Your Mission, Should You Accept It
This is it! You are in the final stretch!
By now, your handout packet should be completely filled out with no more than one or two questions lingering. Make sure you take this opportunity to get what you need. Hop on some office hours. Do what you need to do. Don’t let this slip by!
Your focus this module will be these three things:
(1) taking care of any loose ends in terms of unresolved issues, unanswered questions, etc.
(2) individually and collectively clarifying your commitment. This is where it all comes together.
(3) Creating a 90-day plan to make sure you have momentum to build upon all the fantastic work you’ve done in this course.
Any questions? Ok – go team!
Task #1: Make a 90 Day Plan
We recommend working in 90 day increments. We learned how to do this from the Rapid Results Institute and have used it for many years with great results.
Get clear on who does what for the next 90 days, then reconvene around two months from now to create a new 90 day plan. This approach to planning reflects the “command center” mindset, one where rapid testing, learning, adjusting and improvising is the norm.
When we do this training in person we give each team a piece of flip chart paper and some stickies to construct a plan right then and there. We’re open to ideas about how this might work best virtually, especially given that many of the teams coming through will have their own pre-existing project management processes already in place.
The instructions for how to do this are in the attached document. Please modify them to adapt to what you already do. If you don’t already have something in place, you might want to consider a free software program/app like Trello that is essentially a virtual flip chart paper with stickies that can be used across team members. Or a google sheet.
Please give yourselves half an hour to an hour to complete this exercise as a team. Then actually do the things you said you’d do – on time -without needing to be reminded!
You got this!
Task #2: Make a Dream Board
You may want to make a dream board. If you do make one, please send us a photo! We’d love to see!
I’ve shared a couple of my personal and professional dream boards below to prove you don’t need to be an artist to do this!
Instructions on how to do that in this video.
Task #3: Commit
Making a commitment is one of the most powerful things you can do about as a leader. By committing, I mean gathering your energy and moving toward a desired outcome.
You may or may not get there – that’s ok – there’s no shame in that game. Just listen to our podcast episode with Elizabeth Cushing. She talks about how Playworks didn’t quite meet their aim – but having an aim in the first place was a game changer for their organization.
Game changer.
Committing is everything. I even wrote an entire chapter about it in my book, Impact with Integrity: Repair the World Without Breaking Yourself.
So — even if you fail — what are you willing to commit to again and again — to give everything you have no matter what comes your way?
THAT. Commit to that.
And how do you want to be as a leader – no matter what comes your way?
THAT. Commit to that, too.
Inner Work: Reflections on Module 11
Assuming you’ve completed your 90 day plan, crafted a dream board, and clarified your commitment, shit just got real.
This is often the point in our live trainings where teams hug and take selfies. You’ve worked so hard, you’ve come so far, you’ve actually completed an 11 module online course. And each module was chock full of provocations – any one of which might have resulted in you completely redesigning your solution or your plan to go to scale. So congratulations!!
How are you doing? How are you feeling?
Here’s what I know for sure: you are going to be a whole lot more equitable in your approach and a whole lot more effective in your implementation as a result of taking this course, that I know for sure.
But you may or may not achieve your aim.
Time will tell.
Regardless of whether or not you and your team achieve your aim, what are you, personally, willing to commit to, no matter what?
In other words, what will be your touchstone, your north star, your guiding compass, to help you navigate the inevitable ups and downs of the work ahead? What is nonnegotiable from your insides? Write your commitment down here and if possible write it on a rock or permanent marker on the wall where you work so you can remind yourself everyday.
I commit to _________________________________________________________________.
Then go celebrate – you deserve it!