You might have the wrong plan or approach to solving a problem if:
- The leader or project owner comes into the problem solving meeting with a list of action items already formulated and starts delegating them to the “participants” in the meeting.
- People are talking negatively about the plan in their cubicles or around the water cooler and no one is stepping out as a spokesperson for why it is the right plan/approach.
- Groups of people are openly showing resistance to change.
- The attendance at the status meetings declines every time the group meets.
You are on the right track to a good plan if:
- People eagerly start listing activities that need to be accomplished and volunteer to take care of them (following through).
- People in the participant group are heading off resistance from others without escalation to the project owner or leadership.
- People have a sense of pride and ownership of the process they have a hand in crafting.
This is most applicable when the problem at hand crosses departmental and/or geographic boundaries and would be best solved using true employee involvement from a cross-disciplinary team.
* I’m obviously not an artist so please cut me some slack on the cartoon.
Posts
