Last week we talked about how important debriefing is and today we are going to show you how anyone can do it.
Doug Sundheim, a leadership and strategy consultant, and author of Taking Smart Risks: How Sharp Leaders Win When Stakes are High, suggests the following steps to develop a fruitful debriefing process:
1. Schedule a regular time and place:
“The key here is to make the debriefing expected, so everyone adopts a learning mindset before the activity at the center of the debriefing even takes place.”
2. Create a learning environment.
“Expectations should be set so people know that learning is what’s most important — not one’s position on the org chart. “ To create an environment where all insights are equally valued, leaders need to be open and vulnerable, so that everyone feels safe to be authentic.
3. Review four key questions.
a) What were we trying to accomplish?
“Every debriefing should start by restating the objectives you were trying to hit...If there’s lack of clarity here, the rest of the debriefing will be of little value because you won’t know how to judge your success.”
b) Where did we hit (or miss) our objectives?
“Review your results, and ensure the group is aligned.”
c) What caused our results?
This part of the debriefing focuses on determining root causes so that you can create solutions for the future. “An effective tool for root-cause analysis is “5 whys.” For every answer you give, ask why that’s the case. By the time you answer the question five times, you’ve usually uncovered some fundamental issues that are holding you back.”
d) What should we start, stop, or continue doing?
You can’t stop at determining the ‘Why”. You have to answer this question to make change and move forward:“Specifically, what should we do next now that we know what we know?”
4. Codify lessons learned.
This step makes the lessons learned usable for the future. Leaving the discussion in the room won’t create lasting change in the company. Sharing the results with the company at large is essential for determining if bigger changes need to take place.
If you are not sure how to get started, use this format with a small project and with a smaller team before implementing it company wide.
Instituting regular debriefing sessions will assure that your company will adapt to whatever the future holds.
If you need some help getting started, reach out to G2 Solutions and we’ll show you the way.
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