DL Intro to CAM Environment by The Coaching Institute

CAM - ENVIRONMENT

Environment The Four Dimensions of Leadership Environment 1.

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What is the culture of the organisation, and the culture of the team?

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What is their purpose? Their goals? Their values?

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What is the emotional aptitude of the team?

ENVIRONMENT

2. STRUCTURE

3. IMPLEMENTATION

4. PEOPLE

Structure 

What measures are in place to measure performance and progress?

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What KPI’s are used and how?

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What policies and procedures are expected?

Implementation 

What systems are actually used? How?

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How are these systems taught and how is the success of the education assessed?

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How are the systems usage measured and communicated?

People

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What training has the person received in the structure and the systems?

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What ongoing feedback is given and what criteria for success is being used?

CAM as a framework The CAM Model is made up of the four dimensions of experience we will find in any situation or context.

It includes: 1. Environment – The qualitative aspects of the situation, including the vision, the values, the beliefs, the attitudes, the standards, the expectations and the purpose of the context we’re within 2. Structure – The quantitative aspects of the situation, including the benchmarks for success, the divisions of a company or within a team, the product centres, the operations manuals, the checklists, the policies, the procedures, and the lead measures and the lag measures 3. Implementation – What actually occurs, when it occurs, how often it occurs, who does it, when, and how do they demonstrate they’ve done it, what evidence is there it’s done, and who tracks it, how often, and how 4. People – Who is developed, what are they developed in (what areas), what skills do they have, how are those skills assessed and developed, what scope is there to go beyond their current abilities or skills, or often are they mentored, what’s expected of them within the mentoring, whether it’s formal or informal

Each of these dimensions has other forces at play, but these are the main areas we would consider when assessing and improving a team, an organisation or any context we find ourselves within. It’s beholden upon each of us to bring the very best aspects of each of these areas to where we find ourselves as leaders. It’s for us to set the benchmarks, maintain the benchmarks, demonstrate the benchmarks and improve the benchmarks. Then it’s for us to show others how to do the same, and thus creating leaders.

Question the standards, their usefulness, their purpose and how well they allow the purpose to be achieved. A leader wouldn’t simply accept the benchmarks they’re told. Find out why they’re there, how they work, how they’re measured. Seek to understand if they’re the right measures or whether they can be changed, improved or completely replaced. Never settle for the benchmarks you inherit. Question them, not to assume they’re wrong, but to see how you can add value and improve upon what you find. Show others how you do this. Constantly hand your learning onto someone else. There are always areas to improve. There is always something to learn about how something is done, could be done, should be done and will be done. Learning CAM is not a script. It’s not ‘I now get what it is’, it’s ‘I now see it wherever I go’. CAM (a terrible name) is about becoming faster and more effective at assessing a situation and seeing what can be done to improve it or enjoy it. It’s a framework by which we can make decisions, solve problems, change markets, win markets, develop people, give feedback, recruit, performance manage, and develop products. Its use is across all contexts and situations. It can be used at the most micro level of detail, all the way to the most abstract concept or idea. It can be used to drill down into tight solutions, or to move up into how a task links to a purpose. When thinking about anything, if you can link it to its purpose, measure how to achieve that purpose, take the steps to achieve that purpose and show others how to do the same, you are leading.

Environment Environment is the qualitative characteristics of the organisation. It can include some measurable characteristics, such as the goals of the organisation, but generally it contains qualities rather than measurable. The environment is the context in which we operate. It’s the space in which we find ourselves. It’s what forms everything else from here, including the decisions we’ll make, what we’ll care about, what we’ll attend to or what we’ll agree to or reject. It forms the basis for everything that follows. Environment includes (and is not limited to) –  Our culture  Our vision  Our purpose  Our values  Our goals  Our standards  Our expectations  Our attitudes  Our emotional aptitude  Our beliefs These are not to be seen as isolated, standalone concepts. They are interactive, moving characteristics that can and will vary depending on the day, the time, the people, the leaders, the economy, the events occurring and the events not occurring. It can depend on something as small as a missed meeting and as significant as a missed profit report. The environment will vary as a whole depending on the overarching purpose of the organisation – is it there to make money, or does it have a higher purpose? Is it there to defend and fight for justice, or is there to win against the ‘little guy’. Is it there to win at all costs, or is it there to have everyone feeling included? Do the ends justify the means?

Is process more important than culture? Is it more important that everyone feels included, or is it more important that the job gets done? Does the group care about how others see them, or do they pride themselves for marching to their own drum? Are there moments of acknowledgement, or is it all about the pay packet? Is there time to pause and think, or is it just about getting the job done? Can people give feedback, or is it discouraged? Is there an atmosphere of transparency, or of secrecy? Do people genuinely care about developing others, or is it ‘every man for himself’? Is the culture more bureaucratic or free flowing? Do ideas flow, or do they get stuck easily in paperwork? Do people scowl when a new idea is suggested, or celebrate it? Is there a sense of goodwill, or of isolation? Is there a feeling of trust and openness, or of closed doors and whispers? These are just some of the questions we can ask ourselves when assessing an individual, a team or an organisation in terms of environment. This is not a definitive list and could never be.  You could ask just as many questions when determining a market.  Are the prospects seeking security or adventure in their buying decisions?  Are the prospects congregating around a particular problem?  Do the prospects focus on problems or solutions?  Do they spend, or are they tight with their money?  Do they care about themselves or about others?  And so on…

Environment, at its simplest, is looking at the purpose of anything that is done; and ensuring that anything that is done is done to achieve the purpose. Environment is the context in which everything else is contained. We will determine our structures and strategies based on our thinking. We will determine our actions (and non-actions) based on our thinking.

We will determine our interactions (and their quality) based on our thinking. Environment most importantly includes the culture of the organisation and the team the team member operates within. This includes the vision, the points of culture, the attitude of the leader and the attitude of the team. If, for example, the team leader is failing to provide an environment that fosters the use of systems and innovation, it’s not appropriate to correct the team member about their lack of use of systems and innovation. I have seen a leader lack the ability to provide an environment that encourages innovation, and the effect it has on the team is profound – people literally stop thinking and just aim to ‘get through their day’. To then talk to a team member about their ‘attitude’ is entirely inappropriate, because the problem is not, at this point with the team member, who is simply ‘surviving’ in the environment in which they find themselves placed. The leader, then, has to think long and hard – and be honest with themselves – about the environment in which they place their team. Do they foster a culture that supports and focuses on the vision of the organisation, or is this rarely mentioned? Do they actively notice and comment on team members who represent the points of culture of the organisation in their ideal, or is this ignored until it is no longer observed? Do they seek out examples of innovation, or focus on making sure no one is feeling too ‘stretched’? Do they celebrate growth and striving to succeed, or nurture feebleness, lack of self worth and excuses? Do they seek to empower, or do they blame? Do they support, or bully? Do they ask questions, or tell? Do they seek to understand, or seek to be understood? The unwritten ground rules are the most telling indicates of the state of the environment in any organisation and what I listen to much more than the vision statement and points of culture. The unwritten ground rules (UGR’s) are what happens when the leader isn’t there. If the team is there to succeed, how they behave when no one is watching is as professional as when they are being observed.

“Culture is one thing and varnish is another” Ralph Waldo Emerson

For example, do you, the leader, know that Respect is one of the points of culture for your organisation, yet you yell at members of your team or berate them? Or does a member of your team turn up late to meetings, or miss deadlines, and then blame someone else? The ‘official’ policy is, be innovative. The UGR – it isn’t worth saying anything because your idea won’t go anywhere. The ‘official’ policy is, provide great client service. The UGR – close enough is good enough. The ‘official’ policy is, respect each other. The UGR – I’ll say stuff about you that I wouldn’t be prepared to say to you. These are examples of where the corporate rules are one thing but what actually happens is another. The written ground rules are one thing, and what happens is another. (UGR’s are assessed when we get to implementation, but need to be discussed here so you can see how they interact.) Environment is the context – the thinking – in which we operate. If we can’t think about it, we can’t create it, notice it, attend to it or care about it. Our thinking will determine and limit what we can achieve. If our thinking is bound by bureaucracy and judgement, then we will have an environment in which people will shut down and just go through the motions. If our thinking is expansive and possibility-focused, our team will feel they can expand and contribute. We, the leaders, create and determine what is possible for the context. It’s the little things. Someone comes up with an idea, and it’s shut down. People learn to keep to themselves. Someone comes up with an idea, and the idea is not acted on, for good reasons, but the fact that someone thought about it is acknowledged and encouraged. Someone makes a mistake and is criticised. They learn to not risk.

Someone makes a mistake and is commended for learning and encouraged to learn some more. They learn to strive for excellence. So many moments where the environment is set and the boundaries are established.

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SHARON PEARSON Disruptive Leadership Module 1 | Introduction to CAM Environment Edition 1 | Version 3 | December 16 Published by The Coaching Institute Copyright 2016 ÂŠ The Coaching Institute All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. In some instances, people or companies portrayed in this book are illustrative examples based on the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experiences, but they are not intended to represent a particular person or organisation.

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