weeknotes s02 ep08
TL;DR Change Team induction; project manager buddy chat; final fostering synthesis (opportunity insights sorting) in readiness for our show and share next week; Coaching webinar; ‘becoming a reflective practitioner’; gravel biking the Sika Trail, Wareham Forest. French learning and a bit of book reading.
What I’ve done
Monday was my induction day to the Change Team and I went in to the office to meet up with my new manager. Was great to see some colleagues from both ‘Digital and Change’ and find out what’s going on, although it was a bit strange in that it wasn’t buzzy in the old familiar way.
I did manage to get one the other standing desk on E3, my tall colleague was in so was using the other one :) which was good although a bit away from our teams bank of hot desks. Had a good catch up with my Change buddy. Her advice was ‘to have faith in yourself, be a bit pushy (!), remind the team of ‘roles and responsibilities’, and communicate, communicate, communicate’. We also discussed the importance of starting the project with a challenge statement which she agreed was key to setting the scope and is always useful to revisit frequently to make sure the team is on the right track.
I also dropped into a virtual Teams coaching webinar on building self awareness which turned out to be a useful session and focused on bias as well as providing scenarios for us to determine which way the outcome could go and there were some interesting interpretations given by those attending. More about that later.
Made really good progress again with my synthesis for the Fostering discovery.
I’d done the usual thing of grouping themes together but after a conversation with a colleague decided to re order the data in to an ‘opportunity time line’ adding each problem or opportunity identified vertically along the stages; so progressing from initial enquiry through to panel. This has taken time to achieve but I think definitely worth it.
The objective being to make it easier for others to read and understand each problem and see where in the process it sits.
So again most of my week has been taken up with this and adding further high level headings.
I’ve also identified 5 problem statements out of a possible 7 or 8. These are the key ones for a preliminary ‘show and share’ run through on Monday with managers (not the team).
Show and share booked for the 16th but I think it’s not being widely advertised which is a shame as there is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Brown field processes become like tar (spreadsheets, culture, tech etc) which is why service design is so valuable in finding out what all the problems are and not just patching up poor processes with digital solutions to ‘speed things up’ — because invariably they don’t.
What I’ve learned
Listening to people is what I do for a job and when the opportunity arose to attend a coaching webinar I signed up. A small group joined the speaker to discover why self-awareness is important for a coach. So that it doesn’t become ‘Do as I say not as I do’! She also covered Transference, counter transference and parallel process, Being of the best service to the client, and lastly her personal experience of coaching tools.
We also learnt about three sources of personal bias;
- learning style
- processing preference
- personality
Holding the mirror up to ourselves, accepting that we’re work in progress, so that we can understand our selves to better help others. In order to understand and focus on our client we need a good understanding of us.
One of the tools recommended was the Wheel of Life, find out what works for you and what doesn’t will help you to be credible and authentic.
Next we learnt about learning styles; Honey & Mumford identified 4 different preferences for learning (I’m somewhere between the pragmatist and activist, with a bit of reflector);
- theorists (Theorists are people who learn best by understanding the theory behind why something is the way it is. They need models, concepts, and facts to be able to learn effectively.)
- activists (Activists are people who learn best by doing. They like to get their hands dirty and are enthusiastic about being thrown in at the deep end and trying new things).
- pragmatists (Pragmatists learn best when they can see how what they are learning can be put into practice in the real world).
- reflectors (Reflectors are people who learn best when they can observe others and think about what they have just observed. They avoid jumping straight in and prefer to watch first).
Then there are the different ways in which people like to process information;
- visual Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
- auditory Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
- kinesthetic Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
- olfactory You learn best though the sense of smell and taste
- gustatory relating to or associated with eating or the sense of taste, you might associate with ‘ that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth’,
the top 3 being the most common and most of us were visual learners although there were some kinesthetic too. Next up was personality types;
- Extrovert, draw energy from outside
- Introvert, not unfriendly more selective, can be comfortable with others but need down time to recharge
- iNtuition (‘Big Picture’) or Sensing (‘detailed’)
- Thinking or Feeling, cognitive, rational
- Perceiving (‘spontaneous’) or Judging (‘planned’), butterfly; emergent
Most of us were feeling with some sensing and perceiving personality types.
My take away after a really interesting session with lots to digest, was that we need to know ourselves before we can help our clients get to know themselves and it’s our personal presence when coaching that is as much or perhaps more use that tools and techniques. Every client is unique, every coach is unique; there is no right way; only your way, so just be authentic.
What else I’ve been up to
Listened a bit about the atrocities in Ukraine, it’s just such a desperate situation and really does feel like it’s WW3 seeing the empty shelled streets, people trying to leave laden with bags of belongings; so we the West need to step up pronto, or what could be next? Doesn’t bear thinking about too much.
The Ukrainian president is proving to be just the leader they need; inspiring the Ukrainian people to resist, thoroughly frustrating the Russian war machine. He has shown incredible strength and humility. I really hope he leads his country to victory with help from the West very soon.
So we did get out on the gravel bikes last Sunday, it was a little windy but lovely to be riding free in Wareham Forest with some good friends and a tasty bite to eat afterwards at Wareham Quay.
French (Duolingo) on day 445 of my streak but and dropped to the Obsidian league. I must admit since not paying for unlimited access my enjoyment has therefore effort has waned.
What I’ve read
Read a bit of Raynor Winn, ‘The Salt Path’ and can thoroughly recommend it, it’s just that when I pick it up generally I read a few pages and fall asleep!
Thanks for reading, until next time :0)