Author: leavitt.75

We Invite, We Don’t Demand

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Technology is embedded into every part of our lives, both professionally and personally. New technology and features, increasing regulations, cybersecurity threats, and evolving processes combine to create a river of change. This means that, as IT professionals, we are constantly asking others to adapt and change.

In my 30+ years of working in IT, I have had a lot of opportunities to try different ways of approaching change and “we invite, we don’t demand” is a mantra that I repeat often and is shorthand for an approach to change that I have found to be both effective and enjoyable.

  1. Invite stakeholders to help evaluate and select the solution as early as possible
  2. Do a small experiment or pilot to test the solution
  3. Broadly communicate what is happening and why it is happening
  4. Give as much choice as possible in the situation
  5. Make is easy
  6. Provide training to support people making the change

I will share an personal experience that used this approach.

When I first started at Temple University as the CIO, we needed to select a modern Learning Management System because our LMS vendor had announced they were ending the development of the product we had been using for over a decade. I had many faculty and staff come into my office advocating for moving to a new learning management system (LMS). The issue was that there were two competing solutions with strong advocates for both.

We created a selection committee that was split evenly between the two solutions. The committee included faculty, technologists, instructional designers and students. That committee worked to identify and prioritize the requirements for the new system and arranged to do pilots of the two options. This allowed us to work with the systems and vendors before we committed.

We invited faculty to participate in the pilot of the two solutions. As we did all the necessary integrations and testing to prepare to pilot both solutions, one of the solutions failed technically. I viewed that failure as a success of the process. We continued with the pilot of the remaining solution, Canvas, for the spring semester with over 1000 students and almost 30 faculty participating. The selection committee designed surveys and focus groups to get feedback from the faculty and students and the feedback was incredibly positive.

After the end of the pilot, the selection committee unanimously recommended moving forward with Canvas. Our next challenge was to figure out a way to support faculty to move the almost 30,000 existing courses in 12 months to minimize the amount of time our students had to navigate two systems. We announced in June that we were moving to Canvas and why we were moving. We told faculty they could move anytime they wanted in the next year.

The IT team made it easy for faculty to decide course-by-course whether to teach in the old LMS or move that course to Canvas. The Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) designed workshops to teach faculty how to use Canvas and the easiest way to move their course content.

Because we announced the change in June and the fall semester started in August, we hoped we would get 20% of the classes taught in Canvas in the fall. It became clear quickly that the faculty were engaging. The transition faculty workshops kept filling and CAT kept scheduling more. In the fall, 40% of the classes were being taught in Canvas. Many faculty members chose to teach one course in Canvas in the fall and the pilot faculty participants were champions for the change and incredibly helpful to their faculty colleagues. By spring semester, that number of courses being taught in Canvas had jumped to 80%.

By inviting broadly, we created advocates across campus for a change that mostly needed to be done by faculty. We assisted faculty in the change by giving them the choice of when they moved their courses, making it extremely easy to create a class in Canvas and providing training and support so they had the information and skills they needed to make the change.

The team and committee were energized through the project and the relationships between the committee members and the teams across campus who were involved were strengthened. “We invite, we don’t demand” is more than a change management checklist, it is a mindset that tries to create engagement, not compliance.

How does this resonate with you?

The Power of Meditation

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I recently took part in a leadership panel with three fellow CIOs and the last question we received was, “What is something you wish you would have known when you were younger?” My answer was different than the others and probably unexpected. I said that I wish I had practiced meditation earlier in my life because it has made me a better leader and person.

I started meditation about ten years ago when a friend sent me a link to a 21-day meditation by Oprah and Deepak and asked me to do it with her. I didn’t imagine how important committing to a 21-day program would be fulfilling my dreams personally and professionally.

Both of us really enjoyed the messages and the practice and noticed an immediate difference in how much better our days went when we did meditation. I have meditated almost every day for more than a decade.

The 20 minutes I dedicate each day to guided meditation helps me practice being fully present in the moment and helps stop my racing mind. Each day is different, and some days are better than others. But the consistency and focus on improving have remained over the years. Meditation has helped me to better examine my narrative, generate insights, and recenter myself for the purpose of developing positive leaders and organizations. It has changed my brain, my life, and the energy that I bring to the world.

Because meditation has been so helpful for me, I serve on the board of Inner Strength Education, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that has taught mindfulness to more than 16,000 high school students. I would challenge you to try it. Inner Strength developed a mobile app, VIBE, that might be helpful to you to learn about mindfulness and try different types of meditations.

What has been your experience with mediation?

Take Control of Your Response

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My husband and I have been really looking forward to our trip to Florida for a family reunion. Because of COVID, we have not been able to go for the last two years, so we were especially looking forward to reconnecting with our family and spending time in the sun.

Our expectations were quickly altered when we looked at the weather forecast and saw that rain was predicted for five of the seven days of our vacation. We changed our car rental from a convertible to a more sensible choice just before boarding the plane for the first leg of our flight south. We made it to Charlotte without incident, and then watched for hours as our flight was delayed due to an enormous storm crossing over Florida.

My husband and I did several things to pass the time. We alternately walked around the airport to get some exercise. We engaged fellow passengers and had several pleasant interactions. We read our books and email on our phones. We tried to make a game of when we would leave.

When the gate agent announced that we had a short window of time to take off if we were going to make it to Florida, everyone cooperated, and several people commented about how pleasant and understanding everyone was being. As we landed in the rain in Florida, a collective spontaneous cheer erupted from the passengers.

When we collected our luggage, one of the wheels from my bag had come off. As I was pointing this out to my husband, one of our fellow passengers told me about the wonderful experience he had when his luggage was damaged and encouraged me to go to the customer service counter. I went to the counter and made a couple of additional positive connections there.

While all of this was playing out, I remember making several conscious decisions to not be annoyed or angry. I know that this was why others stepped in to help and I know that many of them had also made the same intentional decision not to be angry.

When we finally arrived at our condo, our family expected us to be in a terrible mood, but we were not. I am not sure how much I influenced or was influenced by the other passengers’ choices to remain positive and civil, but I know that my internal dialogue and choices made the experience better for me and my husband.

Travel delays are often unpredictable and can be extremely frustrating. In situations where you feel a lack of control, taking ownership of your response can help to put you and others at ease. This week, I encourage you to make the conscious decision to choose serenity in the face of unexpected adversity.

 

The Power of Consistency

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Since the change to daylight savings time two weeks ago, I have been exhausted. It took me almost two weeks to realize that while I had shifted my wake-up time to match the new time, I had not changed when I was going to bed. That meant that I lost 14 hours of sleep over two weeks. The effect was cumulative and noticeable.

Once I noticed that pattern, I committed myself to starting my bedtime routine an hour earlier. Of course, I have not done it perfectly, but I have gone to bed earlier in the few days since I made that commitment, and I feel better rested and focused.

The impact of small consistent changes over time must not be underestimated. It is the most effective way to move us forward.

One of my favorite books is The Power of Story by Jim Loehr, which talks about how energy is the foundation of excellence for individuals and organizations. First, we create habits to save energy. Being aware enough to understand whether our habits are undermining our energy and goals is the first step. The second is making a small adjustment to move us toward our ultimate goals.

This ability to make small, consistent changes is a superpower each of us can develop. What minor changes have you made that have had an enormous impact? What minor changes can you make this week to move you and your team toward your goals?

What’s in a Question?

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One of the most useful and perspective-changing trainings that I ever went through was “Managing to Learn(link is external)” where I learned the A3 management process that is foundational in Lean Management. For IT folks, it is helpful to understand that Agile Programming and DevOps are based on Lean Management theory. A foundational Lean Management philosophy is that a manager’s job is to help their team members develop clarity of thinking and strategy by asking open-ended questions that probe the thought process of the other person without trying to guide them.

The goal of the training was to be able to create a one-page A3 strategy map that started with a one-sentence description of the problem each participant was trying to solve. Distilling a problem into a single sentence is extraordinarily difficult to do. Answering the question, “what problem am I trying to solve?’ is a way to better understand the core problem and examine assumptions so that you do not immediately move to solutions.

I have heard many leaders opine that the answer is in the room and that the leader’s job is to uncover the answer. This is not what I believed or practiced early in my leadership journey. I thought it was my job as the leader to have the answer, define a solution and drive everyone toward it.

Personally, it was illuminating for me to understand how often I was using closed-ended questions to guide other person to my solution rather than actively supporting them in identifying the core problem and developing a solution that would work for them and their team. At home, I realized that I was asking my children leading questions most of the time without any awareness.

What I learned through painful experience was that driving my solution and vision without meaningful input from others wasn’t very effective. It built resistance and compliance rather than cooperation and engagement. One of the most powerful tools we have as leaders are open-ended questions that invite others to identify which problem we need to solve and co-create a solution.

The questions we ask are clues to our mindset and markers to others about whether we want their true input and ideas or if we just want them to agree with us. A great podcast on the subject is Design Thinking 101: User Research and Asking Better Questions with Michele Ronsen(link is external).

My challenge to you this week is to try to shift your questions from closed-ended to open-ended and see what you learn. I would love to hear about your experiences.

Fighting Fatigue: Stop, Collaborate and Listen

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The last few weeks have been tough for me. I felt like I was slogging through and not making much progress on several fronts. Part of the reason that I write this blog is to self-reflect and check in to see if I am being the leader that I want to be. When I checked in for the last several weeks, I was not feeling like an incredibly positive leader and instead of forcing it, I did not write any blogs. 

Last week, as I was preparing to teach a leadership class about energy and habits, Jenna Price shared concerns that she had been hearing from the group about the overwhelm they and their teams were feeling. She also shared a link to this video(link is external) about managing ourselves so we can creatively solve problems. Both were so helpful! I developed an exercise so that the leaders could identify the root causes for why they felt overwhelmed. And before we did the exercise in the training session, we watched the video(link is external) that Jenna shared.

This experience of co-creating the training and then using the training session to co-create solutions reminded me that so many people want to help and contribute their amazing insights, skills and passion. Unleashing that potential was so much fun and made me very happy. 

The next time you feel like you are slogging through, how can you invite others to co-create solutions with you? 

Shift Your Focus from Fear to Freedom

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I recently visited my son and his wife, and each night we played a new board game. It was so much fun! One of the reasons that I was able to enjoy playing so much was that I didn’t expect to win (or fear losing) because I was focused on learning a new game each night. 

I was able to contrast that feeling of fun and freedom I experienced learning and playing board games with the feelings I experienced attending a couple of Ohio State basketball games recently. The team struggled in both games, losing one and winning the second in overtime.

I recall being extremely distressed during both games, which I attended with the intention of having fun. As I analyzed why I was distressed, it became clear that I wanted to be associated with a winning team and had tied the outcome of the game with my own self-worth. Any sports fanatic would be able to relate. 

So much of my sense of fun and enjoyment comes from learning new things, meeting new people and solving new problems. It’s easy to feel this way when I am new to a job or situation, but that fun can turn into distress when the things that are being criticized are things that I had a hand in creating because they are tied to my sense of self. 

This insight is helpful to me in two distinct ways. First, it gives me empathy for the people who created the things I am trying to change. Second, when I feel distressed, it becomes a cue for me to change my focus from myself to the impact I want to have on others. It is an opportunity for me to move from fear to freedom.  

What gives you a sense of fun and play? What causes you distress? How can you use your distress as a clue to change your mental habits? 

Finding Joy Through Random Acts of Kindness

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My daughter is in the middle of a stressful semester in college. The last time I talked with her, she shared that to help herself feel better, she started looking for ways to share kindness with others.

Recently while on campus, she noticed that someone had left a water bottle behind at the end of class. She took that bottle and tried to track down the owner. While she wasn’t able to find them, she reflected on how good it made her feel to have tried to do something kind.

That reminded me of some advice my mentor gave me during my recent job transition. He told me to take time each day to thank someone for something they had done, with the goal of surprising that person for being recognized. The challenge was to surprise and delight.

When we combine attention with creativity as we look for ways to be kind, we can delight ourselves and others. As I prepared to write my blog post this week, I felt weighed down by obligation. When we approach kindness as an obligation rather than a fun game, we risk losing our joy in the journey.

February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day and I invite you to join me in finding joy as you look for creative ways to be kind.

Desperately Seeking Friends and Endorphins

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My husband claims that I get endorphins from checking things off my to-do list. In the last couple of weeks, however, I have felt exhausted as I have been running at full speed trying to check things off my list. Even exercising, something that I normally love to do, was feeling like a burden or obligation rather than fun and energizing.

I was grateful for the recent winter storm because it forced me to stay home for a couple of days and gave me time to relax and reflect on why I was feeling so exhausted. When it came to my exercise fatigue, I realized that not having friends to workout with was at the core of my exhaustion.

I am an avid exerciser and have cemented friendships through physical activity. My best friend is someone I walked with almost every day for over a decade. I have made friends in new places by joining a local cycling club.

The pandemic, a recent move, and winter have all made finding friends to exercise with difficult. Knowing this is the root of my exhaustion has helped me feel better because I know this is solvable. I am now starting to think of opportunities to combine finding friends with my exercise. Can I invite an acquaintance to walk or cross-country ski with me? Can I find a new exercise class or gym that is more social than what I am doing now?

Thankfully, we have a trip planned to go skiing with my son and his wife. Again, combining exercise with spending time with people I love.

For me, understanding what motivates and energizes me is helpful so that I can take better care of myself.

What reenergizes you?

Navigating by Compass or GPS

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When we are trying to get to a place we have never been before, we can navigate there using a compass or GPS. While both tools require a clear destination, how you navigate to that destination is vastly different.

Over the last month, we have been digging into how we are going to work together to achieve some ambitious goals set by our president. At the start of our leadership retreat last week, Will Mills shared a powerful analogy that I have been thinking about all week. He said that we need to expect we will be navigating using a compass rather than GPS.

GPS needs well-traveled paths and roads and gives exact directions, while a compass only points directionally and requires much more awareness and flexibility. When we are trying to achieve results thatno one has ever done before, we will need to think about the process more like using a compass rather than GPS. 

The implications of that shift in mindset are profound. 

  1. We need to expect ambiguity and lots of unexpected peaks and valleys. 
  1. We need to be comfortable with messiness. 
  1. We cannot confirm our path by following our peers.  
  1. We need to accept that there are many ways to get there and be willing to explore different paths. 
  1. We need ways to quickly check the feasibility of a path. 
  1. We need to openly share the paths that did not work along with those that did work with our teammates.  
  1. We need to be supportive and kind to ourselves and each other as we try new things. 

Our leaders are asking us to create a new path forward. This is both thrilling and terrifying and I am inviting each of you to join us on the journey.