14-2 Leadership Reflection

Where will you go from here? What will you do to improve your organization? In this lesson, you will reflect on all the previous labs and apply what you have learned to improve your organization and leadership.

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Reflections 

Video 0:49

Objective – Reflect and identify what you have learned about your organization and your leadership.

Key Takeaways

What are the most important lessons learned from this lab? What did you learn about the facilitators of change? What did you learn about your organization? What did you learn about your leadership?

Questions

What questions do you still have about the facilitators of change? What questions do you still have about your organization related to the facilitators of change? What questions do you still have about the facilitators of change?

Based on everything you have experienced in this Facilitators of Change Module (key concepts, application worksheets, assessments, etc.), identify the key lessons learned or “takeaways” and the questions you still have. Identify the sources you will use to find answers to your questions.

Action Plan Logic 

Video 2:03

Objective – Apply your knowledge to develop an action plan to improve your organization and leadership.

For each opportunity for improvement that you identify, describe the actions you will take. Next, identify the expected reactions from the stakeholders involved. What will they SEE and HEAR related to the actions? What will they THINK and FEEL about the actions? How will that influence their behavior? How will those changes in behavior change the results and outcomes?

1. Opportunity

Identify and describe each opportunity for improvement on a separate row.

2. Actions

Identify and describe the actions that will address each opportunity. For every opportunity that you identify in your action plan, define the steps needed to be taken to address that opportunity for improvement. What is it that you need to do? Actions might include changes in leadership behavior. Or perhaps a change in strategy, or the organization's policies and practices. You may need to reallocate some resources or make changes to how resources are allocated. You may need to change some decisions and projects or process improvements you are making in the organization.

3. Expected Reactions

Describe the reactions that you expect from the stakeholders. Once you have identified the actions needed for each opportunity, the next question is what responses you can expect from stakeholders when they see and hear the changes you are proposing. What will they think, and how will they feel about the changes?

4. Expected Results & Outcomes

Describe the results and outcomes that you expect from the actions and reactions. How do what they think and how they feel about the changes affect what they say and do, thus improving performance or behavior? In turn, how does that affect the organization's results or outcomes?

Action Plan 

Video 4:40

Objective – Apply your knowledge to develop an action plan to improve your organization and leadership.

Prioritize the most critical actions you will accomplish in the next 90 days, 30 days, and seven days. Stretch yourself and your organization, but also set realistic goals, meet them, build momentum, and move forward. As you set goals, avoid unrealistic expectations that put your people in ethical dilemmas. In other words, avoid putting people in a position where they must cheat or cut corners to accomplish the goal.

1. Next 90 days

We begin by identifying the organizational and leadership changes you need to make in the next 90 days to address the most critical improvement opportunities.

What organization change(s) will you make in the next 90 days? What leadership change(s) will you make in the next 90 days?

2. Next 30 Days

Then, working backward from there, what do you need to do in the next 30 days to meet your goals for the next 90 days?

What organization change(s) will you make in the next 30 days? What leadership change(s) will you make in the next 30 days?

3. Next 7 Days

Then, working back even further, what do you need to do in the next seven days? What changes to the organization and leadership do you need to make in the next seven days to meet your 30-day goals?

What organizational change(s) will you make in the next 7 days? What leadership change(s) will you make in the next 7 days?

Journal 

Video 6:26

Objective – Track your progress in your [Re]Create Journal.

Once you start making changes and working on those action plans, it is time to keep a journal. The first thing to record in the journal is the opportunity you are working on. What is the status of the project? Did we get everything done this week that we thought we would get done? Why? Why not? What results are we seeing, and how do those compare to what we expected to see? Ask: What is working? What did not work, and why? Record the lessons you learn and use them to make course corrections, improve progress, and stay on track.

It is important to keep a journal and record these as you move forward because you will be working on many things. Some actions will have positive results, while others may not produce the results you expected. To learn and get better at identifying and making changes, it is important to learn what worked, what didn’t, and under what conditions.

Opportunity 

Identify and describe the opportunity that you are working on.

Actions Taken 

Identify and describe the actions you have taken or are now taking to address the opportunity.

Expected Reaction & Results 

Identify and describe the stakeholder reactions and the subsequent results that you expect based on the actions.

Status & Actual Reactions and Results 

Identify and describe the status of the actions, reactions, and results.

Lessons Learned 

Reflect on your experiences and identify the lessons learned. What worked, what didn’t work, and why?

Conclusion

On the surface, a building is a collection of walls with a foundation, a frame, sheetrock, wires, plumbing, air conditioning, etc. But we do not live and work in the walls. We experience the SPACE that those walls create and surround. A building is a container for space. It creates an environment for humans to interact and communicate. Some have proposed that organizations do not exist because they are not very tangible. However, the organization has many tangible artifacts that influence the stakeholders, including documents, policies, strategies, plans, rules, rituals, symbols, and, yes, the physical environment. The people inside the organization experience the combination of these artifacts, which influences their feelings, thoughts, and behavior. In other words, they experience the space or environment that those artifacts create.

We can think of the organization as a human-created environment for people to interact and communicate to accomplish a mission. The central design CHALLENGE for the organization architect is to create a humanistic environment that allows multiple stakeholders to create value for others and themselves.

Should you accept the challenge of [re]designing an organization that creates value for multiple stakeholders, make sure you enjoy the journey. There is an old saying, “When you think your journey to excellence is over, it is.” The journey to sustainable excellence never ends. The only constant is the need to learn and improve continuously. I hope this book helps you on your journey to [re]create the organization that you really want and that society needs.

Enjoy the journey!