Improving Productivity with a Lessons Learned Analysis
Improving Productivity with a Lessons Learned Analysis
I often use the term, Management is a Journey, Not a Destination, to make the point that managers must always adapt and improve their managerial skills to remain relevant in their organizations. No matter how good a professional becomes as a manager he can always still improve. Having a set of diverse tools to help him resolve the many challenges that comes his way is critical to his success. An important tool managers can use for process improvement, change management, staff development, and managerial effectiveness is a Lessons Learned Analysis.
A Lessons Learned Analysis is an honest, no-penalty discussion with a manager and his team. It is frequently used for project work at strategic points and at a project's conclusion. It can also be used for change management activities and for new assignments given to team members. The analysis answers five questions in the following order:
1. What did we expect to occur?
2. What actually happened?
3. What worked well and why?
4. What did not work and why?
5. What needs to be done differently?
To use this tool effectively, the manager must put on a different operational hat. For this role, he must become a facilitator. The manager uses questions (primarily open-ended), paraphrasing, and summary statements to guide the team discussion. He purposely withholds his own opinions until sufficient discussion has occurred. He ensures that everyone is heard and that all important issues are fully discussed. The manager's role is to facilitate the discussionnot dominate it or prematurely cut off team member discussion.
Managing this process can be tricky! It is important to give sufficient discussion to what worked well and to celebrate those successes. This helps to deal with the more sensitive discussions of what did not work well and why and what needs to be done differently. Starting off on a positive note transitions the group into the more difficult discussions.
These more difficult discussions are where the manager needs to excel in his communication style and in his own emotional intelligence. The manager must be open to feedback from his team about areas in which he could have supported or managed the effort differently. He should acknowledge any legitimate concerns and commit to making adjustments as necessary. With proper planning, support, and execution on the manager's part, his impact on a team project will likely be primarily positive, however.
Finally, there are important requirements a manager must meet to use a Lessons Learned Analysis. A Lessons Learned Analysis works best when a manager is secure in his role, able to manage his emotions and the emotions of others, and when he has built a relationship of trust and open communications with his staff. If the manager cannot meet these requirements, there is an alternative he should consider.
An alternative to the preceding approach is to have the team conduct its own Lessons Learned Analysis using trained internal or external facilitators to guide the effort with limited (or no) participation from the manager. The team's representative can present the work of the team to the manager. This is a work-around approach however. Managers are more effective when they can have open and honest communications with their team, themselves. Finally, nothing hurts a manager's credibility more with his team than to have everyone spend the time and effort on this analysis and then have him ignore the valid ideas and feedback the group provides. The devil is always in the details: implementing the Lessons Learned Analysis is just as important as conducting it effectively!
Done correctly, a Lessons Learned Analysis is an important tool for managerial success. It should be part of a manager's toolbox.
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