Is it time for a Reset?

About this time last year we were all in the midst of dealing with massive change. This change was forced upon all of us and is still having a profound impact on many aspects of our lives and businesses.?At work leaders and organizations are still puzzling through the process of how to “come back” and yet “move forward”… to ReSet.??

Over the past year, the amount of shared and rapid learning, demonstrated grit and capability development has been literally, phenomenal.?There are so many great stories of doing things very differently, very well, of “pivots” and “shifts”.?How will you harness all this expanded knowledge, the new perspectives, skill sets and expanded bandwidth.?

The massive change we all experienced was forced upon us. From a strictly change management perspective, it is rare that the urgency and need for change present itself so clearly and to so many at the same time- a change management dream. Though much has learned, what we were engaged in was mostly Reactive change forced upon us by an external threat, not Anticipatory change designed to make us better or more effective.??

Now, organizations and leaders need to take proactive, systemic steps to build upon what has been learned and to harness the collective energy to think and do differently.?How can you take advantage of this reactive change to now make proactive, anticipatory change? What follows is a rubric or recipe of R’s you can use to guide your personal reset, your team / departmental reset and even your enterprise reset.?

Reflect. There’s a lot of energy and wisdom locked up in what everyone has gone through. Don’t move forward without first looking backward.?Here are some tips for Reflect:

• Engage in deliberate and systemic Lessons Learned / After Action Reviews.
• Reflect on the changes you made and reasons you made them.?Look at changes you had to make vs?those you choose to make.?
• What were the results of these changes and what did you LEARN? Learn about you? Your organization? Your ability to manage change.
• Reflect on how you managed and adapted to change. What did you do well? How are you better at leading change now? Where do you still need to improve?

To add structure to this part of your Reset, consider partitioning the changes you made into categories such as: Structure/roles, Systems/processes, Staff/staffing. Skills/competencies, Tools & Technology.?

ReConnect. It’s time to get back in touch with the people and things that are important.?Here are some tips for ReConnecting:

• Reconnect and rekindle relationships. Engage in informal and formal teambuiliding.?Encourage story-telling and learn about what has changed for your customers, suppliers and team members.?
• Reconnect with your strategic Threats & Opportunities. Update the assumptions baked into your current strategic perspective.?Determine how frequently you need to check these assumptions.
• Reconnect with your Values.?Review your “reflect” work and assess how well you lived your values during change. What action is required?

“Reflect & Re-Connect” can be combined into a series a discussions or workshops.?If you’re a leader of a ReSet, it’s critical?that you tap into the collective genius and passion residing your team.?There is much to be gained by doing these two steps together (combined & communal)?

ReImagine. Unless you want to go back to “how things used to be”, it is time to engage in aspirational thinking.?Be sure to take time to think about what you, your team and or organization must become.?Here are some ways to approach?

• Up-date, revise and recommit to your Vision.?Bring creativity and new focus to how work will be done differently in the future.?
• Aggressively seek feedback about changes that can be made. Consider re-using the categories (Structure, Systems, Staff, Skills and Tools/Tech) that were mentioned above to capture the feedback for change.?
• Be open to changes in structure and roles. For example; Baseball teams have infielders and outfielders. Challenge yourself to rethink how proximity, interaction intensity and responsive vs rule based interaction can lead to new structures / roles.
• Hone in on necessary changes by asking yourself; “In a year from now, what will others say I have done to take advantage of this change opportunity??Try to ask and answer this question from several different perspectives; spouse, employees, boss, customers, etc. Answering these questions will help confirm your focus for ReBuild & ReLaunch.?

Consider how you can engage and empower those around in aspirational thinking.?By widening the circle you will gain; perspective, commitment and creativity.?

ReBuild & ReLaunch. Through this process the critical elements of your ReSet will have presented themselves to you; trust the process!?Now it’s time to prioritize where to put your energy and develop a plan. Here are some tips for ReBuild/ReLaunch:

• Mine the work you’ve done through this process on Structure/Systems/Staff/Skills/Tech-n-Tools and get the oder of operations right (sequence).?Go for the vital few.
• Leverage and build upon your lessons learned in change management and take the time to be very intentional about these changes- there’s no global emergency backing you up!?If you’ve widen the circle through this process and challenged yourself to engage and empower others, your change management burden will be lightened.?
• Focus on the important skills that need be developed to realize your aspirations.?Don’t ignore “soft-skills” like; Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Crucial Conversations, Listening and Giving Feedback.?These skillsets are not only critical requirements when leading people through anticipatory change but they are also foundational to building amazing leaders, teams and organizations.?
• Don’t forget to plan for how you will monitor progress, effectiveness and adjustments.?

?If you’d like help with your personal / leadership Reset, we can provide you with a coach.?If you would like to take a team/department through a Reset workshop, we can provide facilitation.?If you you are interested in a business wide/enterprise Reset approach (Large Group Intervention-LGI-, Appreciative Inquiry) we can offer design consultation and facilitation.?