Notes from one of the sessions at Marie Jasinski’s Inspired Minds:  Harnessing Your Power To Innovate, Lead and Change workshop for NSW LearnScope projects. 12 September 2003 at Australian Technology Park Redfern.

Marie presented her circle of innovation with four quadrants relating to Purpose, Systems, Implementation and Review. For each quadrant of Marie’s circle of participants identified key issues and question arising from them. The various notes taken are compiled here for you.

Key Issues and Questions

Purpose – Issues

• Fighting to get things done – need for champion with positional power
  
• Know structure, so can use it – to see opportunities
  
• Using right language to influence
  
• Need for business literacy, to know the structure and who has positional power
  
• Need for contingencies
  
• Lack of identified innovators at all levels.
  
• Create the organisational ecology for champions and innovators.
  
• Being an innovative leader in relationship support services
  
• Knowledge of resources available and of the status quo
  
• Interpret and accommodate the interests of each stakeholder – identifying stakeholders.
  
• Initiate, clarify, communicate continuous improvement.

Purpose - Questions

• Can you be an innovator if you can’t influence?
  
• How do you get everyone to identify with the purpose?
  
• How can we better identify and champion, utilise, encourage and celebrate the innovators in our society?
  
• How do we get from the “i” in initiative to the “i” in infect?
  
• What are the differences between the process of supporting clients through change and applying that to our organisational change?
  
• What are your needs as a stakeholder to frame this project?
  
• How do we infect/influence stakeholders to bring about this project?
  
• How can we reconnect with our purpose and project?

Systems - Issue

• Need for business literacy to know systems
  
• Instability and insufficient dollars.
  
• Be able to innovate with the rules not by the rules.
  
• Problem if a team doesn’t see need to find person in power to push boundaries.
  
• Compliance issues.
  
• Very strong culture therefore it’s hard to be different.  Cultural compliance is more repressive than systematic – very hierarchical.
  
• Know and play the game of the hierarchy.
  
• The organisation is more like the emotional system of a family, with a story culture, rather than being strongly systematised.
  
• No permanency to role of project manager and no “how” to progress.
  
• No decision on technology
  
• Business rules
  
• Identify all systems and determine whether they assist or hinder project.

Systems - Questions

• How would it affect the system, change manoeuvres instead of change management?
  
• How can the system accommodate and support change?
  
• How can we capitalise on enforced change?
  
• How can we manoeuvre within the system?
  
• How does innovator/maverick identify a person with the wisdom to influence?
  
• How can the system adapt/accommodate the change and support it?
  
• How can individuals be innovative within a culture of strong conformity and with a minimum of documented systems?
  
• Why are the business rules taking precedence over the process?
  
• How can we improve our feedback processes from technical trainer and learning facilitator?
  
• How do you sort out the “gives’ and “givens”?
  
• How can the system give?

Implementation – Issues

• Out of date teaching/learning practices.
  
• Lack of communication from either side of chasm.
  
• Bridging the chasm
  
• Happens in lots of different ways.
  
• Plan with contingencies
  
• Testing water, piloting, focus groups, modification.
  
• Timeframe for implementation e.g. develop tool and then use of pilot programme
  
• Monitoring of it happening and sculpting of its use
  
• Choosing the right person for the right stage of job.
  
• Without one or two committed passionate people, plus teamwork most people feel overloaded and tend to refuse new jobs.

Implementation – Questions

• How will your current target market benefit?
  
• What is the process for implementing innovative teaching and learning practices?
  
• How do we identify the chasm jumpers?
  
• Where do facilitators get the necessary skills for the implementation phase?
  
• Will the plan work for you?
  
• How do you get key people, especially the manager, onside to implement the change?
  
• What are the stakeholders going to gain?
  
• How can we ensure that the business rules are adhered to?
  
• Who determines the “maturity” of each stage/person or a project?
  
• How to communicate expectations and monitor implementation?

Review – Issues

• Insufficient reflective practice – time to think, reflect, play.
  
• Challenge the past practices.
  
• We need structure to ensure review happens
  
• Evaluation reflection, ask for feedback, do survey.  Use focus group.
  
• Evaluation and measurement of process and enhancement of learning.
  
• Review/evaluate for continuous improvement.

Review - Questions

• How will we reflect on this to take the next step – feedback techniques?
  
• How do we measure impact?
  
• How do we take what we have done and extend into current practice?
  
• How do we encourage?
  
• Where are we now and what can we do with it?
  
• How can we thrive?
  
• How do we get from “e” in evaluate to “e” in enhance?
  
• How do we ensure the results of the reflection are taken up?
  
• How do we measure, and further improve, what the impact has been?
  
• What are the differences between our process of supporting our clients to be reflective, and the need for reflection on our own organisational change efforts?
  
• How do we measure the outcome of, and project impact on, the stakeholders?
  
• How do you sort out the “gives” and the “givens”?
  
• How do you keep momentum and improvements going?
  
• What is the effect of team strategies on project outcomes?
  
• Are we afraid of reflection?