Reflection – Visualization

The Dreaded Staff Call

Challenge & Selection

I am part of a group of middle level managers who attend our director’s weekly staff call.  Our  team is comprised of members of differing time zones and job duties.   Our calls generally follow  an agenda where I am the scribe and take notes, ensure all pertinent information is captured and  then shared on a corporate share drive.  Some team members are creative types who are  responsible for visionary goals and directives, other are process oriented and others perform  more technical development type of tasks.  We span from Mountain to Eastern time zones.  What  is consistently missing from this call is enthusiasm, engagement and a perceived good use of the  team’s time.  How I determined this gap is the multitude of times comments need to be repeated  because someone was multi-tasking or not concentrating on the call at hand.  In addition, several  members of the team are not required to provide any feedback or information to the greater team  and therefore disengage during the call altogether.

I set out to choose a small sampling of stakeholders on the team.  I chose one representative from  each time zone, as well as one member from each genre of work described above.  This small  band of volunteers are setting off to define the scope of this project, what items of discussion  should be included, how all the team fits together and ultimately iterating on changes we could  make to the staff call structure to improve the overall retention and experience.

Application

Our initial meeting was set up to identify, from an individual user perspective, how they view the  weekly staff call (empathy and journey mapping).  How does the staff call help or hinder their  daily/weekly work duties and expectations?  This step we are reviewing the current process and  reflecting on which (if any) items work or don’t work from the user perspective.

Users will define from their perspective what creates an environment that encourages  participation, retention and engagement.  Users will define what adds value for them  individually, what would make them engaged?  The team will use virtual sticky notes to  participate.  If possible, future meetings will utilize a telepresence or Skype type of meeting  where each participant can “see” the other.  This would be to ensure the group is engaged in  dialog and focused on the task at hand.

Since the hardest part, is starting, I gave a very high overview of how my visualization looks  FOR ME.  My goal is to give my personal visual as a guidepost to engaging the larger group to  think outside what we do today.  I have put together a visual that shows the staff call in the  center, surrounded by all the items which stop me from being engaged in the conversation and  how those activities reduce my retention and input to the larger discussions happening.

I will ask the team to go deeper and share their version of what works and doesn’t work for them  during our meetings and visualize any overlap that is found amongst the team members.  Are we  all experiencing the same thing? Are there multiple distractions and topics that other members  we not aware of?

I will use our visualizations and inputs to organize a mind map to see correlations and  differences from each of the participants.  Ultimately organizing iterative approaches to future  meetings by quickly tackling those common themes found with the participants.

Insight and Approach

What I have experienced and have struggled with initially is the goal of NOT having an end state  in mind.  I have had to work on using a beginner’s mind to approach the issue.  I am naturally  inclined to want a quick fix for any situation and fall into the trap of the first option is generally  the one I choose.  It has been interesting thus far to see that some folks enjoyed the current  format.  When providing honest answers, they say this is a time for them to “half listen” and  catch up on other busy work they may have.  Others expressed frustration for the lack of  engagement from their peers.


Reflection – Visualization The Dreaded Staff Call Challenge & Selection I am part of a group of middle level managers who attend our director ’s weekly staff call . Our team is comprised of members of differing time zones and job duties . Our calls generally follow an agenda where I am the scribe and take notes , ensure all pertinent information is captured and then shared on a corporate share drive . Some team members are creative types who are responsible for visionary goals and directives , other are process oriented and others perform more technical development type of tasks . We span from Mountain to Eastern time zones . What is consistently missing from this call is enthusiasm , engagement and a perceived good use of the team ’s time . How I determined this gap is the multitude of times comments need to be repeated because someone was multi - tasking or not concentrating on the call at hand . In addition , several members of the team are not required to provide any feedback or information to the greater team and therefore disengage during the call altogether . I set out to choose a small sampling of stakeholders on the team . I chose one representative from each time zone , as well as one member from each genre of work described above . This small band of volunteers are setting off to define the scope of this project , what items of discussion should be included , how all the team fits together and ultimately iterating on changes we could make to the staff call structure to improve the overall retention and experience . Application Our initial meeting was set up to identify , from an individual user perspective , how they view the weekly staff call ( empathy and journey mapping ) . How does the staff call help or hinder their daily / weekly work duties and expectations ? This step we are reviewing the current process and reflecting on which ( if any ) items work or do n’t work from the user perspective . Users will define from their perspective what creates an environment that encourages participation , retention and engagement . Users will define what adds value for them individually , what would make them engaged ? The team will use virtual sticky notes to participate . If possible , future meetings will utilize a telepresence or Skype type of meeting where each participant can “ see ” the other . This would be to ensure the group is engaged in dialog and focused on the task at hand . Since the hardest part , is starting , I gave a very high overview of how my visualization looks FOR ME . My goal is to give my personal visual as a guidepost to engaging the larger group to think outside what we do today . I have put together a visual that shows the staff call in the center , surrounded by all the items which stop me from being engaged in the conversation and how those activities reduce my retention and input to the larger discussions happening . I will ask the team to go deeper and share their version of what works and does n’t work for them during our meetings and visualize any overlap that is found amongst the team members . Are we all experiencing the same thing ? Are there multiple distractions and topics that other members we not aware of ? I will use our visualizations and inputs to organize a mind map to see correlations and differences from each of the participants . Ultimately organizing iterative approaches to future meetings by quickly tackling those common themes found with the participants . Insight and Approach What I have experienced and have struggled with initially is the goal of NOT having an end state in mind . I have had to work on using a beginner ’s mind to approach the issue . I am naturally inclined to want a quick fix for any situation and fall into the trap of the first option is generally the one I choose . It has been interesting thus far to see that some folks enjoyed the current format . When providing honest answers , they say this is a time for them to “ half listen ” and catch up on other busy work they may have . Others expressed frustration for the lack of engagement from their peers .