Intelligent conversations for teams help them to focus on what really matters. Team development events, away days and team meetings are all opportunities to review how the team works. The danger is that the team only focusses on what they are doing, a project review approach, rather than thinking how the team works and how they can better deliver. The most value comes from making sure the team is best equipped to satisfy their customers' and stakeholders' expectations rather than just updating each other on what has or has not been done.
The Six Conversations for Success ensure that the focus is not just on how the team works together but what the outside world thinks and feels about them and their work. In the commercial realities of today's world, teams and organisations are entirely dependent on the support and investment of outsiders. This may be in the form of financial investment from shareholders, loyalty from customers, or the tacit support of sponsors and stakeholders within the organisation. Unless the team provides what the customers and stakeholders want, they will seek other sources for a return on their investment of time, money or energy.
There are fundamental questions that any successful team or organisation pays attention to on a regular basis. These twelve questions cover six areas and together ensure a balance between an internal and external focus. Both are important in sustained success and if the team doesn't know the answers this should act as an early warning signal that the team's performance is out of line with stakeholder expectations.
Success Criteria
Who are our sponsors, customers and stakeholders and what are they looking for from their investment in us? What criteria are they using to compare us with other ways of achieving their objectives?Stakeholder Management
What are we doing to keep interested parties up to date with developments? How do we engage stakeholders in what we are doing so that they feel part of our work?Delivering on Promises
What is our track record for delivering against what is expected? How consistent are we in delivering on time, on budget and in line with expectations?Structure and Organisation
How do our processes and structures make delivering our outputs easy or difficult? How does our structure help the customers and stakeholders get what they need from us?Working for Each Other
How are we supporting each other in our work processes and delivering to customers? How do our working relationships and processes increase our customers' confidence and trust?Continuous Learning
What feedback are we getting that tells us what we need to do more or less of? What new skills or capacity are we developing that helps us consistently deliver quality outputs?The answers to these questions provide a rich source of feedback and information which helps the team make sure they are on track, not just with their current processes, products and projects but that their future is supported by all the interested parties who are key to their success.
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