Response B and D

[Lorna Beaton]

B.How do you engage a team in innovating when they have anxiety around change?

First and foremost I make time for innovation, I encourage content pitches on a Friday morning, anything goes. I don’t make a pitch mandatory as pressure to come up with something I think can stifle the creativity. My team are encouraged to share in open and free discussions about fresh ideas/plans. For those that are anxious they are encouraged to try out ideas, I will suggest “ lets do a small test and see what happens”. I also remind people unlike Apollo13 life is rarely on the line when we are trying out pitching ideas.



What is the relationship between innovation and steady state? Should innovation be embedded in steady state?

I had to look into what was meant by a ‘steady state’. It is defined by innovative activity in product and process terms which is about ‘doing what we do, but better’. I think in large public sector organisations innovation is probably harder to create and implement but it will still happen, perhaps as a fast or even slow follower. For example, the fire service will deliver a consistent service with the aim of preserving life but there will be periods on innovation with new regulations and say rescue equipment. Constant innovation in such an environment would perhaps be detrimental to day to day operations. However, innovation should be embedded in a steady state as things can always be improved upon. In the case of the fire service more lives could be saved due to innovation so innovation should always be embedded.



D. Post on the Discussion Board and Be Prepared To Discuss in Class based on the Apollo 13 videos:



- Where did you see innovation? Idea of saving fuel methodically thought through and calculated. The plan was then to squeeze every amp they could utilising all the expertise at pace.

- What innovations intrigued you the most? Square peg round hole innovation in action example. What appears impossible the team is motivated to “find a way”. Where most would give up, they were resilient, determined, and keen to innovate.

- What was the team’s response to the need to innovate? After quick brief, risks and objections raised all on board focused and motivated to move at pace.

- How did the leader drive innovation? Assertive and clear on what he expected, “Failure not an option”. Ultimately, listening, backing and trusting one of his engineers.

[gdidona]

Hi Lorna. Great post! I really like the fact that it sounds like you had already embedded the concept of a Small Test of Change even before we talked about PDSAs in class! I fully agree that, while our decisions within our programs truly do effect the lives of our participants, they often may not carry the weight of the immediacy of the life-and-death scenario faced in the videos. (With that said, as human service providers, we always do need to keep the mid- to long-term potential impacts on our participant in mind and manage accordingly.)

I think your approaches of effectively communicating the relative risk levels of proposing new ideas along with allowing for manageable amounts of change are particularly effective. Your example of the fire service innovating too rapidly is one that I would not have thought of, but is very poignant. If people do not have the ability to adapt to a change before the next change occurs (including an appropriate amount of time), then the innovation may not truly take hold. A concept within the Trauma field is that one potential underpinning of a person experiencing a situation as traumatic is if there is not sufficient time to manage the first change before another circumstance comes along demanding your time and attention.

Also, I appreciate that you noted Ed Harris' active listening, validating, and trusting as the core of his drive to innovate.  These are all traits of effective Critical Thinking.

[Lorna Beaton]

Thanks for such an invested response. Appreciated.