Continuing With Continuous Improvement
I wrote about continuous improvement before and how I've been trying to tie that into my leadership role through changes to my one on one process. To recap, at our organization we try to roll continuous improvement into most things that we do. We're well aware that we're not going to get things perfect the first time, so as long as we have a process in place to learn, reflect, and adapt, then we can make changes to better our situation. It's something that's ongoing and it doesn't really have an end. So long as your organization is growing and changing over time, or the environment in which your organization is changing over time, having continuous improvement baked into your culture is key to success.
Previously, I mentioned that at Magnet Forensics I hold regular one on ones with my team members. I made a tweak to them that included summarizing notes before holding the one on ones and saw a great improvement. I felt that for now this would be a positive change that I'd like to continue on with. I'll keep reflecting on whether or not this makes sense over time.
What's next, then?
Recognition
Recognition is something that I think is fundamental to keeping people engaged, but it looks different for everyone. When I comment on things or share things on social media, I often reflect on how recognition is incredibly important. It's been a goal of mine to try and do a better job at recognizing my team members for the hard work they're always putting in.
That was my next hack for continuous improvement. How could I leverage my one on one time to do a better job at recognition? Well, if recognizing my team for things they do is high on my priority list, then it should fall high on the one on one discussion list. The first thing, actually.
So now that I create a summary of topics to go over in our one on ones, I reflect on what my team members say they work on and I toss in other stuff they may not have mentioned. Did they have big accomplishments in our sprint? Did they have things outside of work? Did they have tweaks they suggested for the team to try? Accomplish goals they set for themselves? I try to gather that information and comment on a couple of things at the start of our one on ones now.
I want the team to know that their hard work and their success does not go unnoticed and that they should all keep working to the best of their abilities.
Results?
I've only been doing this recently, so I can't quite say that I've noticed big differences. In my opinion, the team has been entering a solid groove over the past few months but it's hard for me to say whether or not these one on one changes had any impact. I like to think that they did. I've heard from several people that they're really happy with where the team is at.
Has this brought about anything negative? Were there any cons to rolling out this change? I'd say no, not at all. It's no extra effort for me to reflect on what accomplishments each team member has add. I mean, I'm not writing out lengthy documentation on each accomplishment, but I jot down a couple of points on what I want to call out. I think if anything, that quick exercise has been really positive for myself, if not for the other team member.
So, in the end, I think this small tweak has been a positive change for me in terms of doing a better job of recognizing the team. I also hope that the team has a better understanding that myself and others do see their hard work and efforts.
Keep on it, Team Magnet!