “PUC”.
Always ensure you have a good plan; describe it as clearly and goal-oriented as possible. Remember that spending a little more time on planning will save you from unnecessary errors later in the process.
During Execution, you will encounter the necessary challenges that require adjustment of the course to be followed; in other words, remain flexible, creative, critical, and persistent, but not rigid. Always ensure that every team member knows which phase of the DMAIC they are working in.
In addition, the team itself is responsible for the control of each phase, including the associated reporting and recommendations or solutions for bottlenecks to the project client(s). Ensure mutual commitment before proceeding to the next phase.
Practice Pitfall 1: If you zoom in further on daily practice and look at the above points, you will see that number one, the most common mistake is to skip steps 2 and 3 of the DMAIC circle (or go through them very quickly, which actually amounts to the same thing) with the reasons: That's just how we do it here (culture) and lack of focus.
Therefore, do not underestimate the issues of the day and the preference of team members for taking short routes.
Practice Pitfall 2: Unfortunately, taking the shortcuts mentioned is human nature. People naturally make a lot of assumptions and the faster society moves, the more assumptions we make. 'On and on again' is a fashionable slogan that you often hear.
Practice Pitfall 3: Unfortunately, people usually grossly overestimate the amount of work they can do in a short time, driven by unrealistic deadlines and promises made.
Assumptions based on our own beliefs, opinions and past experiences, which prevent us from 'really' listening to others, are the logical consequence.
Therefore, create teams with a variety of disciplines, experiences, and backgrounds, and ask team members to be open to the opinions of others, thus stimulating the creative process.
At the start of a project, always ask for everyone's commitment and express this to each other; it will prevent a lot of frustration.
Another potential pitfall: Every organization has its own corporate culture, with its own norms and values.
If these norms and values are not known to everyone in the company, or if you work with external people who do not align their own norms and values with those of the client, a lot goes wrong before anything even starts.
Incidentally, you can also hire a Lean Six Sigma 'black belt' for such processes if you do not have enough time yourself. He or she will monitor the process.
Summary
Consciously go through every step of the DMAIC circle (first learn to walk, then learn to run). Dedicate sufficient time to planning from the start.
Do this both beforehand and during the process (and continue to do so). It ensures that the Execution proceeds faster and, above all, that you need to make fewer corrections during the Audit afterwards.
BUT THERE'S MORE, at least if you want to collaborate more successfully (here's the gist of it all):
Working together, uhhhh, working together is like driving a car. One person is like the accelerator and wants to keep going, another like a brake because we are going too fast, and yet another like the clutch pedal because without engaging the clutch you won't shift into the next gear.
And then we haven't even talked about the question of which gear we are currently driving in, or should actually be driving in if we want to make serious progress.
Shall we continue? What do you think happens if you accelerate and brake at the same time? Oh right; and who steers the whole thing?
A good team is composed of people who not only have different knowledge but also demonstrate different working and thinking behaviors. It provides multiple perspectives by utilizing everyone's strengths.
Fused together in the right way, it makes for an ironclad team. As a “Leader,” your task is to ensure that your people grow wings, so to speak, to smoothly navigate obstacles, both individually and together.
It is up to you to invest some of your time and energy in your team. Because even though people do not appear on the balance sheet, together they achieve the best results.
The better they know each other, the more they trust each other (with all the differences in knowledge and character), the more targeted their work can be to achieve the desired results.
With Insights Discovery, you can work on the interplay between team members using a simple and accessible color model.
Insights Discovery provides insight to each team member based on 4 clear colors. Incidentally, every person has all the colors within them; however, the amount differs per individual, making every person unique.
It is like having your own PIN code. If you learn to read these PIN codes, a whole new world opens up for you, suddenly giving group processes an extra (group) dynamic.
The colours refer to behavioural characteristics that people usually or prefer to display.
When each team member has a clear understanding of themselves and their associated behavioral preferences, as well as those of other team members, this creates greater understanding and a better understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses, and allows you to utilize the strengths of each team member in a more targeted and proactive manner.
What do you think this does to the result to be achieved?
Team workshops, personal profiles and team profiles make it possible to better coordinate people. Up from https://www.insightsbenelux.com you will find more information. If you are interested, I can facilitate this for you and your team(s).
AND IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THE INDIVIDUAL OR THE GROUP EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL AND MORE SKILLED?
It's no different with further training your people. First look at the objectives of the organization. Then where the organization stands and the individuals within it. This is how you discover the 'GAP' of the person and the team.
Remember that someone with an unlimited and brilliant amount of knowledge only becomes truly successful if he or she knows how to use, utilize and apply that knowledge skillfully.
The latter gives them real wings to success.
-A- Just more money in the drawer.
-B- They are like an ambassador for your company, not only getting other people interested in the company, but at the same time motivating themselves on the subconscious level to continue to perform. How beautiful can it be, it is like the turbo on a win-win situation.
Managing the organization, dealing with change, securing new profitable clients, and simultaneously getting (but also keeping) people engaged, passionate, and connected is complex. It demands a great deal from your leadership.
That's not always easy. Helping and facilitating this process is what I and my colleagues do.
Darwin (He lived from 1809-1882) once said: It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent. It is the kind that responds best to change. How do you and your people deal with the current changes?
Did this blog make you think?
Please share it with colleagues, MT, DT, your business network, your LinkedIn downline. Our goal is to help as many entrepreneurs, enterprising salespeople, enterprising managers and their teams emerge from this time successfully. We like a challenge.
If you would like to discuss, if you have feedback (I appreciate it), a question or if you would like a Quick Scan, please feel free to contact me via my LinkedIn or send me an email with the subject: 'Koos; Darwin already knew it'.
Koos Minnema
[email protected]
06 - 51965959