Date: Mon, 18 Mar 96 18:50:45 EST From: "David F. Lambert" Subject: Background Information for Wednesday's ILead Meeting To: I/T Team Leaders Hello fellow ILeaders, First off, I'd like you to think of the following effort as one which will reduce work stress, clarify priorities, build great teams and produce a great I/T work environment...not as more work or as another list making exercise! We'd like to move some of our prior work forward in the areas of critical I/T success factors and themes for our '96 performance evaluations. You may recall we created a list of critical success factors for I/T at one of our first ILead meetings. Some grouping work was done and presented at the last meeting. ILead members were asked to volunteer to "own" topics of interest. At the last meeting Mike Barker talked about "a theme for '96 performance evaluations". Items on the theme list were identified and we voted on their priority. As you might expect, there was a fair amount of overlap between the two lists. In an effort to carry these two topics forward, we merged the two lists. The new list has been further refined and regrouped again as suggested by several of you (thanks to all who provided suggestions & comments!). Below you will find the reworked list which now includes some volunteer "ownership" names and our voting on the theme list items. The votes are *not* real meaningful now that the two lists have been combined. However, I did not want to lose that work either. Goals for our 3/20 ILead Meeting (tackling what we can in the allocated time): 1) Discuss the appropriateness of using this list of items as key performance criteria for '96 2) Discuss the need to, and how to, reprioritize the newly combined list 3) How do we clarify what these list items mean to everyone? One suggestion is do have topic owners further refine/define their topics. For instance, on the topic of "Improve the Quality of Meetings", the topic owner might list the following specifics: o improve the agenda o when prepping for meetings: - ask if there is a specific issue or issues that need to be presented & discussed with the entire assembled group (from Cattey) - ask how this will move the topic forward (from Cattey) - would the discussion be enhanced with background information distributed in advance (also from Bill's note) o broadcast agenda before meeting o make sure all the right people are included o do your homework assignments o show up on time o take responsibility and speak up if meeting discussions become unfocused or unproductive in other ways o be courteous to others o look for common ground to move forward instead of finding fault or simply bashing ideas Please come prepared to share your thoughts on the three goals for this ILead agenda item. Also, please reconsider volunteering to own or help with specific topics. Thanks! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ('*' items or headers were voted on from "The Theme" list) Major Groupings: CREATE COMMON UNDERSTANDINGS & BETTER COMMUNICATIONS FOCUS ON TEAMS & PEOPLE TACKLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT, WORKLOADS & TIME CRUNCH ISSUES CREATE COMMON UNDERSTANDINGS & BETTER COMMUNICATIONS Clarify our directions *understand the new IS structure (20 votes) *understand the decision making process (1 vote) create a shared sense of vision for MIT/IT/Team promote belief/participate in vision define/understand the principles of IT establish buy-in for goals establish a clear understanding of common projects/priorities Communicate status information clearly and timely ensure timely project (SAP/TAP/MCC/etc.) status to understand impact publish team list names & minutes/highlights create/publish a schedule for upcoming work Talk and listen better improve general communications communicate clearly in writing take time to be concise/clarity/easy access increase communication at all non-hierarchical levels increase networking among other teams as well as your own team help staff get more connected to what's happening across org forget baggage/history - it makes for better listening Include the broader audience talk with stakeholders not already contacted work closer with MIT-wide planning players (Plant & Planning Office) educate community about I/T services - awareness w/in community consider & manage spin control - be aware of image/credibility *FOCUS ON TEAMS & PEOPLE (3 votes) Be clear clarify definitions and roles for team members/leaders keep team members focused set near term realistic goals for teams *define and implement measures for the team processes (5 votes) Respect, value, and provide feedback to, thy fellow team members build team spirit in standing and project teams (even short ones) provide support *evaluate usefulness of 360 reviews, learn how & train if appropriate (1 vote) share knowledge share the "good" and "bad" work Motivate people *build trust inside and outside IS (2 votes) keep focused on what motivates my team members spend more time interacting with each team member maintain sense of humor respect others Develop and deploy new skills *understand our own competencies & how to grow in new ways (1 vote) create a shared & open database of people (teams, skills) hire a lot more CGL's help all staff know where to go for training, mentoring, commitments, schedules) provide training opportunities - whatever skills they need; make it fun & keep checking the barometer understand that superior performance is required for my teams establish an understanding of the need for self-growth Instill accountability less micro-management; more empowerment "live" the equation: empowerment = responsibility & accountability understand how to teach and communicate personal responsibility Move through the transition to the new work environment *communicate cordially - charm school (16 votes) *encourage collaboration not range riding (4 votes) *be flexible & cooperative (4 votes) *create humane work environment - fun! (1 vote) keep sense of perspective promote resilience in ones self and others remove artificial barriers encourage the transition & new work habits build ownership & responsibility traits in everyone minimize discussion - more action oriented get teams to think and work in terms of process establish methods to find new members for process work instead of relying on old team members Build good team leaders *learn to be great coaches (2 votes) TLs need to learn to focus on process and not only day-to-day biz identify common skill sets for team leaders assess and share our various strengths as team leaders (mentoring, relationships, etc.) determine what support team leaders need to succeed TACKLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT, WORKLOAD & TIME CRUNCH ISSUES *Learn and practice good project management skills (9 votes) Establish and understand our prioritization procedures learn how ITLT influences projects outside IS *establish shared agreement on priorities (4 votes) ITLT should dialog with IS teams about work priorities Schedule/track work & people *set realistic dates for project completion (2 votes) avoid using "time" as the deciding factor for completion dates track work/details in systematic/easy way identify homeless projects stick to schedules and deadlines (avoid goal slippage) learn how to acquire resources (people) and keep commitments learn how to help team members on multiple teams prioritize work Reduce workloads/queues/pressure eliminate non-value added work fill TBH's make time/room for new work & training leverage efficiencies provide backup coverage for necessary functions & shortages realign tasks/projects when new team member is added Improve the quality of meetings hold fewer and more productive meetings improve agenda and meeting planning do your homework and come prepared Implement tools for thinking learn about tools for decision making identify/evaluate/implement creativity tools (idea development) *Focus on business measures & customer service (4 votes) *establish customer service measurements/benchmarks (1 vote) align our work with client needs/business goals negotiate realistic commitments