Getting
Every Brain in the Game
What it Means
What’s one
universal thing that every person in the world instinctively wants? The
opportunity to be heard. Giving dignity and voice means giving everyone on the
team the chance to speak their minds and share their ideas openly without fear
of reprisal or humiliation.
Why it Matters
·
Engages
team members and lets each person know that they are essential to the
organization’s success.
·
Builds
trust and cohesion in the team.
·
Fosters
an entrepreneurial spirit that is driven by speed, flexibility, and creativity.
·
Prevents
“group think” and getting stuck in a pattern of “this is the way we’ve always
done it.”
·
Increases
the pool of new ideas generated from across the organization.
·
Continues
to reinforce candor by actively demonstrating that it is not only okay for team
members to share their thoughts, but it is expected.
·
Creates
a competitive advantage by finding new ways to improve products and processes.
Action Plan
Getting Every Brain in the Game
There’s no
one silver bullet for infusing your organization with dignity and voice.
However, if your organization is large, overly bureaucratic and/or simply in
need of a “jumpstart” on creativity, it is often helpful to organize a
structured session to solve your most urgent challenges and get at new ideas.
You will find an example of a “Work-Out” model enclosed that brings the
business decision-makers together with the people who actually do the work.
However, in the meantime, there are many simpler steps that you can take to get
things moving in the right direction.
Your Starting Point
As you
think about whether your organization is doing all it can to ensure that
everyone is treated with dignity and has a voice that is being heard, consider
the following:
1.
Do
you listen to everyone on your team more than you talk?
2.
When
was the last time you actively solicited feedback and new ideas?
3.
Do
you have a formal mechanism to seek feedback? Do you need one?
4.
Are
your goal-setting processes and performance evaluations a two-way conversation?
5.
Can
you recall a time when you celebrated people who brought good ideas? Have you
done it enough?
6.
If
you are a senior level manager, what are you doing to ensure that people two or
more levels below you can get their voice heard?
Quick Wins for Giving People Voice
If you
want to get every brain in the game and get new ideas flowing to find “a better
way every day,” then it all starts with trust. Your team has to know that their
voices will be heard and that they can share their concerns. As the leader,
it’s up to you to establish, support, and reward this culture. Getting started
doesn’t have to be complicated; it just has to be sincere.
·
Demonstrate
explicit, public (even exaggerated) support when team members come up with good
ideas. Others will catch on. They will see that you’re excited and they will
get excited. They’re going to want some of that praise for themselves, and so
will quickly start looking to bring forth new ideas.
·
If
the ideas is presented in a private meeting, it doesn’t have to stay private.
Send an email or note around (copying the person who shared the idea, of
course) making a big deal about it. A simple message saying, “I was talking to
_________ earlier today and she had a great suggestion about __________” which
can put a smile on that person’s face all day long and inspire the rest of the
team to bring their best thoughts’ forward.
·
Never
ever, ever humiliate a team member in a public setting. As soon as you shoot
down an idea or belittle someone you send a message to everyone else on the
team that this is not a safe environment to speak out. If the suggestion raises
a concern that needs to be addressed with the person who raised it, do so
privately and directly, but never lose your cool.
·
Send
a note. Yes, a note—a hand-written one (remember those?) to tell a team member
how much your appreciated their contribution to a discussion. In these days of
digital noise, getting a hand-written note stands out. In fact, don’t be
surprised if team members save a note from the boss for years.
A Work-Out Planning Questionnaire
Cutting
through bureaucracy and politics to empower fast action, a Work-Out session
brings top managers together with the team members who are closest to the work
itself to identify critical business improvements and decide on specific
solutions in real time. Once the key decisions are made, the team is challenged
to implement the recommended changes in 30 to 90 days.
1.
What
problem has been identified that the Work-Out event is seeking to address?
2.
What
are the indicators that this is a real problem? Give specific, quantifiable
examples whenever possible.
3.
How
long has this problem existed and what (if anything) has been tried in the past
to resolve it? What were the outcomes of these efforts?
4.
Have
there been significant changes in the market, product, or the process that have
exacerbated the problem or brought a latent problem into focus?
5.
Who
needs to be involved in getting the problem solved? Think about all the
departments (and levels) that are impacted, who should contribute to finding a
solution and what their roles should be.
6.
When
can the Work-Out session be held? Think about the balance between speed to
action and giving session participants time to adequately prepare.
7.
What
other work projects may be interrupted by the event? What is the plan for
making sure that productivity is not lost while participants meet for the
Work-Out?
8.
What
is your plan for communicating the purpose of the Work-Out session to: a)
colleagues, b) manager, and c) other team members?
9.
How
can you help the team to prepare for the event so that it is a good use of
everyone’s time?
10.
What
logistics do you need to consider to ensure that the venue and timing are
optimal? Consider:
·
Travel
requirements for participants.
·
Other
projects and deadlines that could be disrupted (or be disruptive).
·
Vacation
time that already has been scheduled.
·
Location—onsite
or offsite (each has its advantages and disadvantages).
·
Post-event
commitments that could undermine effective implementation.
Setting a Work-Out Agenda and
Expectations
Effective
pre-planning is critical for an effective session. Remember, you are asking
people to give up valuable time to gather together to solve a problem. An
unstructured event or wide-open brainstorming session may get you to where you
need to be (if you’re lucky), but you increase the odds of success considerably
if you plan in detail. Rather than present a specific template, which may or
may not meet your needs, the following is an event checklist to think through
as you craft the agenda.
Suggested agenda:
Introductions
Brainstorming with small teams
Presenting the ideas
Developing the top 5 best ideas
Decision making by the key business
manager (a Work-Out always concludes with this)
Suggested Agenda:
Defining a plan of action
Clearing
establish pre-work and session expectations. Everyone must come with:
·
A
well-articulated idea of the problem to be fixed.
·
Identification
of the steps of the existing processes.
·
An
idea of the measurable improvement goals being sought.
Make sure
that event leaders have thought-starter questions and process diagrams to both
get the creative juices flowing and to make sure everyone really does
understand ALL the steps of the process involved. Picture (such as diagrams)
really can be worth a thousand words.
Carefully review
all the tools needed for the event such: reports, spreadsheets, calculators, flowcharts,
internet access, etc. Getting to the event an realizing that some key work
can’t be done onsite can derail the whole session.
Be realistic
about the agenda and comfort issues. Pretending that everyone can work in a
small room or can be wide awake and alert after a 12 hour marathon session is
not realistic. Plan for:
·
Comfortable
attire (leave the suits behind).
·
Lots
of refreshments.
·
Room
for breakouts and group work.
Define
ownership of even deliverables and (if possible) outcomes/actions before the
event starts.
Implementing Approved
Recommendations
Getting
every brain in the game accomplishes little if nothing changes as a result of
all the great ideas generated. Remember, not every idea can, should or will be
implemented. While it is essential to make sure that team knows this going in
(and knows not to take it personally if their ideas can’t be acted on right
now), there must be an established protocol for implementing the ideas that are
agreed upon.
Set an implementation goal ahead of
time. A sound model is:
·
75%
of the decisions should be agreed upon immediately
·
25%
will be resolved in 30 days
It is essential that your Work-Out
session conclude with the following 6 action steps:
1. Agreement among stakeholders as to
what decisions have been made: no ambiguity.
2. Acknowledgment that while there may
be some areas where agreement has not been reached (or the solution wasn’t what
you hoped for), this must not be an excuse for not moving forward and giving it
your all to support the team decision.
3. Specific and measurable action
items must have a timeline and owner attached to them.
4. Senior-level (or departmental)
ownership must also be explicit.
5. A summary report should be
generated for all participants outlining decisions, actions, ownership, and
timelines for next steps.
6. Mid-point reviews (and possibly
follow-up meetings) must be scheduled so that:
·
Everyone
knows there is accountability to take IMMEDIATE action.
·
They
can check in and see the progress (and adjust course as needed).
·
It
can be clearly demonstrated that the Work-Out event was not just lip-service.
Game Pages
Infusing
Your Organization with Dignity and Voice
Work-Out Agenda and Expectations
Event
Name:
Date,
Time, Location, Attire
Additional
Logistical Details:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Event Objective:
Attendees:
Work-Out Agenda and Expectations
Instructions:
·
Come
to the event prepared with . . .
·
Expectations
for your participation at the event include . . .
_____________________________________________________________________________________
·
Following
the event you will be responsible for . . .
Schedule:
Other
Items:
Event Preparations
For the
Work-Out session, I need to prepare the following:
Reports:
Work-Product Samples:
Ideas of What Isn’t Working:
Histories of Key Initiatives:
Suggestions for Improvement:
Potential Barriers to
Implementation:
Requests for Support:
My Action Items
Item:
Due Date:
Resources Currently Available:
Additional Resources Needed:
Team Members Involved:
Deliverables: