Inspiration can come in the oddest of places sometimes.
Several weeks back, I was preparing to have a medical procedure. It was not my first of this type. Historically however, I have had some troubles/complications with this type of procedure which as you may guess can cause some anxiety on my part. The doctor performing this procedure was aware of this fact and did something somewhat novel prior to anesthesia – he gathered everyone that was going to be involved in the procedure, brought them to my prep room, and had them succinctly go around the room, share their name, and what their specific role/job was during the procedure. This wasn’t 10 minutes of each person reciting their resume, their titles/departments, or establishing their bona fides – just quick “layman’s terms” of what their role in my procedure was in a few seconds each and a moment for me to ask questions. There were ~10 people (I didn’t count in the moment) and it took less than 3ish minutes (again with the lack of measurement in the moment). The effect was as desired: I felt more at peace after hearing the absolute clarity they had on who was doing what and when (we didn’t get into the why although that would have been interesting, it wasn’t necessary – “don’t kill me” was why enough for me).
The procedure came and went. I didn’t die. Things went as smoothly as those things can go as far as I could tell pre and post anesthesia. While in recovery, the doctor came by to visit so I asked him about the quick intros. I knew it was not standard operating procedure because it was a first for me but not the first time Id been through that exact medical procedure. The doctor was open about the idea, why and how he uses it, the process itself, and some self deprecation on his part on how the early attempts at this session failed. In listening to him, I noted that there were a few reasons behind it, which seemed interesting.
He wanted to attempt to build my confidence and help me relax. He knew Id not only had the procedure before, but had bad experiences. He knew that having had a similar procedure days prior, my body wasn’t responding well to the eventuality of going through the process again, nor was my brain. He knew that while my demeanor was casual and relaxed – prepared and calm for the simple procedure, every reading of every medical instrument screamed the opposite. He knew I was scared and wanted to try and help abate those feelings.
He wanted to ensure his team had clarity on roles and responsibilities before starting the procedure. While this sounds obvious, this isn’t normally done with an impromptu session in front of the patient. In many cases, the team often works together as a unit so they take for granted what the other should/will do. They do similar procedures all day so they are adept at both team work and at adjusting on the fly as needed. Since I had been a bit of a problem case recently and he wanted to keep my time under anesthesia down, he wanted to ensure clarity so the procedure could move as quickly as possible with minimal discussion/organization/adjustment during the procedure. He also anticipated potential issues specific to me as the patient and worked through agreed contingencies in advance, again to speed up the cycle time (although this was not done in front of me, it was part of the checklist).
He wanted to reinforce the stakes of this particular procedure. As mentioned, this team does this procedure regularly through the day/week, so it’s not uncommon for them. They are experts in their craft and as a unit. But, his concern was that level of skill used for monotonous procedures caused the team to not always be as sharp as needed, himself included.
The tailored example he gave me was that of a professional golfer playing a practice round with his buddies at home. He’s still a great golfer – better than most by a mile – greatly skilled, highly experienced, and very likely to win. But by the back nine with his pals, the most skilled player in the world will be far less diligent in what made him a great pro when he is just relaxed and playing. The round doesn’t have high stakes and he is by far the best player in the group, so a little lapse of focus leading to a mistake may cost him some ribbing but overall it’s just another day on the course and he can recover from any mistake with no harm done – compared to the back nine of a major on the final day. He’ll be complacent.
Clearly that little lack of focus leading to a mistake has slightly different ramifications on a patient. So my doctor found this quick personalization of the procedure (not just me seeing them, but them seeing me as a functioning human – mostly) increases the group’s focus and he uses this tool on any potential procedure that may a be a little out of the ordinary which happens every few days.
Clearly, for you and I, the overall concept may not translate (surgery, patients, etc.) but the point is probably glaringly obvious. Think about your big projects or high profile activities in your current role/environment. Would a simple process that builds stakeholder confidence, improves clarity & accountability, and heightens focus be a great addition to your project management tool box?
If we think in project management terms, think about having a quick post kickoff session with the sponsor and/or approvers of the project where you quickly (like 15 minutes tops) run through the overarching project and have all the key participants quickly outline what they’ll be contributing. I think everyone will walk away feeling more confident with the project’s direction in the early stages. It doesn’t ensure success, but it should galvanize everyone around what they need to do for the project to be successful while driving accountability as they personally will announce their role on the team. If you can find a way to do this while avoiding the politicking, posturing, and grandstanding that often happens in broad project meetings, both the team and the stakeholders will benefit. I know I will employ this regularly going forward…and Ill learn along the way how to make it work, much like my doctor did.
View from the Middle 