TOC/CRT Inspired Excercise

[katarzyna.jasinska]

Exercise using the fundamental assumptions of the thinking tool called Current Reality Tree CRT coming from Theory of Constrains by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.

The idea on how to use it in Team Coaching Process.
When:
(just one example) After the Team Diagnostic™ results have been revealed to the Team and after the Team have had a good discussion on the outcome, we can invite the Team to decide which TPI needs to be worked on in the first place as the one which the Team would like to lift-up in order to strengthen the Team effectiveness in reaching the Teams KPIs.
It is possible to apply this exercise at different stages of the team process and in many different contexts. It does not have to refer to one TPI, it can be done from the broader perspective of entire section of Productivity or Positivity or in relation to other different topics.

Objective:
To engage the Team in a creative process of describing the current situation, discovering, defining and naming their own beliefs and to find the areas they want to change for the future.

Flow:
Step 1: Encourage the Team to define the point for extended analysis
– What would you like to focus on? e.g. Proactivity
– What is your goal in this respect?
– How are you measuring your proactivity now?
Step 2: Ask the Team to make min 5 max 10 statements describing / referring to the current situation
– What are does enhance your proactivity now?
– What does limit your proactivity now?
– What desirable effects do you experience?
– What undesirable effects do you experience?
– ……
(As a coach facilitating the discussion, make sure the Team states what currently exists, NOT what currently does not exist; take care of on-going visualization of the statements e.g. post-it cards attached to a flipchart or on the board, can also be don on-line using one of the virtual tools).
Step 3: Encourage the Team to find cause – effect relations
– What two statements seem to be in relation?
– How do you see this relation?
– Which of them is the cause?
– What of them is the effect?
– Is there any missing link (missing statement) between them?
– How do you know such relation really exist?
(As a coach facilitating the discussion, keep exploring based on the flow of the Team discussion; take care of visualization of the relations by drawing arrows pointing in the correct direction from the cause to the effect and keep adding missing links in the same way. Of course tracking the visual side can be done by any Team member as well. When new statements added, make sure the Team will find and visualize potential relations with all already existing statements).

Step 4: Encourage the Team to expand their perspective
– What does the current reality tree tells you about your current situation?
– What are other consequences of those statements?
– What are other causes you may add?
– How does it look like for you now?
– How can that bee seen from the perspective of others you work with?
– How does it impact other Productivity TPIs?
– How does it impact Positivity TPIs?
– What other TPIs have impact on Proactivity?
– Is it really your current reality tree?
– What is the most important out of the entire picture?
– What is worth working on?
– What is worth enhancing?
– What is worth changing?

Step 5: Encourage the Team to make an action plan for what they want to change and to commit.

Product and conclusion:
The Team defined the key area of change: items for strengthening and items for improvement, reduction, elimination etc. The Team addressed the topics and formulated actions to be taken. The Team committed to introduction of the actions defined.
Additional supportive tool that can be used here, is the Impact/Effort Matrix on which the Team can place all the planned actions in order to start building the sequence and defining needed resources.

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