Allied Healthcare Professions Service Improvement Projects Regional Event

Allied Healthcare Professions Service Improvement Projects Regional Event Capturing and Sharing Learning Resource Pack

Aims of the session • understand how capturing learning delivers successful change • introduce tools to review learning at key milestones to modify approach and celebrate success • introduce principles to capture the essence of sharing learning to facilitate change 2

Organisational change management Consult with key stakeholders to understand why change is necessary and the scope of the change Ensure the business case for the change is clear and compelling Align the senior management team, and other stakeholders, around the need, the scope, the approach and style of change required and define their leadership roles Make sure there is enough resource time, energy and skills - to embark on the journey Develop a change plan which is consistent, stretching and achievable and meets customers needs Mobilise commitment and create ownership for making change happen, identify change agents to spearhead activities Align organisation – define new roles and responsibilities, and areas of accountability, engaging the wider team Undertake change initiatives, in partnership with stakeholders, which are business driven Communicate Deal with resistance – cater for personal issues and concerns, which accompany a shift in work styles and responsibilities during change Identify and pursue opportunities for quick wins Manage performance so as to reward partnership working, knowledge sharing and innovation. Set the climate for change Engage and enable the organisation Implement and sustain change 3

Eight steps to transforming your organisation 1. establishing a sense of urgency 2. forming a powerful guiding coalition 3. creating a vision 4. communicating the vision 5. empowering others to act on the vision 6. planning for and creating short-term wins 7. consolidating improvements and producing still more change 8. institutionalising new approaches John Kotter (1995) 4

Eight steps to transforming your organisation 1. establishing a sense of urgency: – examining market and competitive realities – identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities 2. forming a powerful guiding coalition: – assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort – encouraging the group to work together as a team 3. creating a vision: – creating a vision to help direct the change effort – developing strategies for achieving that vision 4. communicating the vision: – using every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies – teaching new behaviours by the example of the guiding coalition 5

Eight steps to transforming your organisation 5. empowering others to act on the vision: – getting rid of obstacles to change – changing systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision – encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions 6. planning for and creating short-term wins: – planning for visible performance improvements – creating those improvements – recognising and rewarding employees involved in the improvements 7. consolidating improvements and producing still more change: – using increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don’t fit the vision – hiring, promoting and developing employees who can implement the vision – reinvigorating the process with new projects, themes and change agents 8. institutionalising new approaches: – articulating the connections between the new behaviours and corporate success – developing the means to ensure leadership development and succession 6

Why is capturing learning important? • good planning, checking on progress and capturing the learning are key to introducing successful change and developing an organisation's capabilities “The only way to cope with a changing world is to keep learning…” Dixon 1998 • a generally accepted definition of learning is “any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience” • any changes in behaviour indicate that learning has taken place 7

What is capturing learning? • capturing learning is what we know and what we are • • learning in a dynamic environment learning within a project does not happen naturally it is a complex process that needs to be managed it requires deliberate attention, commitment, and continuous investment of resources it turns learning into knowledge to improve decision making 8

Principles of capturing learning • the process of gathering, documenting and analysing feedback on events that happened during a project for the benefit of other project teams in the future • gives project team members a chance to reflect on events and activities during the project • brings closure to the project, providing an opportunity for team members, sponsors and stakeholders to discuss successes that happened during or because of the project • identifies unintended outcomes that happened during or because of the project • identifies things that might have been better handled if done differently; and recommendations to others who might be involved in future projects of a similar type 9

Timing of capturing learning The point of the exercise is to recognise and document lessons so that future project teams do more of the successful things and less of the unsuccessful things • do it early and do it often • don’t wait for the phase or project to be over • it should not be an afterthought, but a key component of all project management processes • to be successful consistently do two things – gather learning as issues arise – implement learning into future activities • establish a Lessons Learned log throughout the life cycle of the project 10

A Learning Organisation – The Learning Cycle and Learning Behaviours Change Feelings Taking risks Experience Listening Development Feedback Plan Sharing Review Reflecting Alternatives Questioning New ideas Think Learning from mistakes Talking about learning Thinking 11

Lessons learned are knowledge If learning is to be made useful to an organisation, three steps must be kept in mind: • The first one is capturing of the individual learning. This can include storage of the knowledge, publications, activity reports, lessons learned, interviews, or presentations • The second one is transferring of the knowledge to everyone that needs it in a way that can easily be understood • The third step that must be kept in mind is mobilisation of the knowledge. In other word, the knowledge won’t be useful if there is a gap between knowing and doing This mobilising knowledge requires integrating and using relevant knowledge from many, and often diverse sources 12

5 tips for capturing learning 5 questions to answer with your team (see handout): 1. what were the challenges and good points of the project? 2. did you develop any useful solutions to problems that cropped up during the project? 3. for any problems unresolved, what preventative measures could you put in place for next time? 4. are there any new best practices you can derive from this project? 5. can you create a useful repository for lessons learned? 13

Communities of Practice “The concept of a community of practice(often abbreviated as Co. P) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations. ” –Wikipedia “In brief, they’re groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise. Some communities of practice meet regularly…. Others are connected primarily by e-mail networks. They may or may not have explicit agendas on given weeks and, even if they have agendas, they may not follow them closely. Inevitably, however, they share their experience and knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to problems. ” 14

Evaluation and learning at work Activity Apply Reflect Training, processes History Community of practice Question Embed Know-how Distil, validate Lessons learned 15

Telling stories to promote and share learning If your objective is: You will need a story that: In telling it, you will need to: Sparking action (springboard stories) Describes how a successful change was implemented in the past, but allows listeners to imagine how it might work in their situation Avoid excessive detail that will take the audience’s mind off its own challenge “Just imagine. . . ” Communicating who you are Provides audience-engaging drama and reveals some strength or vulnerability from your past Provide meaningful details but also make sure the audience has the time and inclination to hear your story “I didn’t know that about him!” Feels familiar to the audience and will prompt discussion about the issues raised by the value being promoted Use believable (though perhaps hypothetical) characters and situations, and never forget that the story must be consistent with your own actions “That’s so right!” Is usually told by the product or service itself, or by customer word-of-mouth or by a credible third party Be sure that the firm is actually delivering on the brand promise “Wow!” Transmitting values Communicating who the firm is – branding Your story will inspire such phrases as: “What if. . . ” “Now I see what she’s driving at!” “Why don’t we do that all the time!” “I’m going to tell my friends about this!” Denning (2005) 16

Telling stories to capture learning If your objective is: Fostering collaboration Taming the grapevine Sharing knowledge Leading people into the future You will need a story that: In telling it, you will need to: Your story will inspire such phrases as: Movingly recounts a situation that listeners have also experienced and that prompts them to share their own stories about the topic Ensure that a set agenda doesn’t squelch this swapping of stores – and that you have an action plan ready to tap the energy unleashed by this narrative chain reaction “That reminds me of the time that I. . . ” Highlights, often through the use of gentle humour, some aspect of a rumour that reveals it to be untrue or unreasonable Avoid the temptation to be meanspirited – and be sure that the rumour is indeed false! “No kidding!” Focuses on mistakes made and shows, in some detail, how they were corrected, with an explanation of why the solution worked Solicit alternative – and possibly better – solutions “There but for the grace of God. . . ” Evokes the future you want to create without providing excessive detail that will only turn out to be wrong Be sure of your storytelling skills. (Otherwise, use a story in which the past can serve as a springboard to the future! “Hey, I’ve got a story like that” “I’d never thought about it like that before!” “Gosh! We’d better watch out for that in future!” “When do we start? ” “Let’s do it!” Denning (2005) 17

Lindsay Winterton Mobile 07801 376 011 e-mail: lindsay. winterton@frontlinemc. com