By Amy Hoppock
February 2021
Build a Priority Culture
Words and the use of words are endlessly fascinating to me. I sat down to start writing and my daughter came in to discuss the definition of overwhelming. Does overwhelming mean huge or confusing, or some of both? We talked about how usage often determines the meaning. Sometimes the way we learn to define words, isn’t really what the word means.
Priority is one of those words. It’s not unusual to hear people say, “the priorities are A, B & C.” We live in a world that measures our value by our outcomes. Our contribution is measured by our busyness. A few years ago I read the popular book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. (I recommend it!) McKeown invites his readers to look at a commonly misused word in light of history.
Essentialism is a small but powerful read. One of my favorite ideas from Essentialism, that many others have picked up on too, is our misuse of the work priority. Priority by definition is one thing. The priority is the very first thing. When we hold more than one priority, we have no priority. The idea of focusing on one thing sort of rubs against the more is more culture that we live in. Yet, in truth, we can only, ever focus on one thing at a time. When we use priority as it is defined we can do more.
I work with a team that is very invested in creating a priority culture. Every six to nine weeks the team meets to identity THE priority, the one thing, that if everyone focuses on the business can make significant and meaningful progress. Each smaller group thinks about how their area can support the priority. The team sets two or three goals for each smaller working group (marketing, tech, business development, etc.) This is a surprisingly effective way to work. With each new priority, there is urgency and focus that directs the actions of the team. This team gets stuff done and consistently moves the business forward. Sometimes a priority is set for one month, other times the priority is for three months. The leader is always watching to see when one priority has been met and looking for factors inside and outside of the business that would indicate it is time for a new priority.
Questions:
- What is your priority?
- How can you order your life to better support your current priority? (Remember, you can shift your priority as often as you need!)
- How can you create a priority culture in your workplace?
Amy Hoppock is a Genysys Consultant. She is the author is Be More Journal and writes at The Art of Powering Down.
This is another episode from The Consultant School archives. In this episode Ray and Amy talk about dealing with Resistance. Check out the episode and notes for step by step ways to deal with resistance in organizations!
Listen to the full episode of How to Deal with Resistance here.
How To Deal With Resistance
What is resistance:
Resistance= any kind of inaction. Not wanting to do something. Not wanting to change, the opposite of movement. The movement that does happen is a movement against.
- Recognize the feelings (and actions of resistance)
- Acknowledge that resistance is part of the process
- Know that resistance is normal
- Remember that resistance can be beneficial
Resistance can indicate something is really important.
If there is a proposed change initiative that does not have resistance, it might indicate that the process, etc. isn’t actually that important.
Resistance can be a CLUE to what is really important in an organization.
The change will great disequilibrium and humans are not wired to be in a disequilibrium state.
80% of resistance is personal
The operative question people are asking is: How will this change affect me?
3 Principles to Deal With Resistance:
- Empathy
Identify who is most likely to be affected by the change. Try to understand how they are likely to be impacted. When people or group believes their needs have been taken into consideration they are more likely to engage in the change process. Empathy is the bridge that comes before communication
- Communication
Listen to where people are, what their concerns are. Must be able to communicate why and what the benefits will be.
- Participation
Involve the people who are going to be affected by the change, ask them questions, incorporate as many of their suggestions as you can and address those things that you can’t use. Some good questions to use are:
- What questions do you have?
- What questions do you have?
- What question do you have about the process?
Make sure to incorporate some of the ideas in the change process.
Go two rounds of this process. People feel like they gain ownership in the change process.
Dealing with resistance is best done one on one.
Don’t exclude the people who ask hard questions.
- Thank them for their questions
- Ask them for ideas
- Help them to find a stake in the process so they have ownership
To the extent that one believes in the change, they can afford to be patient to draw people in and give the change initiative the time it takes for people to gain buy-in.
Resources Mentioned: