Building a culture of improvement
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While January is the month of goal setting and lofty expectations, come February, it is time to check in and see how these ideas are translating to impact. Perhaps some of those resolutions have already fallen off the radar, and now is the time to re-focus with more discipline.
Big goals cannot be achieved alone; getting things done is a collaborative effort. Those mission statements you generated in Q4 now need buy-in and commitment from the entire team to see results. This requires building a culture of improvement and moving from idea to action.
It’s critical to check in and make sure goals are clear and everyone is aligned on the direction forward. Now is the time to reinforce your commitment to your 2022 vision by ensuring clarity of message, purpose and value. So, what can teams do to make those ideals really stick? Here are a few concrete steps to consider, along with links to explore in more depth:
- Find the “why” – Teams need motivation and encouragement for successful collaboration. Defining the “why” behind your goals and actions provides this critical context.
- Discover the knowns and unknowns – When setting out to improve ways of working, the discovery stage is critical. Do your team members really know everything about this particular business process? Find the gaps and turn those unknowns into knowns to ensure you’re on the right track.
- Test and validate hypotheses – To truly follow through with your commitment, you want to find the most frictionless path toward making new ways of working stick. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Test your assumptions. Measure results and pivot, if you need to.
- Form habits – Reaching goals takes more than a once-a-year meeting – teams need to continually prioritize taking consistent, actionable steps. Forming habits means showing up day after day and staying excited. This requires the “why” mentioned above.
Many companies may feel like they’re already behind, as they realize January’s lofty ideas have stalled. With clear communication and alignment, now is the time to strengthen collaborative efforts and establish the culture to drive high performance.
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