The Anecdote Blog has an interesting post discussing “The Three Journeys” that organisations take as they seek to transform and implement their strategy.

Leader who are striving to bring about change and who are seeking to implement their strategies would do well to consider structuring their approach as the following three journeys:

• The first journey is designed to help the organisation’s leaders develop a common understanding of what they would like to achieve and defining this end-state in broad terms, while knowing that detailed plans are unlikely to be achieved (the world is too unpredictable for a simple, linear view). We encourage the leadership group to develop a rough mud map of the journey from the current situation to this desired end state while resisting the urge to fill in the details. The staff fill in the details as part of the second journey.
• The second journey involves the rest of the organisation (or a representative subset) planning how they will get to the desired state. This involves understanding the current knowledge environment—who’s connected to whom, where are the important knowledge assets, where are the blockers, what are the enablers—and developing the best possible map based on current information and resources available that can be made to guide the third journey.
• The third journey is when the organisation actually embarks on implementing the ideas developed in the first two imaginary journeys. Most importantly in the third journey, the organisation implements an iterative process they designed in the second journey that embeds new knowledge-related behaviours and provides opportunities for new ideas to be injected in how things are done.

What I like about this approach is that it supports a key principle of collective learning, as discussed by Michael Watkins in his book “The First 90 Days”, that I discussed previously. This is to…

“…focus on setting up a collective learning process….. Rather than mount a frontal assault on the organisation’s defences, you should engage in something akin to guerrilla warfare, slowly chipping at their resistance and raising their awareness of the need for change…. The key, then is to figure out which parts of the change process can be best addressed through planning and which are best dealt with through collective learning.”

The first to journeys are about generating collective learning experiences, first with the organisation’s leadership and then with the broader organisation. The to follow-up on these learning experiences with concrete planning, the creation organisational alignment and focused execution.

Related posts:

1. How to Diagnose Your Readiness for Change
2. The Content and Process of Organisational Change
3. How leaders change and in turn, change the world…

The Febuary issue of the Leadership Wired Newsletter from John Maxwell, had an great article “Questions I Ask Myself” that focuses on the following questions that leaders should be asking themselves:

1. Am I investing in myself? This is a personal growth question.
2. Am I Genuinely Interested In Others?  This is a motive question.
3. Am I Doing What I Love and Loving What I Do? – This is a passion question. You will never fulfill your destiny doing work you despise. You are nothing unless it comes from your heart.
4. Am I Investing My Time with the Right People?  – This is a relationship question. Most people can trace their successes and failures to the relationships in their lives. Be selective about who you join with on the leadership journey. Choose companions with a commitment to personal growth, a healthy attitude, and high potential.
5. Am I Staying in My Strength Zone? – This is an effectiveness question. Effective leaders stop working on their weaknesses and diligently develop their strengths.
6. Am I Taking Others to a Higher Level? – This is a mission question. My success is determined by the seeds I sow, not the harvest I reap.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best: “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”
7. Am I Taking Care of Today? - This is a success question. The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Are the habits in your life steering your toward success or simply frittering away your time? Be serious about making each day count.
8. Am I Taking Time To Think? – This is a leadership question. A minute of thought is greater than an hour of talk. Author your own life by clearing your schedule for thinking.
9. Am I Developing Leaders? – This is a legacy question. “The ultimate test for a leader is not whether he or she makes smart decisions and takes decisive action, but whether he or she teaches others to be leaders and builds an organization that can sustain its success even when he or she is not around. True leaders put ego aside and strive to create successors who go beyond them.” ~ Lorin Woolfe
10. Am I Pleasing God? -  This is an eternity question. As the Roman general, Maximus, exhorts his men in Gladiator, “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

A great list of question that are worth considering….!

Related posts:

1. 7 Purposeful Questions
2. Shape Your Communication by Asking Questions

I have been reflecting on the importance of having a learning attitude after reading the book “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 7 Powerful Tools for Life and Work” by Marilee Adams. The key thesis of the book is that by consciously observing our thinking and by asking ourselves better questions we are able to change our thinking and increase our effectiveness. I found that one of the most important concept from the book is the distinction that the author makes between the mindset of a judger and the mindset of a learner.

“We all have both mindsets, and we have the power to choose where we operate from in any moment.”

I think that this is a great tool for leaders. If we are able to reflect on our thinking style and deliberately choose to operate from a learner when in conversation and during meetings we will be much more effective.

“Accept judger, practice learner…..You’re never going to be pure learner. but you can learn to make choices about where you put your attention.”

The mindsets we operate from is important as our mindsets shape our relationships, communication, behaviour and therefore ultimately our results. In the high pressured lifestyle we live today it’s difficult at times to focus on acting from a learner mindset. This is especially true when things go wrong.

Spend time over the next few weeks and consciously focus on leading from a learner mindset. Reflecting on how much time you’re spending in judger and how much time you spend in learner. Notice to difference it make when you interact with people and run your meetings from the learner mindset.

Technorati Tags: Attitude, Lifehacks, Management, Mindset, Leadership, Business, Communication, Book

Related posts:

1. Learning from Successful Leaders
2. Your Boss Has an Attitude Problem
3. The Importance of a Leader’s Attitude

Monique Rissen-Harrisberg, chief executive officer of The Voice Clinic, in this article, outlines the following questions to ask yourself when preparing to communicate effectively and concisely:

• What is your objective?
• What response is necessary from readers or listeners? Do you want recipients of your communication to act or think differently? Do you want to reinforce existing thinking or behaviour?
• Why would they respond to your message?
• What message content will motivate them to act?
• How will you present that content?
• How often will you have to repeat the message?
• If you quantified your objectives, would the value of meeting the objective exceed the cost of communicating?

Related posts:

1. Communication: The Key to Leadership
2. Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance
3. 7 Purposeful Questions

“Persuasion is a process that starts with credibility. Credibility comes from listening to people to understand them and respect their points of view. You must address both sides of persuasion by spending as much time on the negotiation and learning process as you would on the content of your solution. If you do so, you will spend less time with your computer and more time with people, listening to their views… If you start with effective inquiry, you can transition to advocacy once you know what issues or opportunities are important to your audience.” – Susan Cramm

[Source: Writes of Passage]

Related posts:

1. Book Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
2. Book Review: Pour Your Heart Into It…
3. Book Review: Winning ‘Em Over