Month: February 2018

A recent project I was involved with was the implementation of new procurement processes and related technologies for supply chain management (SCM) in a large oil and gas company.

The goals of the project were communicated in a 12-minute video sent to the entire SCM department as well as other affected groups in the organization. The main benefits of the project were organizational (profitability, productivity), but there was little obvious benefit to employees.

Key stakeholders included the vice president (VP) of SCM, subject matter experts (SMEs), contract administrators, and contract bidders.

The project’s success was limited. SMEs fundamentally disagreed with their VP’s idealistic view of how procurement activities should be done versus the reality of how activities were actually completed. Though training (elearning modules) developed for the project was well-received by end users, the outcome of the project could have been improved by resolving misalignment between key stakeholders.

A training plan was developed for the project, which included standard project management components: tasks, assigned to, estimated effort, deadlines, milestones, etc. If a more robust project plan was developed, I did not have access to it.

I highly doubt any specific method for planning was used given the artificial deadlines and the frequently shifting timelines. Training development took twice as long as originally anticipated and had cost overruns in the tens of thousands of dollars. These time and cost impacts were a direct result of misalignment between key stakeholders.

Had more time and effort been allocated up front for leaders and SMEs to reach alignment on the desired outcomes of the project, less time and money would have been required to develop training. Unfortunately, stakeholder engagement was outside my scope for this specific project. Having a dedicated project manager to oversee the project may have also helped keep timelines on track.

My project management approach

As a business owner (albeit, for a company of one), I regularly rely on project management skills to manage my work. In fact, all of my billable client work is project-based. The nature of project work creates some financial instability, so I do what I can to mitigate those risks. Below is a description of my project management approach.

Initiating: Typically at the outset of every project, I meet in person with clients to clarify their expectations for deliverables (scope), timelines, and costs. Then I provide a high-level (ballpark) estimate. I have stopped including a contingency in estimates because they are rarely approved.

On approval of the estimate by key stakeholders (often the project sponsor), I propose a more detailed change, training, and/or communications solution that falls within the client’s budget. One challenge I regularly encounter is – metaphorically speaking -clients asking for a Ferrari when they only have budget for a Ford.

Planning: On approval of the proposed solution, I develop a detailed work plan for the deliverables I am accountable for, including required inputs, assumptions, and dependencies. Most of my timelines are in a t- format since I’ve found project rollout dates regularly change.

I have also worked on projects that required me to develop Gantt charts or use project management software like Microsoft Project, but most of my planning is simple enough to be done in Excel or Word. I have also created project management documents called Minute-by-Minutes (MBMs), which are used to plan one-time events where literally every minute must be coordinated.

Execution/implementation: I track my time daily using an app called Toggl. The app allows me to track both billable and nonbillable hours, track multiple clients, and record specific tasks. If I forget to track my time, I go through my internet and email history for timestamps that help me record my time after the fact. Knowing I need to hit a certain time target per day and per week ensures I hold myself accountable. (I do not share the time tracking with my clients so they do not see how odd my working hours are.)

Monitoring and controlling: During the project, I provide all clients with weekly project status updates; this ensures I stay accountable for my progress on deliverables and is my main form of communication with clients. The main focus of my updates is any risks that have the potential to derail progress. This lays the groundwork for issuing a scope change, should I need one. I also provide monthly invoices to stay accountable for costs.

Closing: After the project, I follow up with a phone call to the client to debrief on what worked and what did not (lessons learned) so that I can improve the process for the next project (process improvement). I also carry errors and omissions insurance should I ever need it (risk management).

 

Click on the link below to access an interactive visual on how to manage change in digital learning environments:

https://rise.articulate.com/share/mrLj3ktz-Ypa7Ib_ly4n0ZsHQyXIQQq5

Note: this visual is password-protected because it contains client-specific examples. Please contact me for the password if you would like to view the graphic.

 

This week I met up with an executive from a Calgary-based elearning firm. Though we had connected on LinkedIn, this was the first time we had met in person, so our conversation meandered through a number of topics: our respective career paths, how we typically find clients, our pricing structures for projects, and some of the more interesting projects we have encountered.

I asked my colleague about his experience of change management in the context of elearning. I have always assumed that learning and development was an integral part of the project team for change initiatives; I was surprised to hear that has not been his experience.

My colleague said he is often unaware of the larger change initiatives taking place within a customer’s organization, for a couple of reasons. First, much of the work his firm does is won through a formal RFP process, which means the customer provides exactly as much information as is needed to begin the project, and no more. Second, the firm clearly establishes itself as an elearning rather than a management consulting firm; it does not provide consulting services because of the increased liability associated with it.

I asked my colleague how he handled situations where customers requested elearning services that were clearly not the right solution to a business problem. He admitted those projects were challenging. While he tries to educate his customers on what makes for effective elearning, his hands are tied when customers insist on instructional design and development parameters that are not best practice.

My colleague said the best change/elearning projects he has worked on were part of a larger change initiative. Elearning was not seen as the solution to a business problem but as one intervention of many needed to make a change successful.

To be an effective leader, it is important to play to your strengths. Research backs this perspective, indicating people who know and use their strengths are six times more likely to be engaged at work and be almost eight percent more productive in their role (Gallup Strengths Centre, 2017a). Marcus Buckingham, co-author of Now, Discover Your Strengths (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001) says, “when people spend the majority of each day on the job using their greatest talents and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they want to do, both they and their organizations will win” (Buckingham, 2017, para. 2).

I used Clifton’s StrengthsFinder Assessment (2009) and Seligman’s Values in Action (VIA) Signature Strengths Test (2013) to define my personal strengths.  As a result, two strengths on which I have built my professional practice are strategic thinking and creativity. Embodying a strategic and creative mindset has influenced my personal leadership style and has helped me lead clients through digital learning projects. 

Strategic thinking and creativity

Strategic thinking is about making good decisions. It means analyzing information, identifying problems, looking at situations from multiple perspectives, not making assumptions, and using evidence to inform decisions (Seligman, 2013; Clifton, 2009).

Creativity is about coming up with new ideas and exploring different ways of doing things. From a personal perspective, it means, “You are never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible” (VIA Institute of Character, 2018), while organizationally, it means “being able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena” (Gallup Strengths Centre, 2012b, Ideation).

I have seen real-life evidence in my professional life, both through my own practice and by observing others, that strategic thinking and creativity are two attributes of effective leadership. Academic literature grounds this evidence in theory.

Connecting leadership theories to personal strengths

Strategic and creative personal strengths can be underpinned by multiple theories of leadership, only two of which I will explore here: reflective leadership and adaptive leadership. Both reflective and adaptive leadership connect to strategic thinking through analytical, problem-solving, critical thinking, questioning, and decision-making skills. Similarly, reflective and adaptive leadership connect to creativity through the ability to be innovative and generate new ideas. 

Castelli (2015) speaks to the strategic and creative mindsets required of leaders, saying, “Internal characteristics such as critical thinking, long-term planning and finding innovative ways to solve problems with an equal focus on people and profit is the basis for reflective leadership” (p. 218).

In the context of adaptive leadership, Khan (2017) also speaks to the need for leaders to be strategic, saying “Adaptive leaders are adept in knowing what the problems are, defining them carefully, and finding appropriate solutions” (p. 179). However, Khan cautions that adaptive leadership is not always well-received within organizations. Resistance to change can hamper a leader’s willingness to be creative and propose innovative ideas that may help solve organizational issues.

Leadership through organizational change

After drawing a connection between strategic thinking, creativity, and leadership, I would describe my leadership approach as not only strategic and creative but also reflective and adaptive. Adaptive and reflective theories of leadership share some commonalities, one of which is the ability to help organizations manage change. My career in organizational change management is no coincidence. 

Starting my career in corporate communications, I was soon drawn to change management, which was characterized by a working environment that evolved daily in response to new and changing circumstances. I thrived on the challenge of analyzing problems and coming up with solutions, and I prided myself on ideas that were not only pragmatic but also new and innovative. (For example, I created a comic strip that gave employees a voice during a challenging enterprise-wise business transformation program; the comic strip enabled the organization to address employee concerns in a human, empathetic way.)

Having supported multiple enterprise-wide technology implementations and business improvement initiatives over the last ten years, I agree with both Castelli (2015) and Khan (2017) that now, more than ever, today’s leaders need to manage change effectively.

Leaders need to take a more thoughtful approach to decision making to achieve organizational goals, especially the pace of change in a global marketplace continues to accelerate and grow in complexity (Castelli, 2015). At the same time, leaders need to pay attention to the external environment, because factors outside their control are creating pressure on organizations to change (Khan, 2017).

While Castelli (2015) and Khan (2017) both advocate for managing change effectively, one author advocates for a highly introspective approach while the other advocates for a focus on the surrounding environment. I would argue managing change requires both an inward (reflective) and outward (adaptive) perspective. Only by balancing reflective and adaptive leadership approaches can leaders be effective in managing change.

Digital leadership and change

If strategic thinking and creativity are part of reflective and adaptive leadership, and if both theories of leadership are helpful in leading organizational change, how might strategic thinking and creativity help leaders manage ever-changing digital learning environments?

Sheninger (2014), says “Digital leadership is not about flashy tools, but a strategic mindset that leverages available resources to improve what we do, while anticipating the changes needed to cultivate a …culture focused on engagement and achievement” (p. 2). He continues, “Leaders must begin to establish a vision and strategic plan …dedicated to learning in a more digital world” (p. 4). To see how Sheninger’s statements might play out in real life, I turned to my own professional practice.

Many clients have asked for help managing change within their digital learning environment, and one example in particular comes to mind. Notoriously slow to adopt new technologies, a client is finally venturing into the world of e-learning. Unfortunately, the organization has no desire to create e-learning courses suitable for mobile devices. With the trend toward organizational Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs and Gartner (2016) confirming use of personal smartphones for business as a workplace standard, I believe my client is being short-sighted in their desktop-only approach to e-learning. 

After considering both my client’s long-term and short-term needs (reflective leadership) and being aware of external trends (adaptive leadership), I proposed an authoring tool with a fully responsive e-learning platform (a strategic, creative solution). My client accepted the proposal, so even though the organization is not ready for mobile learning just yet, it will be prepared for mobile learning in the future, without needing to rebuild all of its desktop e-learning courses from scratch.

This is the power of adaptive and reflective leadership, and the power of playing to your strengths.

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