Leadership Alchemy - No.21: Cracking the Code from Reaction to Prediction

By Anupama Vaidya 

During a recent coaching session, we delved into a challenging work scenario that my mentee, whom we'll refer to as Jerry, was grappling with. Jerry, known for his exceptional ability to generate innovative ideas and perceive the intricacies of situations, expressed concern about the mounting workload on his plate. He was troubled by the reactive nature of the department's working style, which was affecting his own approach.

Feeling uneasy about this situation, Jerry acknowledged the need to take proactive measures. The lack of control over the situation and the sense of being scattered left him feeling restless. Acknowledging  Jerry for his self-awareness and his ability to articulate the challenges he was facing, we then got into exploring strategies for change and practical adjustments that Jerry could make in his daily management.

Penning down key insights from our discussions for benefit of the readers. While he addresses immediate issues with temporary fixes and actions, the goal is to progress from reactive to responsive, proactive, and ultimately, predictive measures. The overarching goal is to anticipate potential issues and implement preventive measures before they occur.

Having introduced Daily Stand-Up meetings (on lines of Scrum meetings) to gather the pointers, it was now imperative to articulate the steps for migrating through work methodologies. This migration demands intentional actions at various stages, integrated into one’s management style.

Acknowledging the non-sequential nature of this transformation, its success hinges on the preparedness of both leadership and the team. Comparing it to choosing between a marathon and a sprint underscores the necessity for both gradual and swift approaches in various scenarios. Leaders must discern and embrace this readiness, steering actions for a lasting organizational shift.

Equally vital is the preparation of the organizational ecosystem for this change, whether through gradual adjustments or a more abrupt shock therapy, contingent on the urgency of the issue at hand. For instance, a financial impact issue might demand a swift, decisive change, akin to shock therapy involving rapid process changes. On the other hand, a mindset or cultural shift could require a more gradual, nuanced approach, reminiscent of the slow brewing of a filter coffee.

Here are the pointers of actions that a leader drives to make this shift happen.

·       From Reactive to Responsive entails:

• Improvement Approach through Root Cause Analysis(RCA). Incorporate a leading style to set time aside, whiteboard and do the RCA. Identify high impact actions to address the issue in hand/incident at the core. 
• Initiate Planning and Review mechanism. Find methods to identify these in advance. Acts as a bridge to move towards proactiveness too.
• Work on Communication channels & platforms. Daily Stand-ups, Scrum Meeting, Weekly topical reviews, monthly governances. A discipline and rhythm helps. Use each to bring up things in advance
• Take time to think over the information at hand and its implications.

·       From Responsive to Proactive entails:

• Add Risk Assessment to the Improvement Method. The Improvement methodology is enhanced or elevated through a Risk Assessment approach incorporated into leading the topic / subject / objective
• Program Managing the “Objectives”: Defining objectives and managing work as packets of programs (set of projects together and inter-related with the interdependency). 5W’s, 1H become a way of life – Why, What, Where, When, Who, How become an integral part of the management style. Incorporate Contingency,  Scenario & Preventive Planning.
• Build Capabilities of the team: Provide training, coaching to team to enhance skills and awareness
•  Collation of Data/Trackers. Ensure that you have incorporated building data / trackers to pick up trends. This will move you closer to predictive way of working too
• Strengthen Communication Channels: Ask specific questions topically that the team is handling, to ensure that you get a view to the ground work with implications which may lead to crisis.

·       From Proactive to Predictive:

• Incorporate Predictive Analytics, Data analysis for patterns, Forecasting models. Various tools and technologies available need to be leveraged. For a transforming organization, this may seem far fetched. So the least you can do is ensure that you strengthen the data gathering sources and are able to cross reference data, draw up trends and make some predictive interpretations. Historical patterns need to be studied and interpreted.
•    Technology and automation for managing processes. To bring the way of working under predictive, application of technology and automation is essential. Else you usually get stuck at the proactive level of planning and review. This shift is highly dependent on how swiftly you find solutions to leverage technology.

As a leader assesses his/her team’s maturity, to comprehend their working style, it becomes imperative for the leader to incorporate elements as stated above to make this transition happen.  Changes typically don’t occur overnight unless prompted by a rude shock to the business which has a financial or customer impact, else the importance of change is not felt. In instances when change might not be immediately apparent, the leader’s role becomes crucial in instigating the very change that safeguards the business from any rude shocks/disruptions in future. Every such shock if analyzed can lead you to understand how early you could have picked it up if you had just applied these learnings.

To catalyze these shifts effectively, the leader must exhibit sensitivity and cultivate skills to:

·       Drive the cultural shift. Understand behaviors and behavioral patterns of the team/organization is an important skill that leaders need to hone.

·       Encourage a “Fail safe, own the shortfall and find a better way to work”. Make learning and adaptation a way of life.

·       Encourage forward thinking, and solution orientation. Involve team members in problem solving & decision making. White board with them.

·       Promote collaboration and cross-functional (discipline) team work.

·       Invest in Technology.

·       Data Driven decision making, strengthen data governance practices to build reliable data.

·       Drive strong catch-up and review mechanisms with Key Indicators. Include audits of processes and systems.

By systematically implementing the actions along with these sensitivities, the leader can progress from a reactive to a proactive and ultimately to a predictive way of working. This shift requires taking systemic actions along with a cultural shift, technological advancement and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Jerry has diligently documented the insights gained from our discussions and has been actively implementing the outlined strategies. We discussed a few practical case studies applying this model too! and it really helped him see through. 

By capitalizing on my role as a business and people coach within the organization, Jerry initiated a valuable conversation that allowed us to articulate actionable plans for facilitating this transformative shift. It's commendable that Jerry recognized the importance of addressing his own challenges and vulnerabilities as a leader, a step that many leaders often hesitate to take. This openness to discuss and confront areas for improvement is a testament to Jerry's commitment to enhancing his leadership effectiveness. It underscores the valuable role that coaches play in providing a supportive space for leaders to explore and navigate their professional journeys, ensuring that they don't struggle in isolation but rather thrive in their roles.

For more details write to anupama@los-aurigas.com