RiverRhee Consulting writes:
We recently attended an APM (Association for Project Management) event at GSK's Pharmaceutical R&D's Stevenage site, which was excellently co-presented and facilitated by Jacqui Alexander (Vice President, Accelerating Delivery Performance (ADP)) and Margaret Huggins (Senior ADP Consultant). The 'fist of five' was one of several interesting tips that we picked up and have since begun to use - it seemed a fitting inspiration for this bi-monthly newsletter!
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Helvetica; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;} A 'Fist of Five' management tips and toolsElisabeth Goodman and John Riddell recently attended a joint APM East of England branch and Enabling Change SIG meeting at GSK's Pharmaceutical R&D's Stevenage site in June, which was excellently co-presented and facilitated by Jacqui Alexander (Vice President, Accelerating Delivery Performance (ADP)) and Margaret Huggins (Senior ADP Consultant).
Delegates gained many great insights on GSK's approach to 'Changing the way we change' and how to effectively engage people in change and action orientated learning. (Elisabeth has written a more detailed version of the case study which will be appearing in July’s issue of the APM’s Project magazine.) The 'fist of five' was one of several interesting tips that we picked up from Jacqui and Margaret, and that we have since begun to use - it seemed a fitting inspiration for this bi-monthly newsletter!
One is for a unified team purpose, and the uniqueness of each individual
The first 'W' in the '5Ws and an H' that we teach people in developing change management strategies is 'Why': how to clearly and compellingly express the reason for the change in a way that will engage people in it. Delegates at our joint UKeIG course with Shaida Dorabjee on Marketing and Internal Change yet again discovered how powerful that expression of that one unified purpose can be, whether when leading a change project, or when managing an operational team.
‘One’ is also for the uniqueness of each one of us within a team. There is a whole range of tools to help individuals and managers understand our unique strengths, preferences, and ways of thinking and behaving. We have a new book in development 'The Effective Team's High Performance Workbook' that will be exploring some of these thanks to some terrific input from the likes of Steve Hoare, Paul Sanderson, David Sales, Jenny Day and Paul Wilson.
Two is for building rapport and recognising different points of view
There is nothing that beats a good conversation between two people for building rapport within a team or indeed in any situation. Whilst most of the students at our seminar at the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy* identified 'confidence' as one of their key individual strengths, the ability to listen and express empathy were also there, and we definitely need these to build rapport.
(*See ‘Finding the leader within ourselves for more about this’.)
How to 'deal with difficult people' is one of the most popular topics in Elisabeth’s and Janet Burton’s 'Introduction to Management'* course. Often it's not that the other person is being difficult, but that we have two different points of view, perspectives, or ways of thinking going on: taking the time to understand those differences could make all the difference.
(*We are running a version of the course for managers at the Red Balloon Learner Centre in June, and also determining interest for a potential course for One Nucleus members in September.)
Three is the power of triads for learning and 'self' change
One of our former associates, Lucy Loh, first introduced us to the use of triads for practising and learning coaching skills, and it’s a technique we continue to use in our ‘Introduction to management’ and also our ‘Supervisor training’ courses.
Threesomes also appear in other contexts, for example in the three mindsets to change described by Richard McKnight, and also in our ‘Effective Team’s Change Management Workbook’. We can choose how to change ourselves by recognising whether we are in a ‘victim’, ‘survivor’ or ‘navigator’ mindset with regard to a change, and then taking the necessary action.
Four is the 4-box matrix for evaluation and analysis
The 4-box matrix or ‘Boston Square’ is an invaluable tool for managers and consultants! We use it to help delegates in our courses identify the quick wins from Lean and Six Sigma continuous improvement exercises; prioritise their time in terms of what is urgent and important, whilst also making more time for what is not urgent but important for the strategic development of their work and teams (based on Stephen R Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’).
A 4-box matrix is also a very useful tool for segmenting stakeholders in terms of their level of engagement with a change, and the impact it will have on them.
Five is an optimum number for finding root causes and a useful performance rating scale!
We use the ‘5 Why’s’ in our Introduction to Lean Sigma training to help delegates find the root causes of the issues that they are encountering. This is one of several techniques that we have been using in our current work with the Open University Library Services department.
Jacqui Alexander also used the ‘fist of five’ very effectively at the start of the APM seminar at GSK. It’s a technique she uses to ensure that any training session or meeting is meeting people’s expectations. They can show any number of fingers, with five being the highest, and also have the option of showing a fist if it’s not meeting their expectations at all. Needless to say, most people showed ‘5’ (there was only one ‘4’) at Jacqui’s event!
Other news
Kick start your business growth ambitions. We’re excited to have teamed up with GrowthAccelerator and St John’s Innovation Centre to offer a selection of interactive coaching sessions focusing on assisting potential high growth businesses to achieve their business goals. Find out more, and book to attend this event at Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, on 7th August.
Come and meet RiverRhee Consulting. We will be having a stand at One Nucleus’ Summer Social in Cambridge on 18th June. We’d love to meet and have a chat with you if you’re coming along. You might also like to try your hand in one of our quizzes with a chance to win copies of our workbooks. We’ll also have leaflets available for discounted copies of our forthcoming book ‘Knowledge Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry’.
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If you would like to find out more
Do get in touch if you would like to find out more about RiverRhee Consulting, our range of off-site and in-house workshops, and how we can help you to create exceptional managers, enhance team effectiveness and create an exceptional team. See the RiverRhee Consulting website or e-mail the author at elisabeth@riverrhee.com.
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