How do we keep pushing to do more with less when our priorities are not succinct or clearly defined?

“We whittled down 150 priorities to 18”. Sounds very oxymoronic, doesn’t it? How can you ever have 18 “priorities”, let alone 150?

I’ve had a few conversations of this nature recently. All this sounds like to me is that people are not focusing enough on the strategy and planning side, and then executing accordingly. Maybe there’s a limit to how much time people have? This might sound like a sweeping generalisation, but many Transformation and Projects teams are either spending a great deal of time philosophising, and hoping they will get there, or being reactive and constantly behind the 8 ball. Am I right?

As I say, all this says to me is that you haven’t mapped things out appropriately, in a carefully considered manner. And surely, with everyone seemingly trying to do more with less and getting more bang for their buck, the attention to detail when laying the foundations is even more critical?

With ever increasing scrutiny on expenditure, the bottom line and head count numbers, the focus on having relevant plans and processes is essential. You also need to really home in on what is truly important in quite a clinical, laser-like fashion. Narrow the lens further, chisel down the list of “priorities” and set in stone absolute must win battles.

After all, you don’t sit there on a Sunday afternoon and say “we need a new kitchen, and a new bathroom, and a conservatory, and a new car.” Maybe you do, but you probably wouldn’t go and spend money on all of those at the same time, unless you have unlimited funds to throw around. (Terrible analogy?)

And maybe that’s the problem? Maybe leaders within Transformation have become accustomed to being able to lean on more expendable finances? Maybe habits have been formed and they need to be revised and pivoted in line with a different landscape?

So, what would I be concentrating more on in these tighter times?

Well, from a perhaps na?ve outsider’s perspective, I’d be really looking at the following areas if you are looking for more bang for your buck…

Workforce Management

This is a tremendously underutilised function within so many organisations of all shapes and sizes. If you do not have this bolted on to, or as a part of your People and Culture team, you are seriously missing a trick. If you are not monitoring your flow of employees coming in to and out of your business, looking at where they can be best suited and looking at pathways for them to be mobilised around your organisation, then you are overlooking some very quick wins. Where there is so much focus on cost, the price you pay in getting recruitment wrong is even more detrimental, so it’s crucial that you have a funnel to process and manage your enrolment. Utilise, promote and reward the talent that is already inside the building, and individuals who understand the intricacies of your world.

Resilience/Wellbeing Management

Again, on the P+C front, you need to be ensuring that you are fostering an environment that places an importance on ensuring that employees’ wellbeing is central to everything you do. In these “more with less” times, it’s extremely evident that so many are being worked to the bone, working extensive hours and often covering multiple roles. These are the people who are worth their weight in gold and worth holding on to tightly, so look after them, invest in them and elevate them where possible. Everyone could do with the classic “arm round the shoulder” once in a while; some more than others! Give them a purpose and a “why” and they’ll give you so much more, particularly in these more straining times, where resilience is constantly being chipped away at.

Change and Communication

When times get tougher, effective change management and clear, concise communication becomes even more essential. Speak more and even overcommunicate. Create a constant flow of comms in a streamlined fashion. Set a vision and work iteratively towards that vision with a series of goals. Make sure everyone is on the same page; bring things in tighter and create a culture built on togetherness, openness and vulnerability. Focus on the small wins and the rather clichéd 1%s. Make everyone feel like they are in this together. That’s great leadership!

Concentrate on what is fit for YOUR purpose

There is so often a tendency for everyone to look at what each other is doing and what appears to be trendy in the market, whether that’s focusing on AI, Cyber Security, or being “fully Agile”. Again, this is rather reactive and lacks careful consideration of what is actually fit for purpose for you and your organisation, and the trajectory you are on. If it’s not a necessity to you right now, then avoid getting sucked into the noise and adopting a “fear of missing out” mentality. And definitely don’t get too absorbed by buzzwords that you do not have full knowledge about or full in-house capability to deliver towards.

To sum up...

There’s probably even more that I would focus on, but that would obviously be going against the premise of this post, so those are my “big 4” priorities. (See what I did there?)

Let’s also not follow the same trend of last year. It was much discussed how much of a slog 2023 was, so let’s change some of the habits and learn from last year’s adversity and change the narrative, before we end up repeating ourselves at the end of 2024. That would be too similar to Einstein’s definition of insanity after all.

I have to disclaim that all of these thoughts are from a third-party vantage point and purely based on observations, with no direct experience of subjectively working within the Projects and Transformation space, but I suppose we perceive things from pretty close range!

I hope it’s palpable, but I’m extremely passionate about this space and always eager to have conversations, either about some of the topics discussed here, or anything along the same lines. As I always say, it’s so important to communicate, share ideas and build networks, so let’s keep on doing just that, and trying to move things forward together.

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