Facilitative Leadership & Creative Problem Solving

Facilitative Leadership and Creative Problem Solving:
Two Tools for High Performing Business Analysts

Developed by Andy Wilkins
andy@perspectiv.co.uk

Perspectiv IIBA, 3 March 2011 © Perspectiv LLP

Agenda

1. The situation
2. An overview of Facilitative Leadership and
Creative Problem Solving: 2 useful tools for
business analysts
3. Questions and answers


“Here be dragons…”


Norms for us to work with in this session

My commitment to you is to: I need you to:
• Work to maintain your interest • Engage in the session (avoid distractions)
• Provide an opportunity to think • Consider what you have to ‘ go’let
about some new ways of working of to maximise your learning

As I can only ever own 50% of a contract, are you happy with this?


Faced with a choice between changing one’mind
s
and proving that there is no need to do so,
almost every BA
gets busy on the proof.
John Kenneth Galbraith

perspectiv

Setting the stage


Some questions…

Who here sees their work in business analysis as
something to do with…
1. Change?
2. Creativity?
3. Problem Solving?
4. Innovation?


Setting the stage…

•How would you characterise the future
environment for business analysts?
•What is your image of what the business analysts
environment is like?
•What is your view of the 21st century business
analysts environment contrasted with the 20th
century?


How do you see the world moving?

Or towards more like this?
Perspectiv
Towards more like this?
IIBA, 3 March 2011 © Perspectiv LLP

Some of our assumptions about the environment are that
your organisations may increasingly be required to …

•…be fitter and more adaptable in order to succeed
•…continuously strengthen your capability to
respond quickly and imaginatively to internal and
external changes
•…thrive at the speed of change and on the edge of
more and more chaos & complexity


And this environmental complexity may include…

•…heightened economic uncertainty
•…increasingly discerning customers
•…conflicting stakeholders needs
•…relentless demand for faster response
•…diminishing global boundaries
•…fierce competition


The world of business analysts…
•They need to evolve, change, and transform
•They need to become:
•strategic leaders of change
•to provide exceptional requirements management
•to facilitate divisional communications, joint application
design sessions, and process mapping workshops;
•to be able to be part of high performing teams;
•and build relationships using emotional intelligence.
•In short, to be able to master a unique
combination of hard and soft skills.


Some recent reports
BCG and WFPMA 2010 Report:
• "Improving leadership development." (Second most important factor).
• "We are looking for two things: great problem-solving skills - the ability
to take a really messy problem, disaggregate it and drive to data-
driven answers - and really deep business sense." (Google)

IBM CEO Report 2010:
• Creativity is the most important leadership quality, according to
CEOs. Standouts practice and encourage experimentation and
innovation throughout their organizations. Creative leaders expect to
make deeper business model changes to realize their strategies. To
succeed, they take more calculated risks, find new ideas, and keep
innovating in how they lead and communicate.


A FTSE 100 directors thoughts…
• It's the relationship that really matters. The 'soft stuff', if you like. We are
not selling, we are here to help.
• It's also about language and having a shared language over time.
• It's about how you help people get to where they want to get to.
• It is about holistic - systemic - collaborative thinking.
• It's about creativity and innovation and bringing insights from other
industries beyond just technology.
• We have to find time to think creatively so that we can increase value.
• It's about having the moral courage to challenge and push back at times.
• It's about letting go.
• It's about feedback - watch any high performing team - they don't hide
issues and giving each other feedback.
• It's about creating an environment that fosters ideas.
© Perspectiv LLP

• It requires an inquiring and collaborative mind.


We are playing a
new game by old rules
Barnett, a Pentagon’New Map
s

The new rules

The old rules


What sort of problem is a business analyst's work?


Knotty problems

Managers are not confronted with problems that are independent of
each other, but with dynamic situations that consist of changing
problems that interact with each other. I call such situations
messes... managers do not solve problems: they manage messes.
Russ Ackoff

Pull
here


What sort of problem is a business analyst's work?

Hi: Far from
agreement
People/Social/Behavioural

Wicked Problems/ Wicked Messes/
Complex Chaotic
Complexity

Lo: Close to
agreement

Tame/Simple Messy/Complicated
Problems Problems

Lo: Close to Hi: Far from
certainty certainty

Task/Technical/Process
Complexity

We fail more often because
we solve the wrong problem than because
we get the wrong solution
to the right problem.

Russell Ackoff


Wicked Problems are characterised by …
• Complexity - interconnectivity - scale - novelty
• Unforeseen new structures
• Unexpected new properties
• Radical and incremental innovation
• No definite formulation of the problem
• Each problem is essentially unique - often has not been faced before - and is
entwined with other problems
• The search for solutions never stops
• Solutions are not good or bad or limited, but are judgment calls and are often
difficult to measure.

Wicked problems often crop up when organizations have to face constant change or
unprecedented challenges. They occur in a social context; the greater the disagreement
among stakeholders, the more wicked the problem. In fact, it is the social complexity of
wicked problems as much as their technical difficulties that make them tough to manage.


So what sort of leadership is required to
address wicked problems and wicked messes?


Some questions

•How many people in the room would call
themselves a facilitator, at times?
•How many people in the room would call
themselves a leader, at times?
•When facilitating, how many people in the room
would see themselves in a leadership role?


The ‘’ skills & competencies
T of
Intra and interpersonal skills - people ‘
Soft’skills
(even ‘
harder’
skills)
competencies such as: learning & teaching,
management, leadership, communication, As a rule of thumb,
intra and inter personal
listening, problem solving, innovation,
competencies
creativity, change, values/culture, teams and account for about
groups, building & mending relationships ….
Source: Daniel Goldman Emotional intelligence

60-80%
of the factors
that will determine

‘
Hard’skills your success

marketeer, technologist …
competencies- engineer,
Content, functional, IQ,
As a rule of thumb,

specialist skills –core

accountant, designer,
IQ contributes about
20-40%
of the factors
that will determine
your success


Examples of 'T' ness
IBM - the T
shaped
Do we IDEO: often quoted as the
professional
world’most innovative
s
recruit company
drillers Design Thinking
who can

Discipline Thinking
learn, or
learners

CQ+PQ>IQ
who can
drill?
Question asked at
BP

Horizontalize Yourself
© Perspectiv LLP

Facilitative Leadership
• This session will aim to share some further thoughts and ideas to the
wisdom that already exists in the business analysts community related
to Facilitative Leadership and Creative Problem Solving –two tools
that may help prepare business analysts to achieve their ambitions.
• Creative Problem Solving is a tried and test 50 year old method based
on people’natural problem solving style and which integrates easily
s
as a complement to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge as well
as other methods such as Lean and Six Sigma.
• But as a client recently said to us: “
Whilst Creative Problem
Solving, Lean, and Six Sigma are all excellent methods, they are
no good if you can't bring people with you, create a productive
environment, and make it work in practice. This is what
Facilitative Leadership provides.”


Our definition of Facilitative Leadership

Process-oriented
inclusive leadership
that involves interactions
among two or more people


Facilitative Leadership pays continual
attention to four areas
• Facilitative Leadership (FL) is a type of leadership that is required when faced with
problems that have people and technical complexity (often referred to as 'wicked problems' - they
are complex and defy simple formulations and easy solutions)
© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc. and Perspectiv LLP

• Facilitative Leadership involves taking a systems approach by paying attention to
creating a productive Climate, through an inclusive Leadership approach, and the
disciplined use of deliberate Process such as Creative Problem Solving and
others such as Lean and Six Sigma to achieve the desired Outcomes.
• The defining feature of
Facilitative Leaders is that People
they offer process and
LPI
structure rather than Outcomes
directions and answers. Climate
In every situation, they know
how to design ways that enable
people to find their own
answers.
Process


Have you ever considered the
climate or atmosphere
in your team or organisation
or the climate that you create
around you?


You might be thinking to yourself….

“ trying to understand atmosphere like trying
Isn't
to nail jam/jello to the wall?”

“
Anyway, how can you measure atmosphere?”

“ I don't really believe it is as important
And
as the hard and technical stuff.”

© Wilkins & Stuart-Cox

Climate is different to culture
Climate
The observable habits
that characterise life in an
organisation.

Culture
The values and beliefs that
reflect the deeper
foundations of the
organisation.


What Does It Say?

Opportunity
isnowhere


The fish is the last to discover water


The dimensions of a healthy climate


The leadership/management behaviours and
climate and performance links

Performance
Management
& leadership Climate
behaviours


Another question…

One of the ways we separate leadership from
management is to point out that leadership is
bestowed on you by your followers and
management is bestowed on you by your boss.

This then raises an intriguing question: what are the
top 4 characteristics of leadership in order for
people to willingly follow (you as a BA)?


Facilitative Leadership contrasted with
Managerial Leadership… 1
Facilitative Leadership Managerial Leadership

Helps others to contain, ameliorate of Helps others by bringing content and
Focus solve a problem – agree a coherent
to power and some process expertise to
way forward using a 'process' approach the situation

Process Skills Developed Limited

Content Limited Expert

Based on Credibility: Based on Positional Power:
Competence/Expertise in Leadership
• •Reward Power
Power • Honesty •Coercive Power
•Forward Looking •Legitimate Power
•Inspiring/Believable •Expertise in Content Power


Facilitative Leadership complements and enhances
other methods such as Lean and Six Sigma
People "FL-CPS & Lean Six Sigma work extremely well together"
Davies, Donoghue, and McNamee
© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc. and Perspectiv LLP

Climate LPI Outcomes

Process


Creative Problem Solving v6.1 is …

•…a 50 year old process (method) based on how
people naturally solve problems. (The current
version is V6.1)
•…a model to help you solve problems and
manage change creatively.
•…a set of easy to use tools to help translate goals
into reality.


Prescriptive view of process

Drop
problems
© Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

in here
®
® ®

®

®

®
® ®

®
® ®
Receive
solutions
® ® here
®

perspectiv

The descriptive CPS 6.1™process
Getting Ideas
Model used with permission. © Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.

You know what the problem is,
but you don’ know how to get
t
Generating new ideas to solve it
Ideas
Clarifying the Challenge
You’ not sure what you want or
re
where you want to go
You don’ have, or haven’ explored
t t Planning for
all perspectives
You’ not sure what the real
re Implementation
problem is You have new ideas, but you
don’ know how to transform
t
them from ideas into reality

Constructing
Planning
Opportunities Your
Approach
Exploring Building
Data Acceptance
Developing
Solutions
Framing
Problems


The FL-CPS toolbox

GUIDELINES FOR GUIDELINES FOR

GENERATING OPTIONS FOCUSING OPTIONS
•BRAINSTORMING WITH POST-ITS® •ALUo (Advantages, Limitations, Unique
•BRAINWRITING qualities, overcome Limitations)
•IMAGERY TREK •EVALUATION MATRIX
•LADDER OF ABSTRACTION •HIGHLIGHTING
•MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX •MUSTS/WANTS
•BRAINSTORMING ENHANCERS •PCA (Paired Comparison Analysis)
•VIR (Visually Identifying •SELECTING HITS
Relationships) •SML (Short, Medium, Long)
•BRAINSTORMING •CRITERIA

CHOOSING TOOLS FOR GENERATING OPTIONS CHOOSING TOOLS FOR FOCUSING OPTIONS


If your situation includes this…
• Imperative to change. Employee survey says we are not
very good at it. Got to try and take people along the
change journey. Traditionally, we have not worried about
the softer issues like bringing people with us. This means
we have to increase ENGAGEMENT.
• Also our organisation design requires us to
COLLABORATE across the business. In the Old Way,
command & control worked but not if we want to be at the
Frontier.
• When working on change we have to look at the HEAD
(does this make sense?), HEART (how do we feel about
this and is it being done fairly?) & BELLY (how fired up
and courageous are we to be part of it?)

… this… you and your organisation
or are
experiencing..

• ..'products/outcomes' that are based on the collective
wisdom of the group - or based on those that have the
most verbal dexterity and the loudest voice?
• …emphasising speed too much at the expense of quality?
• …not having a consistent process for solving our
organizational problems?
• …a lack of clarity about roles in change?
• …a need to work more collaboratively as we move
forward?


Facilitative Leadership
People
Inclusive Outcomes
Leadership More Improvement,
Climate
Productivity,
Productive Growth
environment
Generating Process
Ideas
Deliberate
Method


Constructing
Planning
Opportunities Your
Approach Building
Exploring
Data Acceptance
Developing
Solutions
Framing
Problems

Model used with permission. © Creative Problem Solving Group Inc.
Creative Problem Solving

Further information
I hope this provided some useful insights about Facilitative Leadership and
Creative Problem Solving. If you would like to obtain more information or
maybe attend a course, the following resources might be of use:

Courses are available from:
• www.perspectiv.co.uk
• www.thinkfirstserve.com
• www.thedevelopmentdifference.com

Recommended books:
• Creative Approaches to Problem Solving (3rd edition). Isaksen, Dorval,
Treffinger.
• Meeting the Innovation Challenge. Leadership for Transformation and
Growth. Isaksen and Tidd.


Facilitative Leadership and Creative Problem Solving:
Two Capabilities for High Performance Business Analysts

Developed by Andy Wilkins
andy@perspectiv.co.uk

Facilitative Leadership & Creative Problem Solving

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