The value in this method is that by focusing on what you want the solution to be as opposed to focusing on the problem, your energy and focus can be put into developing action steps towards the solution. The problem is known and acknowledged AND the solution is found in examining what you know, what resources you have and need in order to solve your problems in your context and in learning how to continually improve.
Acknowledging the problem AND developing a shared understanding of the goal to be achieved. Then working backward to accomplish this goal by carefully and pragmatically searching through the organization, team and / or persons real-life and work experience to identify exceptions of when the solution is already happening or could possibly happen in the future.
Much of the confusion and frustration comes from having too many layers of management in the organization. In other words:
Like Collins in Good-to-Great, getting the right people on the bus in the right seat is important. Unfortunately companies keep adding seats and squeezing in extra and unnecessary layers. Causing increased tension and everyone feeling squished, micromanaged, distrusted and unsafe.
A persons behaviors can become extreme as a sign of an inept manager-employee situation. As a manager you must have the capacity to complete the required responsibilities, if your capacity is lacking then effective management cannot take place.
There is one condition that I consider to be more important than the rest, and it is the foundation of “People join companies and leave managers.”
Optimum Manager-Subordinate Distance.
I am very proud to have facilitated the University of Rochester Simon Graduate School of Business Executive MBA Program. The team building and leadership development for the executive MBA students took place at the Woodcliff Hotel outside of Rochester NY.
Pre-Animate focuses the team on what is needed for accomplishing the goals and objectives. At the beginning of the project, the hopes and concerns are high. Creating a space for team members to discuss what success will look like, how to get there and creating a deliberate plan to capture what went right, the team purposefully shares knowledge and skills when it can be best used – AT THE START.
What would you do right now if you could do whatever you wanted to?
Because if you don’t know what you would do, if you could do whatever you wanted to. How in the world can you know what you would do under constraints?
Competency in work is more that just intelligence. It is a combination of cognition, values, knowledge & skills, people skills and behaviors. How do you figure out all those things?
At the core of of what has been called motivation is to value something. If we value something we will go after it.
We all have problems, every team has problems, every organization has problems I have not yet met a manager yet who doesn’t have problems…
The amazing thing about the amount of problems we face is that there are just as many solutions – some you have already found and some you just got to look for.