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Change management

Responding to change in a VUCA world

  • November 13, 2020
  • by Natalie Snodgrass

Greek philosophers are pretty good at pithy quotes. To illustrate, I give you this from Heraclitus of Ephesus: “Panta rhei”, or “everything flows”. Modern-day parlance has translated this into “the only constant in life is change”. 

21st-century change has taken Heraclitus’ observation a step further: change these days isn’t simply a constant. It also isn’t linear, incremental or predictable. Even before the current pandemic we were in a period of social, geopolitical, environmental and technological volatility and disruption. You may have encountered the acronym VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), originally coined by the U.S. Army in the 1990s to describe the post-Cold War world (and more widely adopted across the leadership literature post 9/11 to describe a work environment characterised by the turbulent and uncontrollable unknown). It may be the circles I’ve been moving in lately, but it does seem that as an easy acronym it’s now entering the general lexicon as it becomes more relevant than ever to all of us. 

There are criticisms about the limitations of VUCA as a framework (e.g. cultural bias, ‘past its sell-by date’, convenient label for a challenging reality without adequate exploration of how we can respond to that reality, etc.), but rather than going off on a tangent I’m going to observe that there are some useful concepts that it offers us.

Change is volatile and complex. The changes we are encountering in our personal and professional lives are rapid, sudden and unstable. They’re becoming ever more dramatic, and moving at an exponential rate. In contrast to many of the complicated challenges you may have come up against in the past, complex problems don’t have logical solutions where an evidence-based approach and learned expertise are all you need. Instead, multiple interconnected variables interact in unpredictable ways and the relationship between cause and effect is blurred. We’re called upon to manage paradoxes and polarities, and if we’re looking for clarity and ‘right’ answers, we’re likely to be disappointed.

Change is uncertain and ambiguous. Changes are also unfolding in unanticipated ways – the context we live in is an evolving state of ambiguity. Like the iteration of fractals or a murmuration of starlings, you can’t predict how the system will change or what will emerge. Historical forecasts and past experiences are, increasingly, no predictor of the future, and planning is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge as the shape of things ahead becomes more and more uncertain. It can feel rather like an existential threat – many of us have a preference for safety and certainty, and when we can’t easily predict what’s going to happen, we have a tendency to predict hazard.

Photos of murmuration of starlings and chaos theory as demonstrated by a long exposure of a light at the end of a pendulum

 Images of unpredictability in complex and chaotic systems: (a) A murmuration of starlings (Image: © Wikimedia Commons/Tanya H.) (b) Chaos theory demonstrated through long exposure of a light at the end of a double pendulum (Image: © Wikimedia Commons/Cristian V.)

So, what to do? How do we make sense of complexity and our place in a volatile, uncertain and ambiguous world? How do we want to show up? Here are my thoughts on some of the ways we might respond, in both professional and personal contexts. 

Control vs. curiosity: Standing in inquiry

When there is no blueprint to follow, trying to control the future is an approach destined to frustrate. You may be able to predict broad-brush behaviours, but specific outcomes for specific situations are unknowable. Past experiences, paradigms and dogmas are all ripe for scrutiny. Rather than a focus on control, therefore, we need to respond in a different way – by cultivating curiosity. The answers we seek will change in place and time, but a discipline of inquiry will be a stalwart essential in helping us navigate the way ahead. 

What good questions can we ask? Here are some potential starters: 

  • In how many different ways can we look at the problem? 
  • What has thrown us off-course, and what can we learn from that? 
  • Are there any patterns? Exceptions?
  • What is the most important challenge we need to focus on?
  • What resources and influence are available to us? 
  • What values and guiding principles do we want our actions to align with? 

You have come to the shore. There are no instructions. – Denise Levertov

Not Knowing: There may be no ‘right’ or clear answers

In the above context it’s also important to acknowledge and accept that there may be no ‘right’ or clear answers – the systems that we are part of are dynamic, and at any point in time there may be paradoxical tensions at play: short-term measures vs. long-term strategy; performance vs. wellbeing; the needs of the collective vs. the individual. This makes it critical that we are open to a diversity of views, helping us to expand our own perspective through constructive debate and dialogue.

Getting comfortable with being in a space of not knowing, and creating an environment in which we can inhabit that space with others, requires a few things of us. I think the following are particularly worth reflecting upon:

  • No man is an island. It can be difficult to admit that you don’t have the answers, but there is strength in vulnerability. How can we stand in inquiry together with others so that new and diverse thinking can be encouraged to emerge, and collaborative solutions to new challenges can be co-created? 
  • We may not always be able to plan for a desired outcome, but we can nonetheless seek to develop in ways that allow us to seize the day when opportunity presents itself. What can we do right now to shore up our capacity for resilience, whether personal or organisational? At a personal level, how can we orient our thinking towards an attitude of optimism, self-efficacy and healthy risk management, and how can we develop our capacity for persistence and flexibility?    

Experiment, fail

The curiosity that we need to encourage is all about an appetite for continual learning. Solutions to novel and complex challenges don’t come about through repeating what we’ve always done and reiterating what we already know – they need to emerge through seeking out new experiences and new knowledge and insight. Evidence-based methods need to be accompanied by an attitude to risk that involves encouraging experimentation and an agile, iterative approach: trying, failing, regrouping and learning, and trying again. Sometimes it also requires a leap of faith – jumping and not knowing where you’re going to land, but taking each step in line with your core values and principles, and trusting in the journey.

Traveller, there is no path. The path is made by walking. – Antonio Machado

Compassion and connection 

At the core of everything is the person. Any approach we take needs to embrace both the rational and the human: the values, emotions, the way our social and cultural history can bind us to limiting horizons for action. In the face of threat and pressure it is exceedingly easy to find ourselves being harsh and critical of ourselves, or judgemental and intolerant of others. 

Many of us find self-compassion a big ask. We may be able to show compassion to others, but then judge ourselves by a far harsher standard. Negative self-talk is common and perpetuates an unhelpful mindset. These are hard times, during which it can be hard to focus, see the bigger picture, and perform the way we may have been used to. These tough moments don’t need us to square up to them – they require us to be firm yet resolutely gentle with ourselves. I am dealing with a lot, and it’s ok not to be ok. What’s the best thing that I can do for myself right now that will help me get to where I need to be? Self-compassion is also vital in experimentation – we need to allow ourselves to fail.

That same compassionate-yet-firm approach also applies to the way we deal with others. When we’re stressed and there is no clear way forward it depletes our inner resources, which usually means we are much quicker to become irritated when other people don’t meet our expectations or frustrate our intent. Rather than reacting with intolerance, however, we can elect to respond with kindness, understanding and respect. Starting with kindness makes it far more possible to forge a connection through which we can jointly work to find solutions.

A discipline of inquiry, getting comfortable with not knowing, and a willingness to experiment can all take practice. I think compassion, though, calls upon something that is an integral part of our humanity; something that can be simple, straightforward and constant in the face of a volatile and complex reality. Henry James said: “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” We are all in this together, and a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world is a little easier to deal with when we place compassion at the core of us.

Coaching

Resilience

  • August 28, 2020September 7, 2020
  • by Natalie Snodgrass

I originally wrote this article in 2018. Since then, coaching for personal resilience and mental wellbeing has seen a surge of interest, with individuals and organisations both keen to find ways to reduce the toll of ever-increasing demands on their mental and physical health, increase their ability to adapt flexibly and positively to change, and start thriving rather than simply coping.

The extraordinariness of 2020 has brought this into even sharper focus. In the early weeks of the pandemic, many of us went into a heightened energy state of adaptation – described by Ann Masten as the ‘surge capacity’ we draw upon in short-term survival situations, rather like an emotional and physical power bank to help us navigate a crisis effectively. Except that, as the acute phase became chronic, our uncertainty over how long the uncertainty would last continued to stretch out, and we found ourselves with little opportunity to recharge through many of our usual means of self-care, we were all left significantly depleted.

In the immediate crisis stage there is often increased clarity as people are forced to focus on a delimited set of priorities and they pull together more than ever before. Individually, however, the adaptation can often come at profound cost to our wellbeing as we try to prioritise performance. Crisis can bring out the best in us, but can also make us revert to a lower level of emotional function.

I’ve read a lot of very well-written pieces in the past few months about finding new ways to be in this brave new world. There is so much in the resilience science to draw from and so much good advice out there about identifying your own set of primary resilience factors – certainly far too much to distil into one short article. I hope, however, that some of this will prove helpful to you. If you’re finding life particularly challenging right now, there are really just three things that I hope you will take from this:

(1) You are not alone and there is plenty of support out there.
(2) Be kind to yourself; there is no shame in struggling and feeling overwhelmed.
(3) All you need to focus on is the next step. The rest can be something for another day.

—————————

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
I bend, I don’t break.
I always bounce back.

Do you use any of these metaphors when you talk or think about resilience? Personally, I like the picture of resilience that’s summed up by this plant.

It illustrates nicely the definition given by Carole Pemberton (2015) in Coaching for Resilience:

The capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours when faced by a life disruption, or extended periods of pressure, so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser, and more able.

In other words, resilience is gradual adaptation in the face of adversity. Being resilient doesn’t mean you have to be somehow invulnerable to life’s hard knocks – it’s all about learning and growth, and the ability to steer your way constructively through difficulty. I think the danger of the popular characterisation of ‘bouncing back’ is that it gives the impression that recovering from setbacks is as effortless and instantaneous as the rebound of a rubber ball. You just pick yourself up and carry on as you were, utterly unchanged by the event. Except you’re not.

Even if you’re of the true grit school of thought, it’s important to recognise that resilience isn’t a you’ve-either-got-it-or-you-don’t thing; it’s a continuum. Life continually tests us, and our ability to respond well to this can vary depending on context and domain. You may be able to cope very well with pressure in your professional life, but feel crushed by the breakdown of a personal relationship. You may historically have had no problems navigating the ups and downs of life, but find yourself unexpectedly and completely derailed after being made redundant. Our resilience can become overwhelmed in all sorts of different ways – and we will all respond differently, too.

I find it useful looking at this from the perspective of the three-factor model that combines the effects of genetics, external protective factors, and learning (diagram below adapted from Pemberton, 2015):

What this tells us is that although some people may be more naturally resilient than others, resilience isn’t just a product of our personality. Research has also shown the important contributions made by the support networks around us (the availability of ‘secure attachment’) and what we learn from experience. That latter factor is probably most crucial for me. I love the way Masten puts it: resilience, she says, is ‘ordinary magic’: something we develop through the demands of living. It marks resilience out as something that can be available to all of us, even if we haven’t had the most fortunate start in life.

So how, then, can we cultivate resilience? It’s worth spending some time thinking about resilience factors – here are some that I think are particularly important, although resilience studies have identified dozens more:

(1) Finding meaning
Purpose is a key factor in what drives us – the desire to connect to a greater and meaningful cause can give important direction and a reason to keep going. What purpose can you find in what you may be going through? What can you take from this experience that you can channel positively into something meaningful?

(2) Flexibility, Perspective and the Big Picture
Inflexible patterns of thinking stop us being able to see the larger picture and its possibilities for learning and growth. What can you learn from this adversity? How can you widen your perspective? What other ways are there to think about this situation? What can you control about this situation (conversely, are you expending energy in wrestling with what is actually outside of your control)?

(3) Thinking Space
It’s difficult to get perspective when you’re mired in the doing and the detail. What time are you taking to get the necessary headspace that will allow you to take a step back for a more objective evaluation? Resting from its incessant activity is what the brain needs to really harness its creativity and problem-solving capability.

(4) Support
Resilience is not helped by social isolation. How can you reach out for help? What positive and mutually supportive relationships can you build?

(5) Mindfulness
Pain is typically seen as a problem. Mindfulness helps us learn to detach from our negative thoughts and feelings in order to observe and accept them without becoming trapped in them – moving forward despite them, rather than trying to remove them from our lives. As Camus says, the human condition is absurd. But man’s freedom, and the opportunity to give life meaning, lies in the acceptance of absurdity.

(6) Proactivity
What action are you taking? Sometimes all we need to take back control is to take one small step at a time.

What someone needs in order to help them become more resilient will of course vary. In coaching, there are many tools that can be drawn upon, including mindfulness, cognitive-behavioural approaches, narrative coaching, and positive psychology. If you’re interested in how HEdSpace and coaching can help you build your personal resilience, why not get in touch?

Natalie Snodgrass
natalie.snodgrass@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

COVID-19

I don’t have time to reimagine Higher Education right…

  • August 27, 2020September 7, 2020
  • by Anna Verhamme

Last March, HEdSpace Consulting started to think about COVID19, the impact on the HE sector and what we could do to help. We talked a lot about it needing to be the right time to do the right thing. We also talked about the profound emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic. At that point we anticipated that there would be periods of reaction and reflection followed by reimagining and repositioning. And back in March, we thought that cycle would at least take until the autumn.

It is clear now, after new local lockdowns and the and the A-level results crisis that we are in for a long haul… Colleagues working in Higher Education institutions have never had to react this quickly to this many unprecedented circumstances. And the sector has shown that despite its reputation, it can be flexible, change quickly and work together across institutional divisions. What I suspect has been harder to do for many leadership teams whose main focus has been keeping operations running, is to make the headspace to reflect and to start reimagining.

The two activities are very different and in normal circumstances many leadership teams create time for both. Whether it is through an away day, extended themed quarterly meetings, time spent over a sit-down lunch, the commute into work, the walk between meetings space is made to focus on the medium and long-term. But at the moment there simply might not be the time, practicalities or frankly energy to think beyond next month. And yet we know that to lead well, we need to make time and space. 

So, I have been thinking about the practical steps I would take to create the headspace for myself:

I would give myself permission to work less and fill up at least 1 day out of 5 in my diary with blank space. For many leadership teams this will be uncomfortable or even unthinkable. There is so much research now that shows the importance of unstructured time to creativity and resilience that it really should be a no brainer: it improves thinking, the quality of the decision-making, mental health and resilience. It will also reduce the stress on your teams: you are the cox setting the pace for your rowing team. The harder you work, the harder your teams will need to work to keep up.

I would limit the length of my own zoom meetings to durations ending in 5 (15, 25, 35 or 45 minutes) and encourage others to follow my practice. Easy! And finally… I would have time to stretch my legs, open the window, eat lunch and “take a comfort break”

I would make time to read a novel or poem, listen to a piece of music, watch a film, go for a walk, do some yoga, gardening, or my favourite: ironing. I have realised that I have few good ideas sat behind a computer screen. Most come to me when I am doing something completely different and again there is tons of research that explains this might be how our brains function best.

Now you may ask me: so Anna how much of the advice you are now offering as a consultant did you follow when you worked in senior management roles? And you are right to challenge me in that way. I was always aware of not having enough time to think, of rushing between meetings and of feeling exhausted, yet often being unproductive. When I worked at my best, I had diary free days, made time for lunch and a walk. What I found hardest was to maintain my own discipline and boundaries. Now some of that was because of my own tendency to take on too much, but some of it was also a structural problem: most leaders have back-to-back meetings, work 5 days/week and some live for their job. Within that context it is hard to maintain your own discipline. But what would happen if as senior leadership teams we changed our expectations? What if your vice-chancellor, COO or senior leadership team agreed on and stuck to a different way of working? Would it create better quality thinking, more considered decisions, more headspace to imagine and be creative? Is now a time to experiment, give it a go and try it out?

What examples have you seen where people have seriously adopted a new way of working? How do you create headspace for yourself to be more effective? 

HEdSpace Consulting can help to create and hold spaces for conversations for you and your teams. 

Anna Verhamme
anna.verhamme@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

Change management

How can UK universities save costs and still motivate…

  • July 9, 2020September 7, 2020
  • by Nick Dalton

Will universities need a bailout to survive the COVID-19 crisis? – this was the question posed by this week’s briefing paper from The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The report makes very startling and disturbing reading, giving rise to headlines such as “Coronavirus: 13 UK universities ‘could go bust without bailout'”.

In short, the reports authors believe the UK university sector could be facing financial losses of around £3 billion (7.5% of the sector’s overall income); £11 billion or £19 billion (nearly half of total sector income), depending on whether you buy into an optimistic, central or pessimistic scenario, respectively. Most losses will be from operations (including loss of fees through a reduced intake of international students), increases in deficits of pension schemes and losses from long-term investments.

Two things the report is clear about, perhaps not surprisingly, is that the situation is highly uncertain and secondly, that there will be vast differences in the impact on universities depending on their current financial situation and their operating model.

How far could cost savings meet this shortfall?

What the report also states is that identified cost savings – estimated in the report at £600 million across the sector – are unlikely to claw back enough of these losses to avoid universities having to resort to the self-limiting route of redundancy programmes.

However, this estimate is restricted to only those savings from the use of the government’s furlough scheme and from potential cuts in temporary staff, both teaching and non-teaching. Universities are already well on their way to implementing other sources of savings, such as restrictions on travel (maybe not too difficult in a pandemic), a focus on reducing discretionary spend and even voluntary redundancy schemes.

What the report doesn’t identify is that in many places we look in the HE sector, there are operations, structures, procurement and processes in which there are significant cost savings to be made from the elimination of unnecessary costs and waste.

The root causes of these unnecessary costs are varied but include excessive complexity due to departmental silo-thinking and practice, a focus only on ‘local’ process and limited process ownership and accountability. This results in inefficient university-wide end-to-end processes, duplication of activities and structures, errors, rework and high levels of ‘failure demand’. Ultimately, student experience and staff morale suffer.

How do we solve this?

There are transformational change programmes that consistently deliver benefits – they are participative, creative and empowering, producing both hard financial benefits as well as ‘soft’ cultural change – in which staff are fully engaged to identify and deliver the improvements.

These programmes are scalable, no matter the size and type of university, and involve collaboration across the relevant teams and departments, including students and Students’ Unions if required. The teams are cross-functional and brought together to rapidly find solutions and make decisions.

The approach is most effective as a facilitated programme of targeted improvements, or structured rapid improvement events. Included are learning modules to promote changes in behaviour that engender a sustainable attitude of continuous improvement.

True, even this type of approach will never completely fill the gap in the eye-watering financial losses being faced by the sector, but can contribute significantly to saving costs and will do so through the mobilisation and motivation of staff. More strategically, this approach will help prepare the university to be much leaner and effective in the post-pandemic recovery.

Progressive universities can achieve both cost improvement to meet the current challenge whilst simultaneously developing a culture change to one of continuous improvement.

Nick Dalton
nick.dalton@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

group of people sitting indoors COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis – Reflections on relationships between Boards…

  • July 1, 2020August 18, 2020
  • by Anna Verhamme

Most Universities will be finishing the third and final cycle of committee meetings for this academic year. As with everything COVID-19 will challenge the normal cycle of business. I argue in this article that we should pause and consider the nature of Board and Executive team meetings and how both relate to one another.

As Patrick Dunne says in his book “Boards”, governance is all about Purpose, People, Process… So how can COVID-19 impact each?

Purpose

As scenarios describing the financial implications of the COVID-19 crisis on recruitment and University finances are being developed, it is becoming clear that the financial survival of many institutions is more precarious than it has ever been. Boards and Executives will be needing to make some really difficult short-term decisions, mostly driven by financial considerations. And because of the level of uncertainty, it will be important for Boards and Executive teams to be clear on – and honest about – assumptions made; the possible and probable consequences and the actual -not imagined – preparedness of the institution. The latter will need to include an assessment of the institution’s human resilience, not just its financial resilience.

Whilst this will no doubt be the immediate focus of Boards and Executive teams, it will be hugely important to also challenge assumptions about the role of the institution for the future and the implications for “the academic business model”. Universities have a huge impact, locally, nationally and internationally. Many institutional strategies focus on the University being “the best”, “the top” and “world-leading”. At this time Universities also have a role in sustaining life, whether that is through local employment, contribution to healthcare systems or increasing creativity. I envisage tensions between those two roles in the coming months and suspect that in the best institutions, existentialist discussions will take place as Boards and Executive teams consider what their institution is for and what is at stake.

People

All this will require a good thinking environment, exactly at a time when people are starting to wear very thin. Counter-intuitively, at this time Boards and Executive teams need to resist the rush to action, but instead need to slow down, take time to reflect and iterate decisions. 

The best Boards and Executive teams will build a psychologically safe environment. An environment that enables everyone in the institution to bring their best thoughts and share their concerns so that improvements can be made. This will require Executive teams to pay more attention to the operational detail, to ask for bad news, to engage more broadly, to destigmatise failure and sanction clear violation. Boards will need to create a culture of constructive challenge and ask good questions helping the Executive to conceptually clarify and probing assumptions, rationale, reasons and evidence. 

The best Boards and Executive teams will give themselves – in the words of Dr Mark Brackett “Permission to Feel”. Because emotional literacy – being able to recognize, name, and understand our feelings – affects decision making, and creativity, working relationships, health and resilience, and performance.

The best Boards will recognise their own vulnerability, ignorance and blind spots. They will lean into the uncertainty and accept a degree of “muddiness”. They will rely on a wealth of social capital – friends, confidants, partners – to help them navigate what may be an existential crisis for many Universities.

Process

“The supply chain of relationships becomes fragile as we try to do too much, too fast, with precarious processes that simulate but aren’t reality.” Margaret Heffernan

How we organise the Board and Executive teams’ core processes will matter more than ever in the next months… A couple of questions I ask myself:

How can we create a meeting and working atmosphere that allows us to slow down, reflect and take time to make decisions? Rather than changing the planned face-to-face meetings into zoom meetings, can we pause and consider whether it may be more appropriate to break the meeting down in a number of smaller meetings each with a specific focus and an opportunity to go away mull on the decision before coming back for a final discussion?

How can we challenge statements in meetings in a way which supports the a psychologically safe environment whilst encouraging participants to think even harder and better? I have found the Language Compass and related article really helpful. 

How can Board members sharpen their antennas and check in with what is happening in the institution? Many Universities already hold an annual or bi-annual staff survey. As we have gotten more used to online tools, is now the time to ask more frequently and more specific questions? Questions about wellbeing, psychological safety, organisational culture as well as about creativity, innovation and sense of belonging? 

How can Boards members fully understand their institutional contexts? Are Board members aware of the institution’s local dependencies – I am thinking here particularly about what we have come to value as essential services? Are Board members aware of the ramifications of the decisions they will be making – I am thinking specifically about those people whose lives will have been affected disproportionally by COVID?

And finally, how do both Boards and Executive teams go about understanding the subtle, but significant societal changes which have taken place in the last couple of weeks. It is easy to remain in a bubble, to make assumptions about people’s experiences of the lockdown and make grand statements about the new normal. It will be important to give voice to and recognise all experiences and to question who will be involved in determining what the new normal looks like.

Reflecting on and changing how Boards and Executive teams meet and relate to one another can feel like a nice to have. Considering the huge challenges lying in wait for us, it is essential that we pay attention and prioritise this work, as it will support our futures.

Anna Verhamme
anna.verhamme@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

Change management

Making time to reflect on a future for Universities

  • April 19, 2020August 18, 2020
  • by Anna Verhamme

Since the lockdown started four weeks ago, I have taken the time to read, listen and reflect on the impact of COVID-19 now and in the longer term. I have found the Jericho conversations particularly thought provoking. 

I have heard of hope that this crisis which is affecting the whole of humanity may be a turning point or a time zero. Hope that the inequalities, injustices and unsustainable activities in our society will change. Hope that we will continue to recognise our human vulnerability and how much we need each other. Hope that we will continue working together, connecting with our community and rebalance resources and power.

I have also heard caution: whilst the crisis is affecting all of humanity it is clear that its impact is being experienced very differently: frontline workers, parents with young children, people in small flats, gig workers, disabled and vulnerable people, people living in developing countries… Caution that many people are angry and resent the years of austerity which have left us unprepared to protect lives. Caution that this health crisis may be followed by food crises and a deep economic recession, which will ask further sacrifices. Caution that we may – when pushed – become more nationalist, more selfish.

I have heard scepticism too, that when all this is over, nothing much will change. That what we most want to do is go back to normal, to certainty and a life where we can plan again.

The truth is that our future is uncertain. That the best we can do now is getting prepared for what may or may not be next. That means getting comfortable with multiple scenarios, being flexible and open-minded. But more importantly, it means that we are agents in shaping our future. We need to pause and make time to reflect before we react to the challenges we face collectively next academic year. 

As we are settling into another three weeks of lockdown and plans are in place for the remainder of this academic year, it is time to find peace and quiet, time to listen and time to imagine. This is hard in a University setting: we often act fast because we don’t want to be seen as not being able to change, we often have very little headspace between attending meetings and even the summer months feel frantic. But now is more important than ever to create the space for quality thinking, for listening to the many different voices, for experimenting, for connecting and laying foundations. 

So, what would I do to create that space? 

Setting an example: I would spend time listening to music, reading a novel, playing with the kids, meditating, gardening and would make it ok for people to do the same. Let ease replace urgency to improve your thinking (Nancy Kline)

Trusting people: I would offer people the option not to attend a meeting if they felt unable to contribute; I would share my vulnerability and ask for help; and I would ask people to try new things out (like not doing “things we have always done”) and learn from them (Brene Brown)

Connecting people: I would introduce time to listen: a gathering of a maximum of 12 people, without an agenda and with no action list at the end; and I would seek out conversations with people who I don’t regularly speak with

Starting to think differently: I would challenge myself to think about what resources, talents, skills, infrastructure I have and what I could do with these riches (frugal innovation)

If you want to connect with me and spend some time thinking together, get in touch.

Anna Verhamme
anna.verhamme@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

Business Continuity Planning

Reflections from a former Major Incident convenor in times…

  • March 31, 2020August 18, 2020
  • by Anna Verhamme

Over the last 5 years, I worked closely with colleagues in my University to maintain business continuity during times of incidents (minor, and major). We dealt with fires in buildings, snow closures, deaths under tragic circumstances, earthquakes and terrorist incidents. Sometimes I chaired the silver group, sometimes the gold… Some incidents lasted a few days, some we carried with us for 3 months. 

I now have time to reflect on those experiences looking in on the COVID-19 implications from the outside. I am self-employed, work a great deal from home and over the past 18 months have gotten attuned to a different pace of working. 

I share with you three things I found challenging in terms of managing an incident:

1. It is important to be aware of the need to balance levels of energy and pace in dealing with an incident. The rush of adrenaline at the start means you can act fast and move mountains. But this approach can only carry you through for so long. Recognising when the immediate emergency has passed and when you need to switch gear, slow down and take stock is important during incidents which carry on over a longer period.

Questions I would ask myself:

  • Can we change the frequency of the meetings?
  • Do we now need to involve different people as we start managing the medium -term consequences?
  • Do we need a different way to communicate with people affected?
  • How do we remain open for feedback so we can adjust our plans? 
  • How do we allow ourselves to slow down and take stock?

At this point I always found it helpful to reflect on our immediate response: what did we do well? what can we do differently next time? do we need to make adjustments for the next phase of work?

2. It is important to acknowledge that as we deal with incidents in a professional role, we remain human and can – and often will be – affected by the incident. Making sure the immediate incident response team is reflective and appropriately supported is crucial. Not only from a kind, human perspective, but also because emotional responses and levels of stress can affect the quality of thinking, judgment and problem-solving. This at times calls for an outside intervention as the emotional impact is not always obvious to the person dealing with the incident.

Questions I would ask of me and the team:

  • How are we all feeling? Do any of us need support?
  • Do we have trusted colleagues whom we can start bringing in as part of the team so we can take a break? Having to deal with a number of incidents meant I got to know my fellow incident response colleagues really well and we got comfortable showing our vulnerability to each other.

3. It is important to acknowledge the lasting impact incidents can have. We need to give people time to recover and re-energise after an incident. We need to recognise that in some instances people will have been traumatised and will need support from professionals. We also need to recognise that incidents can lead to stronger bonds of trust, a more psychologically safe workplace and a change in perspective which can be extremely powerful foundations for change. 

Questions I would ask of myself are:

  • Do we need to think about additional capacity in the weeks and months immediately following the incident?
  • Who has been most affected by these incidents and how do we support them?
  • How can we harness the energy and positivity for our future working together?

My thoughts go out to everyone who is involved in responding to this incident. Contact me if a conversation with me might be helpful.

Anna Verhamme
anna.verhamme@hedspaceconsulting.co.uk

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