Launch Your Initiative Conversation

At this point, you know What you want, When you want it, and Why it matters, and you have some ideas about Who is involved, Where the resources are, and How the work might be done. The next step is to have your Initiative Conversations and communicate to everyone the value of the future you want to build.

Some leaders launch initiatives by having one-on-one conversations, as Kate did with Mitch. Others begin with a focus group to help add more definition to the future they want to create, or make a corporate or departmental announcement. Depending on the size and complexity of the initiative, you will want to design the way you “roll out” the message and launch the conversation.

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Kate and Mitch came up with a variety of ways to support communication for the people involved in their project. They planned a way to introduce their initiative to the company’s senior managers at the next management meeting. They agreed that they would put their “What” poster on the conference room wall for their weekly meetings, and they would take it to the management meeting too. They also set up times for the HR staff to meet with the ITS staff, and to be able to reach one another by phone and email.

  They had Initiative Conversations with everyone on their list, and presented a proposal to the company’s management team in a way that would gain support for the resource needs. They held a joint meeting of the HR staff and the ITS technicians to discuss details of the Work Order System initiative and to learn about their staff ’s ideas and concerns. They talked with their vendors to get the new software licenses and arrange delivery of several new pieces of equipment.

You can take your initiative out to people in many different ways: physical meetings, televised announcements, gala celebrations, telephone and video conferences, and pizza lunches are a few that we have seen. Using a variety of communication methods can be beneficial, because different people are comfortable with different communication media. Some people are happy getting an email announcement, while others want to be part of a discussion group or special event, and others want to be told personally.

The important thing is to include everyone who might have a direct or an indirect contribution to make to the fulfillment of the vision. You want to give people an opportunity to learn about the initiative and think about how their own activities and environment will change. Your goal for Initiative Conversations is to get people talking. Be prepared to give them your What-When-Why message in as many ways as you think they can hear.

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There are many ways to open an Initiative Conversation. Some examples include:

• “I propose we start . . . What-When-Why”
• “Beginning tomorrow, we will develop . . . What-When-Why”
• “Our strategic objective is . . . What-When-Why”
• “Today is the beginning of . . . What-When-Why”
• “I want your support to implement . . . What-When-Why”

You will probably say this same initiative statement many times. One important job for a leader is to keep the big-picture goals alive for people by repeating them as the initiative progresses toward completion. Initiative Conversations tend to have short lives. Even when things are going well, people get caught up in their local details, and the big picture fades from view, so they need frequent reminders about the purpose of their labors.

Using a poster, a map, or some other visual display can be a good way to keep the goals of your initiative alive for people. Mitch and Kate used the poster in their meeting rooms that summarized the initiative statement. The United Way puts a “thermometer” out where everyone—staff and donors—can see the goal and the status every day. NASA’s Space Station offices had a sign in the hallway that read: “Number of days until launch is . . .” Someone updated the number every day. Some people working on the $100 laptop project have mock $100 bills stuck to the walls throughout the project area. These displays are quick and clear reminders of the future that people are working to realize.

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You do not need to be certain of success in order to invent a possibility and invite others to participate in fulfilling it. In fact, if success were certain, the desired outcome would not require any special creation or engagement. A little risk, or an uncertain outcome, can be excellent seasoning to spice up an initiative. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals are inviting, at least in part, because they are ambitious, complex, and uncertain.

The Leader’s Intent

The U.S. Army has a doctrine known as the commander’s intent. According to its Field Manual, the commander’s intent:

• Describes the desired end state—it is not a summary of the whole operation, but will serve as the single unifying focus for all levels of subordinates
• Is a clear and concise statement of the purpose of the operation, because long narrative descriptions “tend to inhibit the initiative of the subordinates”
• Must be understood two levels below the level of the issuing commander—its purpose is to focus subordinates on what has to be accomplished in order to achieve success, and to discipline their efforts toward that end

Leaders and managers can take a lesson from the commander’s intent. The idea is to focus everyone’s attention on “end states” (i.e., where we want to be, not on which pitfalls to avoid). Organizations, like battlefields, are volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (though hopefully not lethal). Leaders, including commanders, cannot guarantee control of a project merely through their personal presence. By specifying objectives as clearly and concisely as possible, subordinates are more able to take self-generated action to move everyone toward the objective.

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Whether you are a CEO, a department manager, or a team member, as a leader your intent is to engage people in collaborating to turn a possible and beneficial future into a reality. Your success will be a product of your own enthusiasm and commitment to that future, and your ability to regenerate the initiative often enough to keep others enthusiastic too.