engagement

Deploying meaning to fully engage hearts minds and ideas

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Case study logo - picture of open file and magnifying glassCase Study: How strategy engagement matrices aligned disparate groups behind a shared purpose

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In the past, water technologies had been a bit of a Cinderella industry. Working along in the background with limited investment. But over recent decades, growing ecological concerns have begun to bring water much more into the limelight.
As focus and opportunity shifted, one particular group of businesses came together to better engage with this.
They were the Water arm of a large multinational engineering conglomerate. Three separate businesses, with complementary technologies.

bringing businesses together

The newly appointed CEO wanted to bring the three businesses together. His intention was to create one business better positioned to engage with the emerging opportunities. The CEO was already familiar with the power of Strategy Engagement Frameworks from past experience. He believed, rightly, that it would help him better engage his new team in a shared purpose to make it happen. And he asked us to help.

Objectives of the Strategy Engagement

Hands together as metaphor for engagement in a shared goal through deploying meaningHe believed that the key to success for new Water Technologies organisation was to:
  1. Generate the level of growth and margin that the parent company looks for in its benchmark organisations
  2. Create a shared purpose, not only in terms of structure and process, but also in behaviours, attitudes and beliefs
  3. Develop synergies within the digital and other industries of the parent organisation. And to gain the cultural and performance (Agile and excellence) benefits of that approach
  4. Deploy meaning and develop personal senses of responsibility in all staff in order to: break down silo perspectives; take systematic ownership for achievements; and develop people and cross-functional teams to achieve their full potential
  5. Strategically engage with relevant elements of the parent company’s global portfolio to reduce the organisation’s dependency on municipal markets and their attendant 5 year cycles
The goal therefore was: to engage the energy, skills and motivation of the team in fleshing out what these things mean in practice for Water Technologies; to determine a common set of objectives in support of this; to define how those objectives will be fulfilled both in the near future and in the longer term; and to build commitment to deliver those plans together.
Pretty much what every company needs really. But with one key difference. The power of the Strategy Engagement Matrix in delivering and sustaining it.

Starting with where people are

Interview prior to Strategy Engagement Workshop - Courtesy-Gustavo-Fring-via-PexelsOur approach to this type of work begins with individual interviews of the leadership team. Transforming an organisation is always a journey, an adventure. Everybody changes. But to make those changes efficiently, we need to know where we are starting from.
Our interviews helped us develop a complete picture of people’s hopes and aspirations; their dreams and their concerns. Their ideas, and their blindspots; their passions and their dislikes; and their priorities and needs. From these interviews we could develop a complete picture of  key consistencies and differences in the collective view; particularly where there was consensus and where there was disagreement.

journeys start where you are

And we could begin to map out the most likely journey; a practical route for moving from the current situation to whatever success might mean. A means of building on consensus and resolving the differences to achieve coherence, a shared purpose, and an agreed way forward.
The interviews also helped us to build rapport and trust. A realisation that individual perspectives were valued and respected within the process. And a confidence that the outcome could be better for everyone.

Clarifying where they want to be

We then held a workshop to work this all through together. Beginning with an analysis of the start point, and confirmation that it reflected their reality.
From this we could begin to develop a shared picture of success. Success not just in performance and operational terms, but also in cultural and human terms. A picture that truly reflected what success meant to them and their responsibilities for the business.
Creating meaning - visioning process using a range of visioning tools in a workshopWe used a range of participative and visioning tools to pull individual proposals into a shared picture of success. One which was not only supported by everyone. But which everyone agreed would make them proud, and was worthy of the  investment of the next three years of their lives.
Furthermore, a picture that would fulfil the business expectations placed upon them. And be sufficiently robust to meet the needs of their changing market and context.

set goals that are worthy of your life

This picture fell into 6 main areas: Customers; Growth; Productivity; Sustainability; People; and Finance. We used metrics to further define these and describe positive progress for each area. And we set targets for each by means of the clothesline tool.

Configuring for success

Developing process models for the strategy engagement matrix - finding ways to better deploy meaningClearly, this picture of success is to be delivered by the different parts of the organisation working together.
But organisational structure is a choice, and some structural choices deploy meaning better than others. They provide better leverage over achieving the results.

organisational structure is a matter of design

With this in mind we asked people how they would define the different elements of the organisation required to deliver our goals. And then we asked how we could best group and configure those elements. How we might arrange them for maximum agility, impact and creative potential.

agile organisational structure is a matter of meta-design

Breakouts worked on different models, each with different strengths and weaknesses. We then selected a base model, and further refined its structure by borrowing strong ideas from the other models to address its weaknesses.
In the end, the titles given to the primary groups were fairly conventional: Sales and Marketing; Supply Chain; Execution; Product Management; Aftermarket and Service; Finance; HR and Support. However, the design and components within each one were new.

Engaging them within the Strategy Matrix

Working on the strategy engagement matrix to deploy meaning and promote creative solutionsThe workshop had deliberately been held in a very large room with extensive wall space.
The wall space enabled us to lay out the longest wall to represent the six goal areas as rows, and the seven primary groups as columns. Which created areas of approximately 30cm by 70cm at the intersection of each row and column.
Plenty of space to explore what each group needed to deliver if it was to ensure the success of each goal. The resulting matrix served as a means to deploy meaning from the top level goals into the primary groups.

deploy meaning systematically

We began splitting into seven groups. Each exploring what their group was capable of achieving currently in yellow sticky notes. And then adding in green sticky notes to reflect its further potential to leverage the goals.
Then we split into six groups, each taking responsibility for a goal area. And considering whether the proposed contributions would ensure the goals were met. Would they bet £500 of their own money on it. They then added further pink sticky notes of what was necessary to give them that confidence.

betting your own money accesses a different
level of thought

This gave us a complete picture of what would be required. Each cell reflecting responsibilities for each group in delivering each goal. The group then further refined these by looking at the the output as a whole, and soliciting further ideas and concerns. And then working through them together.

Prioritising innovation and improvement

People were asked about their confidence that the proposed leverage of the objectives could be achieved. That the workload would be manageable. This led to the realisation that we would need to prioritise on the most important things. We split again into breakouts, and used sticky dots to identify what was essential, and align it with what was feasible.

seeing the whole picture

For the first time, the leadership team could see fully what it was trying to do, and how it could configure itself to deliver it. It could see how the different parts needed to work together to achieve it.
The matrix clearly deployed meaning from the top level goals into each part of their strategy. Furthermore they could better see themselves as a team rather than heads of functions. They could see that it was ALL their responsibility, not just siloed bits of it.

Deploy meaning to expand strategy engagement

However, the leadership do not have all the best ideas. Nor is it sufficient to rely solely on their ownership.
The point about strategy engagement is to draw in the ideas and ownership of everyone. To deploy meaning right down through the organisation. So the next step was to use the big picture to engage those that actually do the work.
Teams were pulled together to take responsibility for each primary group (business area). Each had an appointed leader from the workshop.

to engage people harness their ideas

The role of the team was to understand the logic so far, and to translate this into clear goals for each of the business areas. To include their own aspirations and ideas for what might be possible.  And to formulate a proposal back to the leadership team.
In some cases, they developed their own strategy engagement matrix. Embracing their own vision of success for their group. Deploying meaning even deeper into the organisation. And being creative in considering the local structure to deliver it.

Harmonising the approach

A second leadership workshop was held to receive the proposals from the different groups. These were used to update the top level Strategy Engagement Matrix. The leadership team could then consider whether it wanted to make counter proposals. It could also use the information to reconsider the targets it was setting itself.

a living picture of how everything connects

The end result was a complete framework which linked everyone’s work back into the vision of Water Technologies. People could see clearly where they fitted in, and their potential to make a difference. Furthermore the framework provided a practical framework for holding together Agile teams.

Developing the roof of the strategy engagement framework - looking at x-team communication and collaboration

The final step, in workshop terms at least, was to ensure effective communications as plans progressed.
The Strategy Engagement Matrix includes for a half matrix looking at the interrelatedness of the teams. This ‘roof’ matrix enables the teams to meet together and understand whether their individual goals place them in conflict or synergy. It then enables them to work out what communication they need between them: Whether they need regular updates to avoid treading on each others toes; Or whether they would benefit from planning shared projects.

Empowering progress

Clearly, there were some role changes required in Water Technologies as a result of this work, but this was effected very easily. The purpose-centric definition of the new business areas, and the responsibilities therein, clearly helped in defining these. And by the ownership of individuals created as they defined their own roles and contributed their ideas.

the result was a transformation in Water Technologies performance.

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Relevant Links:

An early example from 1997: The Designer Organisation
Resources to Engage your People

Resources to Better Engage Your People in Change Leadership

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Resources to Engage your People

In our article on ‘The Future of Change‘ we looked at the time dilemma facing those in leadership positions. Basically, how we need to overcome the pressure on our time created by a reactive approaches. Coupled with proposing practical strategies for stealing that time back to think ‘smarter’ about what’s coming.

everybody leads change

One thing the article didn’t cover however, is how the nature of ‘who’ is ‘leadership’ is also changing.
As more and more of human routine gets handled by AI, bots and automation, inevitably more and more of human responsibility will concern non-routine activity. Primarily activity concerned with change, relationships, and change in relationships. Much of this change will need to be autonomous, self-directed. In part this is to avoid further overloading established leadership roles. But in bigger part, it will be because we will need to make these changes quickly and with direct understanding of the specific situation. Change leadership becomes everybody’s responsibility.
People at all levels will be making decisions that will change the nature of their relationships with their colleagues and all around them. They too will effectively be in leadership. This is a concept that is well understood in new coaching models – that we lead up, across, and within, as well as down. As Steven Covey put it ‘Leadership is a choice, not a position’.
But how will they make decisions? Will they also get the thinking time necessary?
Perhaps that is the wrong question. The reality is that, unless they get to spend some of their time in thinking, they too will spend far more of their time in redoing, fixing, dealing with consequences, or other inefficiency.

Learning to Lead Change

Somehow, we, the people in more established leadership roles, need to prepare them for this choice. And prepare them for how to make the best decisions.
The best way to do this is to involve them in the decisions being made at a higher level. Doing so will bring for clear benefits. One, they will learn good thinking practices and tools. Two, they will learn the importance of engaging others in their own decisions. Three they will understand better how it all fits together, and have ownership that their decisions need to support that. And four, their more detailed knowledge and insight will be available to make the higher level decisions better.
Engaging people in decisions on a whiteboard with sticky notesProviding of course that the higher-level decisions are an exemplar of this approach.
We have spent a large part of the last 30 years modelling such participative decision making in top-level workshops. And also in lower-level meetings.
Library of Participative Decision Tools and Selection MatrixOver time we have developed and collated a wide range of practical resources to support this. We have made these resources freely available to all those seeking to better engage the hearts and minds of their people. And we have developed practical pathways for people to learn how to use them. Starting with easy intuitive tools and techniques, and building to more sophisticated ones. Basically, we have a tool for every situation, and every level of ability. We will provide links to explain these shortly, but first, there is a key point to make.

these tools are not dialogue-centric

That doesn’t mean that we don’t think dialogue is important. We do! Indeed, we think balanced, supportive, insightful, dialogue is vital! And all of our tools are designed to lead onto and furnish such dialogue. It is just that we find, in meetings where verbal dialogue is pretty much the only form of communication, it is rarely balanced, supportive, insightful or inclusive. As such it is often a poor example of good decision making.
The reality is, as tensions rise, it tends to be overly-controlled by certain personalities, and dominated by those who believe their ideas should prevail. As such, it typically disadvantages those who may be quieter, more reflective, diverse, creative, introvert or junior. And it disadvantages them to the extent that, in some organisations, dominant personalities are more likely to succeed, and end up leading future meetings, and maintaining this culture.
But we need to use our meetings to build real participation and ownership at all levels, across diverse populations. Consequently, we need to give everyone a ‘voice’ so they can share in the ownership of the result, and cascade that commitment to their people.
Many of the toolsets you will encounter through the links below are about building that voice through non verbal participation. But, in doing so, they ensure that everybody’s opinion is ‘out there’. And, because of this, it informs a richer, more creative dialogue based on a broader context, more creative input, and more diverse sources.

Resources to Support Change Leadership

Synapse network - metaphor for the future of change

The Future of Change

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Synapse network - metaphor for the future of changeI suspect you have heard the idea that the future is VUCA – a military acronym coined after 9/11 for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

VUCA change is nothing new

The reality is that the future has always been VUCA to some extent. There has always been change, disruption, technological advances, lies, deception, data-growth, increasing detail, and ambiguity. It is just that it is always increasing, and always has been. Yes there are step changes. Some of them caused by something as simple as either a dietary choice or failed laboratory protocol in China (is that ambiguous or uncertain?). Others being global conflict, barbaric hordes, revolutions, terrorism. Or wildcard election candidates. And these rapid changes alert us to its reality. But it is always there. And it is always increasing.
The future of change is changing. But one thing remains true, ever since Louis Pasteur coined the term in the 19th Century – “Chance favours the prepared mind”. But …

how do you prepare for such a future?

Sadly, some people advocate that “You can’t prepare, so just be ready to react!”. Unfortunately, that advice, whether adopted willingly or by force of circumstance, has led to situations where the demand for ‘reaction’ has become overwhelming. It has led to overload, stress, mental illness, increased pressure and disharmony. In extreme cases, as reflected in the picture below (extracted from a recent paper on stress in the workplace), it has led to varying levels of dysfunction, and failure.

Negative flows of stress in the work environment

However, wiser minds side with Pasteur.

more change requires a ‘higher level’ of thought

Some of these minds take apart the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, and propose the development of separate strategies to address each: Vision, understanding, clarity and agility. Or alternatively, as HBR proposed: Restructure; build in slack; experiment and invest in information
Others (such as futurist Bob Johansen in his book ‘Leaders make the future’) propose development of new leadership skillsets. Skills which enable leaders to: Gain broader empathy and insight; inspire clarity; generate better options; facilitate more effective outcomes; build deeper ownership; and invoke a controlling influence. In short, a prepared mind.
What these approaches to preparation have in common is that they take a meta-perspective. They lift the thinking up to a point where they can more clearly see the patterns rather than get swamped by the detail.

there needs to be time for ‘quality’ thinking

But such preparation does not come by accident. It takes time, space and effort. Time to grasp at least some of the complexity and ambiguity and its possible implications. Space to play with the potential volatility and uncertainty, and to explore creative possibilities within them.  Effort to best ready their minds with the emerging insights from all of this. And to provide effective leadership in whatever emerges. Leadership from minds which has explored the territory, imagined the pitfalls, and recognises the viable paths through it. Leadership which leaks this insight and understanding into every choice they make. Every response they offer.
And the greater the levels of VUCA, the greater the time required, and the more important that our leadership is spending it. If you are already thinking this way, you are probably ahead of your competitors on change. And as a result, finding the time for such thinking is not an issue for you.

overcoming the ‘no time to think’ trap

But what do you do if you are just waking up to this idea? How do you cope if your current reality is that increasing VUCA is creating unreasonable levels of stress and workload? Where finding healthy chunks of time to think is almost impossible? Where many of the items on the picture above plays some part in your current reality?
There is an answer. The fact is you have to get ahead of the curve. And that is going to be painful and involve sacrifice. But, in the longer run, not as much pain and sacrifice as continuing along your current path. We believe that the solution lies in the work of Jim Collins, of ‘From Good to Great’ fame, around ‘catalytic mechanisms‘
The hard fact is we cannot beat VUCA, it will continue to outpace us. But the reality is that in many cases we don’t need to. We just need to stay ahead of ‘the competition’. So the question you need to ask yourself right now is: Are your leadership getting enough quality thinking time to win that race? Or are they too tied up in reacting? Quickly moving from one expedient activity to another, simply trying to keep the fires extinguished?
If there is any danger it might be the latter, now could be a good time to do some rethinking yourself. As part of that, why not talk to us about how the strategy engagement framework can help you better engage your team in this thinking.

10 new leadership skills for being effective in a rapidly changing business environment.

These have been extracted from Lee Say Keng’s review of Bob Johansen’s book  ‘Leaders make the future’:
  1. Maker Instinct: The ability to exploit your inner drive to build and grow things, as well as connect with others in the making.
  2. Clarity: The ability to see through messes and contradictions to a future that others cannot see. Leaders are very clear about what they are making, but very flexible about how it gets made.
  3. Dilemma Flipping: The ability to turn dilemmas – which, unlike problems, cannot be solved – into advantages and opportunities.
  4. Immersive Learning Ability: The ability to immerse yourself in unfamiliar environments; to learn from them in a first-person way.
  5. Bio-Empathy: The ability to see things from nature’s point of view; to understand, respect, and learn from nature’s patterns.
  6. Constructive Depolarizing: The ability to calm tense situations where differences dominate and communication has broken down – and bring people from divergent cultures toward constructive engagement.
  7. Quiet Transparency: The ability to be open and authentic about what matters to you – without advertising yourself.
  8. Rapid Prototyping: The ability to create quick early versions of innovations, with the expectation that later success will require early failures.
  9. Smart Mob Organizing: The ability to create, engage with, and nurture purposeful business or social change networks through intelligent use of electronic and other media.
  10. Commons Creating: The ability to seed, nurture, and grow shared assets that can benefit other players – and sometimes allow competition at a higher level.
People pondering around a campfire on a beach - metaphor for hopes and concerns exercise

#020 – Campfire Truths

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Discover where people are coming from and their expectations – Build greater awareness and ownership for the outcomes

Benefits of Hopes and Concerns exercise

Why take this challenge?

Clear the air and understand where people might be coming from.

Understand any initial differences in expectations.

Build greater awareness and ownership for the outcomes.

Simply build a shared understanding, a shared hope.

 

Graphic image reflecting different pathways to take the adventure

This weeks challenge for you and your team is called Hopes and Concerns.

At one level Hopes and Concerns is extremely simple. It is a flipchart divided down the middle, and people place their hopes on one side and their concerns on the other.

Hopes and concerns for what? Well it could be for anything: A meeting; the week ahead; a new project; the business; a change initiative – whatever.

However, its simplicity belies its power. Hopes and concerns is a great tool for: Aligning people behind objectives; surfacing hidden agendas; developing balanced perspectives; understanding each other; building ownership and getting things started.

If you are using a virtual whiteboard in your meeting, people can stick up their thoughts on sticky-notes, and then they can be grouped and discussed. Alternatively, you can use a virtual flipchart to capture contributions offered by the group verbally.

A couple of important tips that help ensure the quality of this exercise:

  1. To get balanced contributions, get people to write down two of each silently, and confirm they have all done so before inviting them to stick them up or shout them out
  2. Say to the group: “We’ll keep these visible so that we can all work toward fulfilling the hopes and avoiding the concerns”. In this way you share responsibility for them and make the desired outcomes more likely

Also, it there are any items on either list that you will not be able to do anything about. Simply make that clear from the outset, and say that we can pick it up again after the meeting.

 

Graphic image reflecting the idea of a Pack of resources to support the adventurer in the challenge

You may find the following resources helpful in tackling your challenge or in gaining further benefits from the skills and insights you develop

To catch up on past adventures you may have missed, feel free to browse our Adventures Library

 

Graphic image suggesting the idea of posting a record of the adventurer's journey

Let us know how you get on.
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