Continuous (Self) Improvement

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” - Leo Tolstoy

Introduction:

Most people talk a great game about continuous improvement. And as a group, most of us truly agree with and see the benefits of, the concept as applied to our projects and teams.

Sprint Retrospectives, Post Implementation Reviews, 5S, DMAIC, PDSA (not the dog people) and so on.

But...

Do you practice it personally? I don't mean training courses, formal development plans and all the other bureaucracy that people step through stoically every year in a bid to get a pay rise.

I'm referring to the small (but meaningful) improvements we can make every day.

Or to work in an Agile principle:

"At regular intervals, the team (of one in this case) reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly."

Step 1: Feedback (aka input to the CI process):

Of course, all improvements need to be identified in the first place. With project, process or product feedback this is (or should be) much simpler; it's less personal and therefore less emotional than feedback about yourself.

When the feedback is about you there's an immediate temptation to respond emotionally rather than rationally. But in the same way that you learned early in your career not to get too attached to projects (hopefully), you should be entirely as analytical about your own performance and behaviours.

Being honest in our analysis of a piece of feedback not only provides an opportunity to improve but also shows those around us that:

1. we see feedback as an opportunity to improve, not something negative

2. we value self-improvement over our ego

And there's a virtuous cycle involved too; this attitude encourages more feedback as people are able to see that you value it and will take it as it is intended. Conversely, there are people direly in need of change whose colleagues have given up trying to help in the face of incredible levels of denial.

If someone is giving you feedback (whether you agree with it or not) and your first response is to start explaining why they're wrong... you have a problem.

Correction: you ARE the problem.

Someone you work with is taking the time to provide you with insight into their perception of your behaviour and you're throwing it back in their face? Most people find giving 'what can I improve' feedback a bit of a challenge. We're social creatures by nature and are not usually given to saying things that may hurt someone's feelings. So when it happens it is an opportunity not to be wasted.

Why?

You'll never get that person's feedback again - but they will still talk about you to others including your boss.
They may be less willing to give feedback full stop. Great - you've denied colleagues the opportunity to improve.
Whatever their previous impression of you, they thought enough of you to provide a view. A poor reaction from you can only make their view of you worse.

Whereas reacting positively to their feedback and make it feel worthwhile and perhaps even do something to change their perception over time, their view of you can only improve.

Who likes a diagram? Everyone, that's who.

I've thrown together a quick flow that I feel represents some of the key parts of the process of receiving and processing feedback. If you think it's missing something, please leave feedback in a comment (I promise to take it well).

I purposefully started the process in this diagram with another person's perception because that's where a lot of insight comes from.

And remember, PERCEPTION is what's important, not REALITY. People act and react based on their perceptions of people and things around them.

Embracing feedback in the spirit of CI gives you access to some of that perception.

The Johari Window explains this in pictoral form:

Area 1: We need hardly be concerned with area 1. This is a comfort zone and can teach us little.
Area 2: Ask and ye shall receive. It can be uncomfortable, but it is always useful.
Area 3: Don't ignore this just because others don't see it. The things that lurk here probably influence behaviour that other DO see. It can be surprisingly hard to be honest with yourself and yet not over critical.
Area 4: All that can be done with unknown-unknowns is to reduce them by expanding areas 2 and 3.

Step 2: Planning (aka preparing an improvement):

If someone has identified a massive flaw in their perception of you DO NOT recoil in horror or go off for a sulk. This could be a great opportunity (watch this video by ex Seal Commander Jocko Willink for an example of an awesome attitude).
That said - you might want a second opinion. Knowing how widespread a perception is will give you an indication of its priority in your life.

How will you measure any change you make? Do you already know enough to form a baseline? Questions you would ask straight away if improving a process and you are more important than a process. Any Lean 6Sigma types will already be elbow deep in DMAIK at this point.

Do you need any support? Chances are there's talent all around you (if not you should probably get another job/start spending time with a better crowd), so no matter what you're working on you should be able to find some insight. Don't be afraid to ask for support - people love to feel that their knowledge/skills are in demand.

Come up with an approach and be ready to adapt it if it doesn't work!

Step 3: Improving:

Once you've done the planning you're already invested, so get started asap. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to start. Plus, we want to start getting value from the change sooner rather than later.
You don't have to do it in one go - especially if it's something you find emotionally draining - find a sustainable velocity for you.
Don't take on too much at once. Limiting work in progress is more efficient, reduces context switching and ultimately prevents you from finding yourself with a vast heap of unfinished items.
Prioritise - Work on the things you feel are most important to YOU right now - it won't always be technical or professional improvements. Priorities will change over time but don't underestimate the impact of your personal health and a stable home life on your work. A comprehensive knowledge of enterprise architecture patterns is useful, but if you're taking 20 days a year off because of an unstable relationship, you may need to refocus your efforts.

Step 4: Rinse and repeat

To be happy to stop improving would require a person to achieve one of two states:

Perfection - or at least a jarring level of self-delusion.
Comfort - sometimes it's nice to get into a comfort zone and settle down. It's warm and fuzzy and much less effort.

Both can only lead to trouble and ultimately obsolescence.

But I can't end on such a negative note, so if you recall nothing else from this post, remember these two points:

Having something to improve does not mean there is anything wrong with you. You are not your behaviours. Behaviours can be changed and altered for various contexts. No-one gets it right all the time.
Feedback is an opportunity. Either to correct a faulty perception or to improve. So suppress the instinct to attack (or cry, depending on your personality) and grab the opportunity with both hands.

IT Project Management - life on the front line

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