Enablers, barriers and team activities

Published

Enablers (this is easier when…)

  • Senior leaders champion the change and are clear on what ‘good’ looks like in practice
  • Leaders have a growth or learning mindset, which embraces testing things and learning from them
  • Staff are supported to bounce back from setbacks or when things go wrong
  • The culture values people for their expertise rather than their level
  • People share a common purpose
  • People can see the link between the agency’s values and how they contribute
  • Expectations are clear (for each level and each role)
  • People are accountable for results
  • It feels safe to try new things and learn from missteps
  • There are systems to pick it up early if things are going off track
  • Training is offered if new skills are required, including working in a new way
  • People have time to develop and practice working in new ways
  • Staff feel empowered to own their work.
  • Staff know their boundaries for taking risks and making decisions

Barriers (this is harder when…)

  • The culture values seniority above all else (hierarchy is deeply ingrained)
  • There is no common understanding of the operating context and what success looks like
  • Leaders don’t understand what staff do and vice versa
  • The senior leaders accountable for decisions lack visibility of why/how they were made
  • Ministers or Executive have a (universally) low tolerance for risk
  • Mistakes are punished and blame is pushed down. Failure is unacceptable or not talked about Performance management rewards personal achievement
  • Leaders are expected to be across every detail, so get overly involved in the work
  • Staff are discouraged from moving around, limiting their knowledge and networks
  • There are no clear processes for people to provide innovative solutions or feedback on decision making processes

Conversation starters

Use these example questions to start a conversation in your organisation or your immediate team about the current state of decision making and opportunities to improve it in line with the guidance on this website.

Questions

What are the most common decisions made in the team? This may include things like clearing briefs or other materials, case reviews, hiring decisions or expenditure of money.

Who currently makes these decisions and why?

What are the possible risks and/or benefits of lowering these decisions to another officer? Would that be appropriate to the classification and role?

Are there scenarios that demonstrate delegating responsibility rather than tasks?

Are there any recent examples where there has been collaboration with another team? What were the risks and benefits of doing this?

What are our people telling us? Are there clear ways for staff to ‘feed up’ suggestions or provide innovative solutions, particularly in relation to processes?

Does our organisation provide space for autonomy and collaboration at all levels?

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