Somewhere between client engagements and airplane travels, my desk had taken on a life of its own. And today was the day when absolutely nothing else was going to get done until I sent the bunnies hopping. Turned out I had a great time!
To picture my desk, imagine a weird collection of trinkets and artifacts among the files and notepads. Most of these items were gifts from clients that I've accumulated over twelve years. And the "gift" that the dust bunnies among them gave me was reflection. As I cleaned, I reflected on the experience that produced each item and what I learned from it. Each, in their own way, symbolizes something about managing change and transformation. Take my ...
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Kaleidoscope: I acquired this after a couple of days with a team from a federal agency. Our time together was spent planning to put them out of business on a date certain, a novel idea in the public sector! It's my reminder of the power of perspective. Patterns aren't the same under a different light or with a small 'twist' to add a few new elements and hues.
How different do your challenges look from another vantage point - like your customers'?
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Turtle key chain: A front line team was challenged by our lingo, charts and exhortations to engage in process improvement. After several training sessions, one team asked if "the turtle," a device for removing heavy cleaning equipment from the bottom of a swimming pool, represented the type of product expected from their team's work. They described how their invention reduced the cleaning equipment's down time because the machine was no longer smashed against the pool wall when retrieved. Repair costs were also reduced as were work comp claims - the device took the strain out of heaving the waterlogged vacuum out of the pool. The key chain, a symbol given to all teams, reminds me that people can and will do the right thing - even unprompted - if they are clear about what is expected of them.
Does your staff share a common definition of the results expected of them?
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"Pete the Perch": Seattle's World Famous Pike Place Fish Market is well, world famous. Besides selling fish, they've spawned (no pun intended) a business out of helping companies employ their values - Play, Be There for your Customers, Make Their Day, and Choose Your Attitude. I received this stuffed animal after attending a training session designed to help a state department and its agency executives (of which I was then one) adopt the "FISH!" philosophy. Unfortunately, the training was 'stand-alone.' Absent a vision and strategies for improving results for the department's customers, the training did little to change any agency practices. A bridge is not worth much absent the context of where you're trying to go when crossing it.
What's the context for your skill development efforts?
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An Antique Medicine Bottle: A team leader I worked with collects antique glass bottles. The hobby was cultivated during childhood when the archeological 'digs' were this family's bonding experience. The piece I was given is symbolic to me of two different qualities: individuality and persistence. Every organization - the collection - is unique, as are the people - the bottle - within it. Each has a story, each its own history and each has its place in the whole.
Which aspects of your organization's history are best left behind or buried? What's the best way to utilize the pieces you bring forward and how will you bond these elements to the future of your organization?
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A Slinky: Not an ordinary slinky, this one is embellished with a Spanish expression "Appretando el paso," which translates to "Pick up the Pace!" This client, a Puerto Rican mayor, gave slinkies to her cabinet as a reminder to manage momentum and sustain a level of urgency about the reforms they were undertaking. Today it begs the question,
How much longer will we ask our customers and citizens to wait for better results from the public sector??
Reflections on the other artifacts of my desk - a koosh ball, an Inukchuk, a legislative survival kit, a coach's whistle, the wicked witch plaque, a plastic skeleton, and a heart-shaped lamp - speak to the importance of play, strategy, managing demands, individual support, resistance, courage and compassion, respectively.
Our partner, Chuck Lofy, has taken the practice of "reflection" to new heights in our work with clients. On several occasions, our clients have invited Chuck to employ his techniques for helping organizations distill the lessons learned from their current change efforts. Rather than see this evaluative challenge as one of quantitative analysis, Chuck engages people who were involved in the effort in reflective review. Chuck calls this "learning on the go." (The Army calls it "After Action Review"). The practice requires a commitment to creating a safe environment, one in which participants can name and share observations about their individual and collective work without fear of judgment as to success or failure. Attentive listening is key. Self-learning is critical and, when regular reflection time is built into processes for this purpose, the insights garnered become the catalysts for continued future improvement.
The artifacts of my work that I described above are symbols of my lessons learned. Though the engagements have past, the learnings remain powerful and transitory. I carry the lessons with me from one engagement to the next.
Dust was the catalyst for my reflections on the people, projects and changes they created in their part of the public sector. The reflections have taught me a lot. I hope you dust regularly, too.
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