Sometimes as a consultant you have the benefit of looking at and seeing individual or business challenges in a whole different manner. For example, many would laugh when I would comment that “I love to receive grievances!”  Most are scared or nervous about the potential that someone or group may file a grievance against them.  My position was that if someone felt strongly enough about an issue that they were willing to put it in writing and submit it… there is probably some form of professional learning that could come from engaging with this person/group.

I make it sound easy… but it is/was not.  I make it sound like just another continuous improvement exercise… but it is/was not. Instead it forces you to look at your service or product, personnel or policies, structure or location, and consider if all aspects are/were as good as they could be.

Too often leaders are Not Recognizing Opportunities that could evolve from a simple grievance/complaint situation. You can label yourself “the-best-in-the-business”… but are you looking at it through a customer, partner and/or competitor’s eyes?

Possibly the greatest return-on-investment I can report from being involved in numerous grievance situations is/was reflecting on un-noticed gaps in services/products.  Given the fact that change is occurring in all areas of our personnel and business lives… gaps in what is missing, needed and necessary appear and grow everyday. Therefore, Not Recognizing Opportunities that can come from challenging times… can be a significant leadership weakness.

Bottomline: Take advantage of opportunities whenever and wherever you find them.  And people will know you care.

When your group holds a special planning session/staff meeting, how aware, interested, and engaged are people about the many pieces of Critical Thinking that is occurring around them? Sure, people may be taking notes (just for the record), but does anyone take the time to assess the value of special ideas or concepts that are being expressed? Does anyone think about the likelihood that just because you may not be ready for a cool innovation today… that two months/years from now a passed expressed idea may be a major contributor?

The need to share and deliberate on the multiples of Critical Thinking does not begin and end with groups. Rather it needs to become a special contributing moment for every individual. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again… A GOOD IDEA IS ONLY GOOD… IF IT IS SHARED! You know what I mean. So often great ideas as the result of Critical Thinking never get introduced… but instead remain dormant inside a person who just believes “it’s not worth mentioning.”

The time is way past to begin Maximizing Critical Thinking. I have worked with so many people who I know spend valuable time thinking and rethinking about a solution to an issue or problem. And because the door for inclusion and thinking out loud has never been opened in their workplace… their individual contribution(s) go unattained.

Unfortunately, no one has created a CTT LOGBOOK (CRITICAL THINKING FOR TOMORROW) “app” that would make this concept easy… fun… and immediately implementable.

If I were just more techno-ish!

Make no mistake… I consider myself a CHANGE AGENT. What do I mean? What is a CHANGE AGENT? Well… Google says: 

“A CHANGE AGENT is a person from inside or outside an organization who helps an organization or part of an organization to transform how it operates. A CHANGE AGENT will promote, champion, enable and support changes to be made in an organization. They focus on people and the interactions behind them.”

OK… now that we all know what a CHANGE AGENT is… how does that fit with this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message title: Change… Just for the Sake of Changing? 

Well first it is important for me to report that MANY times during my career I have been questioned and criticized for driving Change… Just for the Sake of Changing! “We’re showing good progress already… change might be bad!” “The way we are structured should be fine for at least another year… why change now?” “We have just gotten ourselves organized around the changes you made last month, why insist on even more?” These are examples of the arguments I have listened to as a result of my CHANGE AGENT initiatives… and yes, they have merit. 

However, here is the “flip-side”.  I believe organized work-based change… even just for the sake of change is a strategic personnel development engagement. Just like the aging process… you can’t stop it… just as you can’t stop change impacting your workplace. True you can avoid it… delay it or even deny it… but something somewhere is changing in your workplace everyday… EVERYDAY.

So, if your group can begin to view organized change as something to expect and maybe even look forward to… your drive to Change… Just for the Sake of Changing may no longer be viewed as an organizational negative but rather another step toward strategic progress!

Professional Discomfort is a phrase I have used many… many times during my world-of-work career.  And I know it has been included as part of past TRIPLE III TIME messages… but I know I have not separated it and explained the drive and purpose for this special combination of two words.

To me Professional Discomfort is a unique continuous improvement activity for personnel at all levels within an organization or business.  More specifically it requires workers to place themselves in a new, different, challenging role… that yes purposely causes them Professional Discomfort.  Some examples that come to mind include:

• Attending a meeting where you will be expected to address a group of people… when that is not a regular part of your day job.
• Taking a service position on the “front-line” of your company… when you typically just work in the fiscal department.
• Travel and service other locations that are within your company’s geographic area… when you only usually cover one single town, county, or district.
• Asked to draft a new policy document… when customer service is your specialty.

Professional Discomfort is designed to strategically remove you from your traditional workplace comfort zone and drive you to see and understand the realities of other components of your company or organization. Occasional Professional Discomfort motivates you to not take co-workers or your place of work for granted.  It also forces you into a “place-of-diversification” that facilitates new learning and realization of the production activities that surround you. Finally, Professional Discomfort works to dispel the “it’s not my job” personnel notion.  I know you know what I mean.

This quarter’s American Society for Public Administration PATimes article is one of my favorite writings. It was generated by the passing of a dear friend, colleague and as you will read… long-term co-mentor.

The most important part of the article are the ten (10) co-mentoring specialized learnings that were the result of our years as colleagues in public service.

CQ and I hope it helps everyone.

Public Administration Mentoring: A Testament to Life-Long Learning

Performance is sometimes an elusive thing. Yes, everyone has numbers/targets that they are striving to achieve. And it is appropriate and logical that comparisons are made from performance a week, month, year and/or even years ago. But what is the most beneficial way forward when it appears that all your best efforts seem to be meaningless when measured against… “how we have always done things.”

I believe and would suggest that when you reach that point when it seems like trying your best and employing multiple actions does not seem to get great performance… focus simply on helping The “ONE(S)” That Matter Most. You know what I mean.

Sometimes it is critical to just listen to help one person/customer find their way forward. Sometimes it is necessary to go back to your base strategy group and be creative for those already committed to the cause. Sometimes recruiting or enlisting the participation of a few more special ONE(S)… is far more progressive than enrolling a large number of “maybes”!

Don’t allow yourself to become lost, distressed and continually frustrated by only staring at the performance numbers. Instead, prioritize some special time… when it appears all of your professional efforts don’t add up… to help The “ONE(S)” That Matter Most.

Next week the college semester will begin at the community college where I teach.  I am VERY HAPPY to report that my class will be offered in the traditional face-to-face fashion!  I cannot explain or describe the two-way add-value learning that is brought about via the direct students-to-instructor interaction. I pull energy, enthusiasm, imagination, and personal growth from every session.  In return I observe student growth in confidence, interpersonal relationships, subject matter knowledge and willingness to step-out-of-the-box of educational traditions!

 OK… I know you are all thinking… what does all this “professor-time” information have to do with this week’s TRIPLE III TIME: Re-Start or NEW START topic?

Well how about if we begin by just looking closely at the words in the title. I believe today… more than ever before… no matter your occupation… EVERYONE would be better assuming a NEW START (not a re-start) approach to their jobs.  How enthusiastic would you feel if your company… your organization announced that you were going back and re-starting from a point in the past? Yes… you would be instructed to go back before pandemic impacts and pick-up… and resume your work… before you were told to stay home for maybe 5 months!

Let me be clear… I am going to begin my class Monday with a quality NEW START message, openness, and energy.  I will hope that this NEW START approach will be contagious to the students, college, staff, and fellow course instructors.  I will take full advantage of the face-to-face opportunity… but also express in a NEW START way… the need to absorb every ounce of positive learning… no matter the method of delivery.

Promise me you will formulate a NEW START approach as you get to return to work!

Recently I was asked to better explain my position on the growing need for organizations and businesses to have an “Interchangeable Parts” staffing arrangement versus a group of specialists.  What do I mean… specifically?  Today because of: 1. the ever-growing speed of change, 2. the increasing application of technology in the workplace, 3. the need for quickened customer services/products and 4. the negativity that results from a “you have to come back next week because the person that works in that area is absent” request for help response… I believe having an “Interchangeable Parts” staff is critical and HIGH VALUE!

Additionally, my rationale for building an “Interchangeable Parts” staff structure requires everyone involved to look at this option from a personal perspective. First from an employer point-of-view, it totally eases concerns about who may miss work on a specific day… because EVERYONE can cover for them.  Next when staff training is being organized, EVERYONE is operationally trained in a comprehensive manner, so continuous improvement becomes everybody’s job and EVERYONE strives to achieve common goals.

Second from an employee point-of-view if you are trained in multiple customer service/product development areas… your value as a worker goes continually up.  Additionally, should you happen to be laid-off… for whatever reason… your list of skills and experiences on your resume will reflect greater diversity, adaptability, and mutual responsibility.

Bottomline: Yes, I understand that there are and will always be work areas that require high levels of specialization.  However, if you follow even a minimum “Interchangeable Parts” staff strategy, EVERYONE will better understand the various components of making your organization/business successful.  Also, I need to stress that developing an effective “Interchangeable Parts” mode of operation demands a two-way-street of commitment and responsibility from the employer and employee…. everyday… EVERYDAY!

Making EVERYONE more knowledgeable via a comprehensive “Interchangeable Parts” initiative, will always make for a smarter organization/company overall.