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| Q: What is an action plan and why should I spend time writing one down? |
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A: Oh don’t get us started on this question! We believe that one of the most powerful romances people should have in teams, is the one they will have with their action plans!
Divergent thinking is a natural human response in complex situations. Or even in simple situations, like how to park a car. Some of us like to reverse into a spot, some like to go in forwards. Or think about another simple thing, making toasted cheese - some people like to add tomato sauce, some like paprika on top, some are purists. We are all different, but the cars get parked and the toasted cheese gets eaten.
Unfortunately teams don’t normally get together to park one car, or to make toasted cheese, so things tend to be complicated. If you’re going to get a large group of people to move forward on a complex situation, there needs to be a way to bring Divergent Thinking into a state of Parallel Thinking. Your action plan, one single action plan for the team, must exist to identify Divergent Thinking, and to make sure that Parallel Thinking is sustained. If you are leading a team it is critical that there be one single course of action that the team can get behind. That single course of action needs to be written down in an action plan that can be shared with the team.
An action plan alleviates conflict in teams because there is greater understanding of common purpose and whose role a particular responsibility is. It will also include who needs to do what and by when.
Less blaming, less confusion, less "he said, she said". More directed thinking means happier teams, quicker response times, focused action and more results. |
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