THINK ONE TEAM - GRAHAM WINTER
My 42nd professional development book to review ... only ten books to read on my challenge!
To understand how to tackle a crisis and transform a business faced with uncertainty in complex and changing times, look no further. Graham Winter, author of Think One Team has presented his practice into a text book which will no doubt educate, inform, entertain and assist you. If you’re in Human Resources, take particular note, and if you’re a CEO, an Executive Team member or a curious leader, then I recommend you read Think One Team. It will disrupt the way you think about change!
I was surprised to have arrived at the middle of the book in one sitting – I was immersed in the narrative of a fictitious company with the crusader consultant Nick Fox wielding his ‘think one team’ philosophy, method and power tools to transform a businessin a nimble and adaptive approach in turbulent times.
Graham is generous; he clearly explains the use of change tools to get everyone on board; owning the problem and working on the solution. Ten recommendations that resonated with me are:
- Be compelling with your story/reasoning for change – be emotional rather than just provide facts
- Separate the change into two types - the technical challenges (there is a practical solution) and the adaptive challenges (there isn’t an obvious solution)
- Identify above the line and below the line behaviours – be honest with what is not acceptable and set new goals for aspiring expected behaviours
- Seek quick wins and practices to implement – these are created by groups of people drawn from across the organisation using on-line communication tools guided by frameworks and deadlines
- Use accountability frameworks which make sense – guide the executives and staff with agreed measurable behaviours and actions – ‘Nick’ educated the group to use the Five Shares method which is advocated by Graham’s organisation
- Ask frequently the fundamental question – “What is best for the business?” Keep people focused on why they are there in the organisation and what is the purpose of the organisation
- Get the right people on the executive – with the right leadership style, with a focus on the organisational values and who are prepared to align, collaborate and learn to co-create the change
- Learn from the squirm – we know we all resist change: acknowledge it, make it appealing and feel the squirm while you all learn together
- Build the Momentum – provide continual loops of learning, celebrate, communicate and continually identify ‘what to stop doing, start doing and continue doing
- Develop Leadership capability – it’s a priority to build the leadership skills of the whole organisation to have the capacity within the business to function in these complex times avoiding a crisis
There are many additional elements of the change solution, however, I’ve given you a taste of what to encounter if you read Think One Team. Or, jump onto www.thinkoneteam.com and access the tools mentioned.
I felt proud reading this book; as a consultant, our goal is to add value working with clients. We observe, we use tested models, techniques, tools and it’s in our interest to make your organisation successful.
“When people genuinely ‘think one team’ they all commit to something that they can’t achieve individually but they can achieve collectively. That’s a superordinate goal and it excites people and creates alignment.”
I’m endeavouring to read 52 Business/Professional/Personal Development books in 52 weeks. Yep, that’s one a week. As I read each book, I’ll share my thoughts, learning and recommendations. If there is a book that you’ve been meaning to read, let me know and I’ll read it for us!