Cough up that complexity furball

Go on ! *cough cough* Get it up... and out !

That furball of complexity that's lodged in your team's throat is disengaging, dull and not getting through to people across the business. 

But when you've got so much detailed information to get across to so many people - and you need to do it quickly, or you've lost them - it's no wonder we try for pages and pages and packs and packs and more and more... 

*cough*

I worked with a team recently, actually, four teams. They wondered how to present their four complex projects of work from the past months (and for some, years) of effort. 

How do you do that without losing some of the essence, the detail and depth that sits behind their key points?

These four visual storyboards did the trick!

*cough*

I created them on an ipad (using the app Brushes and my finger as a stylus). I have no artistic training by the way. It's about the thinking, not the drawing. The images were able to be printed out and laminated and 'spoken to' by the leaders of the projects. They could just as easily be projected on a screen.

Engaging, made-by-a-human, told-by-a-human and a sweet-as change from the hardcore digital stuff the leadership team had been pounded with up until now.

Now these visuals will go on a story tour around the business' offices and sites to share the message and the vision and so much more. 

• Sort through your thinking and your story.
• What does this audience really need to know?
• How can you deliver that in an engaging way? 
• And a final tip: you don't need a big-bucks agency to help you get closer to being a real human. 

 *cough*

Give good output

"We've got to get input from people on how this service will be designed, structured and delivered", said Jason, a client I met up with this morning. 

But how is that 'input' experience going to go for the business and the project team... and the users?

For Jason and the team, they are keen to get control over the engagement, the collaboration and the 'working with others' that is to come over the next few months.

"It can go sooooo off track," he said. "On the one hand, we absolutely need their input... but it can be such a pain to open up that huge world of possibiliy - they want everything, they want it now."

We both chuckled at the 'Daddy I want an oompa loompa and I want it now' quote from the spoilt child character Veruca Salt in the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film.

To get input into design and delivery, you do want to get it right and be conscious of how it can get out of hand, drag on or never seem to be finished. 

So with Jason, I'll be designing the input, engagement and consultation process in a way that generates great input and is an enjoyable and successful process.

When you're going for input from people, it needs to save time, not steal time.

It needs to engage with 'yowza' not yawn, and it needs to deliver great positioning and awareness of what the project or team is about to embark on.

How you handle this phase of engagement, consultation and development will say so much about how you intend to work with the business over the coming months. 

Plan for good input and you'll give good output. 

Project Introverts - how to get out of that meeting ASAP!

Diversity in backgrounds, cultures, languages, thinking, styles and communication - they come together every time we communicate, engage and connect with people we work with.

If you're an introvert, you'll want to get your message across quickly, understand your colleagues quickly and then get outta that meeting or conversation ASAP. You may want to get back to the good stuff you were working on earlier - alone!

I've seen in several project teams recently how so many delays, derails and slow-downs come from simple misunderstandings.

"I thought you meant ..... when really you meant ....." or "You're talking about the big picture; I'm talking about this specific thing..." and it all drags on and on and on.

Being able to capture, draw out and understand what someone else is saying, and then convey your ideas and thinking is critical. To do it rapidly is the game here. The faster you can understand others and get your point across, the happier we'll all be. Unless you just want to sit 'n talk...

To speed up the process, get it sorted, get to understanding quicker and then get on with the other good stuff you're working on, you need two key skillsets...

1. facilitation skills (how to handle the stuff that happens when groups meet) and

2. visual agility (not arty drawing, but rapid sketching and visualisation).

When culturally, linguistically and geographically diverse teams 'get this', they step way up into higher levels of performance and move on (quickly) from misunderstandings and cultural hurdles.

Project teams have the opportunity to build this awesome skillset at a one day workshop I'm running in Melbourne on March 4, Visual Facilitation for Projects. Details here, early bird until February 19. 

Would Warnie play on your team?

When the team you're in reaches a target, hits the mark or achieves success, do you do this....

... run in to a huddle, cheer, applaud, lifting each other into the air, hug each other and give hugely rewarding pats on the back and high praise?

Do you do this several times in a day? 

Do you then watch a replay to see how awesome that success was?

I’ve been watching the summer cricket matches with different eyes ... the eyes of a team or project leader; a leader who needs to get their teams to do great stuff! Everyday!

Too often we’re seated at desks when someone announces a target is hit, or we’re in a meeting or conversation.

Boring voice, stays seated  ... 'yawn. Yeah that’s great. Well done.' 

Our responses are cold and stale. So DIS-engaging. So…. robotic and machine-like.

Fire up ! Bring some game-style celebrations to the work you and your team are doing. You are hitting milestones and targets and you’re not making much of a deal about it.

Start making a big deal about it!

Get into a huddle, give huge applause, give great recognition and celebrate truly, loudly with cheers and ‘hoorays’ and smiles and laughter and back slaps and high fives – then watch the replay and relive it all over again! And again…

Remind people what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and how great they’re doing. Warmth, humanity, fun, games, collaboration, creative, communicative, rewarding…. we’re human after all.

Make those comms cut through

It's summer time on the southern part of the globe here in Melbourne, Australia. Living by Port Phillip Bay and Station Pier we see the shiny white cruise ships coming and going. People heading off on the cruise of a lifetime.

I imagine there are blue and white striped deck chairs on the top deck, with passengers snoozing and dozing enjoying the sea breezes and blue skies.

Look around your office or workplace and you'll see team members on their 'desk chairs' enjoying the air conditioning, the internet, and if lucky, a view out a window. Hopefully they're not snoozing and dozing but they certainly aren't sitting there, highly alert, waiting on your message or communication. Sorry, you're not the captain saying 'abandon ship' nor the activities officer announcing Happy Hour has started!

When you launch a communication effort - for a project, a piece of work or a new service or idea - your audiences are ..... snoozing. They're 'latent' or dormant. And before they'll take in any of your communication, you'll need to wake them up so they're 'aware'. Once they're aware, you'll be able to guide them towards being 'active' and engaged.

1. Latent.
2. Aware.
3. Active.

It's a three step process and failing to take it into account is one of the 9 reasons why project communications don't cut through - my new project whitepaper on the just launched project engagepage of my website. 

With a new calendar year and many new plans and projects getting underway, think ahead and make sure you've got some phases of communication that wake up dozing team members, stakeholders, sponsors and target audiences.

That way they'll be all primed and ready to receive that stunning cocktail of communication you've been creating behind the bar!