When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.
— Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks
The word commitment comes from the Latin committere – “com” meaning with or together, and “mittere” relating to the word “mission” and meaning to release or to send. In other words, commitment speaks directly to a team on a mission with common cause. Often overlooked in problem solving and change management is the emotional aspects – Who cares about solving the problem? Who cares about making transformational change? Step 2 in change management is developing your team of problem solvers emotionally and passionately committed to the shared future envisioned in Step 1.
Excerpt from Teamwork 9.0
The next step in your problem-solving initiative is to pull together the team of people committed to solving the problem and realizing the vision of the beautiful world. Enneagram Type 2s are attuned to understanding the emotional connections that people have with the problem and with one another. They intuitively know who will benefit by eliminating the problem and thereby who will have an emotional stake in the problem-solving effort. Step 2 in the problem-solving process involves tapping into Type 2’s dynamic and recruiting team members who are passionate about solving the problem.
A few days after the Step 1 kickoff meetings, I hold a Step 2 meeting. I review the goals the team formulated and ensure that everyone is satisfied with the scope and wording. This process can take a little time; I wait for the team to get it just right.
Next, press your team to think through who they need to accomplish the goals. This activity is the heart of Step 2. Who needs to be involved in the initiative, from beginning to end? Were other people identified during the Step 1 meetings who are impacted by the problem in some way? If so, you should consider including them on the team. Is certain expertise required to solve the problem? If so, you should enlist the help of those experts. Will there be an impact on the workflow of any group or groups while solving the problem? If so, make sure those groups are represented. How about a need for systems or IT infrastructure? If yes, include an IT representative as part of your group.
Simply put, ensure that the people who need to be involved in both designing the solution and living with the results are represented on your team. These people are your stakeholders.
When building your change management team, do you consider the emotional connection each team member has to the problem and the mission? Do you consider the emotional impact of the problem on all stakeholders? How do you create impassioned commitment on your team?
[Video Transcript]
So who cares about the problem? Step 2 is where you identify the people who have an emotional connection to the problem. Enneagram Type 2 is often called The Helper. They understand the emotional desire to solve problems and want to chip in and help. In Step 2, you establish your team of committed stakeholders, those that will help solve the problem. This is your problem solving team.
Thanks so much for listening. If you like this, please leave a comment and share it with others. And please subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for the next episode. Thanks again.
Leave a Reply