Leading From Any Position I, Day Two
Day two focused on teamwork, working in groups, and brainstorming. We talked about setting ground rules or norms for working in groups. The norms should be agreed upon at the first meeting, posted somewhere prominently (such as a flip chart or the wall) where everyone can see them and used right away, as well as at every subsequent meeting. The group should also decide by whom and how they will be enforced. One sample ground rule that really struck me was, "Ask why so that you can explain why."
We talked about brainstorming and practiced it, but we were required to simply give the idea with no story or background attached to it. We often found this hard to do, but it was more productive when we could do that. Often the stories drained the energy from the brainstorming, and the ideas began to peter out. We revisited the idea of using someone's primary motivator as the basis of your arguments in favor of a particular idea. For example, in a prison library, the administrators value the security in the prison above all else. If the prison librarian is trying to persuade administrators to let her try a new program, she needs to show how it will improve security in the prison. If you're trying to persuade a decision-maker who prizes efficiency, then that should be the focus of your arguments.
Some profound thoughts:
So what if you're really busy? How do the tasks you're doing affect the customers' experience and your community? If they don't, what's the point of doing them?
What are the primary issues in your community? How can the library connect with those issues?
We also discussed delegating which is "the process of accomplishing great things through our employees, thereby raising their self-respect." Delegation is not dumping. When determining if there are jobs you can delegate, decide which tasks must be done by you; everything else should be considered for delegation or elimination. Pareto's Principle (80/20 rule): 20% of your activities yield 80% of your results. Focus your energies on the activities that yield the most desired results.
Working in groups: assume that each person has something valuable to say/contribute; paraphrase what other person has said to verify your understanding of it.
When evaluating possible solutions to a problem, list positives first, then list concerns about the idea, but phrase all concerns as a question--how to.... For example, "We don't have the money!" could be rephrased to "How to fund?" This forces an examination of the concern, making it a concrete issue that can be addressed and phrases a negative in a positive way. It occurred to me that this strategy has powerful possibilities beyond larger group problem-solving. If you can train a frequent complainer to re-state his/her complaints in this positive way, you might help the person to verbalize what exactly s/he wants to change. Once a concrete issue has been identified, it may be easier to address. This also may prevent you as a supervisor from tuning out the staff member's grumbling "because s/he's always complaining about something."
We talked about brainstorming and practiced it, but we were required to simply give the idea with no story or background attached to it. We often found this hard to do, but it was more productive when we could do that. Often the stories drained the energy from the brainstorming, and the ideas began to peter out. We revisited the idea of using someone's primary motivator as the basis of your arguments in favor of a particular idea. For example, in a prison library, the administrators value the security in the prison above all else. If the prison librarian is trying to persuade administrators to let her try a new program, she needs to show how it will improve security in the prison. If you're trying to persuade a decision-maker who prizes efficiency, then that should be the focus of your arguments.
Some profound thoughts:
So what if you're really busy? How do the tasks you're doing affect the customers' experience and your community? If they don't, what's the point of doing them?
What are the primary issues in your community? How can the library connect with those issues?
We also discussed delegating which is "the process of accomplishing great things through our employees, thereby raising their self-respect." Delegation is not dumping. When determining if there are jobs you can delegate, decide which tasks must be done by you; everything else should be considered for delegation or elimination. Pareto's Principle (80/20 rule): 20% of your activities yield 80% of your results. Focus your energies on the activities that yield the most desired results.
Working in groups: assume that each person has something valuable to say/contribute; paraphrase what other person has said to verify your understanding of it.
When evaluating possible solutions to a problem, list positives first, then list concerns about the idea, but phrase all concerns as a question--how to.... For example, "We don't have the money!" could be rephrased to "How to fund?" This forces an examination of the concern, making it a concrete issue that can be addressed and phrases a negative in a positive way. It occurred to me that this strategy has powerful possibilities beyond larger group problem-solving. If you can train a frequent complainer to re-state his/her complaints in this positive way, you might help the person to verbalize what exactly s/he wants to change. Once a concrete issue has been identified, it may be easier to address. This also may prevent you as a supervisor from tuning out the staff member's grumbling "because s/he's always complaining about something."
posted by Rose Frase | 4:03 PM
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