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Getting out all the barriers to change
Imagine we are now meeting again; we’ve failed.
We’re doing the post-mortem.
You each have a post-it pad.
Please write down the reason why we failed.
In fact, write as many challenges/barriers to achieving the vision as you can think of.
You have two minutes.
The more ideas, the better.
Use a sharpie.
Rectangular post its.
Peel diagonally.
1. List the barriers
Imagine the change has failed. What got in the way? Take two minutes to write as many barriers as you can, one at a time. Keep adding without sorting or debating them.
2. Sort and discuss the barriers
Read the four descriptions together. Discuss where each barrier belongs and what would test that judgement. Then agree an action, an owner, and a date.
Barriers to sort
Brick walls
insurmountable obstacles we just have to live with!
A really unalterable challenge. Things in the real world facing us that inhibit performance and are not likely to change.
This could be government or legal requirements, regulatory requirements, demographic changes, money market or international issues, high-level political developments.
These factors affect performance in delivering our service, but are well beyond individual or collective control.
Brick walls are immovable and real.
They are part of the bigger system.
Perhaps we should be campaigning to change them,
but that’s all we can do!
‘Can’t be changed’
Paper walls
look like real walls until tested, but are easily overcome, even by individuals
This looks like a real barrier; until you test it. Then, you realise you can simply push through it.
Paper walls might exist because you think someone else will not approve, that it won't be supported by another part of the organisation, that it is 'policy' or the way things have always been done, etc.
But when you test this belief, you discover it isn’t true; others have done things differently and are doing things differently.
These challenges are manageable, but also real. This is something you can change about yourself, for yourself.
‘I can change’
Partition walls
hard for individuals, but management or a project effort can overcome
These challenges can be managed through with effort, time, money and/or additional personnel, or other resources.
An individual might make some progress in dealing with this sort of challenge. Management might overcome the challenge totally; corporate management certainly should be able to.
Partitions might move slightly if pushed from the bottom, but if pushed from a higher level will often topple. We need help with these. This is something in the system that needs changing.
Examples include legacy, political, and structural issues.
‘We can change’
Mindset issues
like collective paper walls, common assumptions that are not easily overcome
This type of challenge is based on untested beliefs and perceptions; like collective papers walls.
When you believe you can't, you are correct. These are the ones that block the below average from improvement.
Like paper walls, but this is something we need to change together.
Examples of this sort might include not feeling that you can pool resources across departmental or organisational boundaries, or seeing citizen and political complaints as a problem rather than positively.
‘Innovate to change’
3. Agree action
Finally, there is a group discussion to agree the categorisation and consider the issues.
The whole purpose of the exercise is to get all the concerns and obstacles out on the table, then change the way people are thinking about the obstacles. The categorisation changes our psychological approach - brick walls just aren't worth worrying about anyway, paper walls we should just get over, and the others can actually be worked on.
This naturally leads on to an action planning session - every individual commits to overcome their 'paper walls', and key actions to address the partition walls and mindset issues are discussed and agreed. The whole set could potentially be done in an hour and a half, if squeezed.
