One year on…
As the anniversary of going into the first national lockdown appears on the horizon, we’ll probably be starting conversations with the question “has it really been 12 months?” As today is the first anniversary of joining the fantastic team at QA, I thought it would be an opportunity to be ahead of the influx of reflective posts!
2020 started with a trip to Cheltenham–a lot had happened in the 20 years since I first made that trip attending a university open day. Thankfully, both trips ended with an offer to open the next chapter on life. I spent the last week of February with the skilled team that it had been a privileged to build at the Department for Transport before starting the new role in March. Few would have predicated what would have happened before the month was over.
As I look back, here are some key things that I have (re)learnt:
1. Sponsorship is much more important than approval
I first came across this statement in an evaluation of body-worn video cameras by the police. Just because you’ve been told you may do something doesn’t mean the organisation wants it or will support it happening. When there is sponsorship of a change by a sponsor who is active and visible, then you make progress. The same applies for anyone recruited to a role–having the job description approved is only half the challenge, especially if you are recruiting someone to disrupt the current way of doing things. Sponsorship creates the space for the change to happen. This as applies to organisation change as it is to increasing employee diversity. It requires proactive action, more than ticking boxes and saying ‘yes’ when asked.
I’ve been in situations where there is approval and then in situations where there is real sponsorship. It’s definitely something I’d be looking to understand before committing to any project or role change in the future.
2. Outcomes not job descriptions build better teams
In various leadership development sessions, there had been a point where people shared where and when they did their best work. I’d had opportunity to be part of a group of consultants who had a real clarity of purpose, and whilst each had their own role there was never a sense that this was “my job” or that’s “your job”. We knew what needed doing, and we delivered.
As I built a team, I wanted to achieve this same sense of shared purpose and link our work to the outcomes. I often said that job descriptions were useful for recruiting people but should put aside up on day 1 as you understand the strengths that person brought to the team. I knew the theory but wasn’t able to execute on it as much as I wanted.
Today I’m back as part of a team who knows what they need to do to deliver for the customer. That clarity and connection to purpose makes a massive difference. Simon Sinek wasn’t wrong when he said “start with why.”
3. Hybrid meetings are a real compromise
It’s been nearly 11 years since I was in a role that came with a desk. My laptop and phone were my ‘office’. I did my best thinking whilst running, I produced my best work on a train. I always believed that ‘being remote’ didn’t stop excellent work from happening. It is apparent from the last 12 months that when some people are remote, and some are in a meeting room, there’s hierarchy which constrains. The best conditions are when things are equal — all remote, or all in person. Not that the hybrid model can’t work — it just needs more work, especially on behalf of those person in the room.
I used to attend a meeting on this basis: if I wanted to hear then dial in; I needed to be “seen” so put the video on; but if there was a need to drive or influence, then I’d be there in person. That isn’t ideal, and it shouldn’t be how we rebuild in the future.
4. Working in the open is good, virtual working forces it
The benefits of working in the open are cited by those working on digital services as part of government. Joining DfT was the first time I’d experienced the calendar permissions being set to ‘open’ by default. No doubt there was plenty of diary surfing driving the rumour mill, but for me the benefits outweighed the downsides and I’ve taken this approach to my current role.
When people can see what we’re doing, when they’re involved early and see the workings out, then there is an opportunity for connections and ideas to build. Being seen in this liminal space as ideas develop is difficult because you want to be seen at your best. My experience is that it is worth it. I adopted the phrase “all models are wrong; therefore, I am wrong, but conversations make us less wrong.” It has proven this to be the case time and time again, and I see the benefit of the approach.
Working in a virtual world for the last 12 months has shown that it’s not only good to work this way, but it is also easier. The meeting is no longer about the changes that need to be made as a set of actions for someone to deliver, but about solving the problems there and then. The changes are made in the conversations as part of the workflow. That’s not to say there isn’t time for reflection and what Cal Newport would call ‘deep work’ but working in the open changes the focus and experience of being ‘in a meeting’ and enables real collaboration.
This is nothing new to the advocates of Agile — little and often with feedback. There seems to be something about being in a virtual meeting that just makes on-the-fly changes to work seem much more natural, and that’s a good thing.
5. Transferring skills and experiences to new domains is worthwhile
My career path has many twists and turns. I have stayed in roles longer than perhaps I should because of the ‘golden handcuffs’. I knew the job; the job knew me. Reluctance to change and to ‘start again’ was a barrier to taking new opportunities.
QA’s approach to developing new talent is to recruit for aptitude and motivation. We can teach technical skills and domain specific knowledge. This is my lived experience and am moving from being told this is true to knowing that it is true. Having this growth mindset, saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, not being put off by the challenge has been a source of finding enjoyment in and having energy for the work.
One of the most significant conclusions that I reached on a career development course was that success is mine to define. Just because there is a hierarchical career path to follow doesn’t mean that getting one step higher is a good outcome for me — that’s just the expectation of others. Letting go of this, focusing on what I was great at and finding fresh problems to apply those core skills to, is both liberating and enjoyable.
Turns out that I’m not the only person to think this — Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis at Amazing If describe this perfectly in their book The Squiggly Career. A recommended read.
The last 12 months have been a journey. I’ve run, walked and cycled over 5000 miles (the car managed a measly 1500!), learnt many things and gained a lot of valuable experiences. It might not have been the journey that was planned, but when did any change ever play out like we expected it to?
The future remains unpredictable, but that’s not a bad thing — join me in embracing it with the benefit of the last 12 months, not with regrets about what might have been.
