As a talent development professional, how vulnerable are you to jump into solutions and kick-starting the task? How often do you step back and take a pause to find out the real need of the proposed solution? This post is the second of the three-part series focused on the Analysis phase of the ADDIE approach to the change initiative at Bring Hope.
Recently, I was guilty of this very such thing. I jumped to solutions before understanding the true need. Consequently, my proposed solution did not fit the real needs of the organization (not a happy realization when you are well into your process!). If I moved any forward, the team effort would have been wasteful. As a result, I needed to take a step back to identify the real needs of organization. So, here is what I did. I crafted a questioning strategy adapted from the ROI model.
Ask questions – Create your plan with five simple steps
The key to uncovering the need is to ask relevant questions in the early stages of the discussion with the organization. Equally important, is to separate the questions into categories (as shown). Additionally, it enables you to see a visible impact at different stages. Next, gather the responses to the category-based questions and communicate your understanding with the different stakeholders of organization. You can do this by restating or capturing this information. Finally, gain alignment and agree on the next steps needed to initiate the change.
The Result
The five-step approach not only clarified the end goal for our project, but also defined the strategies needed, including creating five workstreams connected to five specific deliverables mentioned in the earlier post. Often, strategy is a visible challenge for organizations. Moreover, for not-for-profit organizations, who have more limited time and planning resources. This five-step approach using questioning, analysis, and alignment allows the organization to quickly build strategy by defining goals and aligning on the approach.
Building Capabilities
Creating plans will identify what the organization can do differently, there are very few organizations that can build a roadmap on how to build the skills and sustain the change. Bring Hope is one such that has a clearly defined roadmap to build on capabilities on the team.
Article
Check out this article, published on Harvard Business Review, provides some more examples on how to identify new capabilities your organization may need for your own strategic planning.
What’s Next
Tell us about your experience. What has been your approach to identify organizational needs, what worked well for you and what were your learnings? Remember, these learnings are only creating a better version of you!
Coming up!
Tune in for our third and final post in this series that will feature how the change was executed.
