Articles

"People and process are limitless in their potential to empower teams.  
- Marcia Choi

Process and the Intentional Interprofessional

The phrase, “Go Slow to Go Fast” is a commonly applied in change literature to describe the long term benefit to ongoing problem solving when people invest time in forming an effective process first.

The ‘Go Slow’ refers to the investment of time, energy and thought at the beginning of the change or problem solving process.

The ‘Go Fast’ refers to the effectiveness with which people and organizations can solve problems and adapt to changes because they have a successful, well thought-out process in place.

Unfortunately, with the rate of change experienced by organizations, investment in process may be abandoned in the rush to move straight to action the ‘fixing’ of the problem.

In the rush, we often see; Top-down approaches, one way, text-heavy information ‘exchange’, inflexible or unclear timelines, poor problem understanding, limited venues for people to give feedback and ask questions about process and targets, rare consideration or discussion of alternate solutions.

In these situations, solutions and decisions are achieved, but may be incomplete, ill conceived or lead to other problems. In time, these solutions will be abandoned to the archive of “ We tried that – it didn’t work”.

With repeated use of an ineffective process, people respond with reluctance, skepticism, apathy, and resistance. Decreased participation and engagement result, with low morale and trust levels for everyone involved.

The seemingly efficacious “let’s just do it” approach is actually a superficial path from A to B, with limited usefulness for future problem solving.

Where do you want to invest your time?

The choice is a choice of where one wants to invest time- at the front end with a recyclable and sustainable process, i.e. ground rules and culture for managing change and new problems, or at the back end dealing with fallout or problems from a failed process. Intentional Interprofessionals choose to invest at the front-end, in people and process.

• Understanding of problem from discussion and examination of perspectives on its definition
• Collaboration between people and professions involved and affected
• Clarity in purpose and goal of the process and the limitations and restraints on available solutions
• Tolerance for flexibility in details of the eventual solution
• Participant accountability to each other for their actions and feedback
• Respectful communication
• Transparency of process
• Routine reflection and evaluation of the process during and after its completion
• Commitment to process that yields decisions
• High leadership value placed on informal and formal ways for participants to interact with the process
• Proportionate balance of time allotted to process and action, i.e. not too process heavy or slowed due to too much analysis
• Normalization of the “slow” and imperfect nature of initial process
• Desire and will to continue improving process
• Support of decisions by participants

“How” is within your control

Intentional Interprofessionals know that investing in process and people has long term benefits for creating a healthy environment where people are engaged, involved and empowered problem solvers.

The key to “Go Slow to Go Fast” is an intentionally mindful approach to forming and evaluating your process. An effective process can emerge from subtle changes in a familiar, but ineffective routine and do not necessarily involve large-scale change. Even small modifications borne out of collaborative efforts to improve a process can result in more vested and empowered participants. While we may have limited control over problems and organizational change, we can control the conditions of “how” we work together to effect change.

The opinions above are expressly those of the author for the readership of www.cassonandchoi.com. Please send your feedback to Marcia@cassonandchoi.com.