In this mini series about building a change team in the public sector, we have enrolled favourite fictional football manager Ted Lasso to help. In the first article, we discussed Step 1; the importance of having a diverse team with different capabilities and backgrounds. This time, we’re looking at the next steps - getting support from both your team and the wider programme, and making continuous improvements.
Lasso is the personification of a hearts and minds campaign. From his thoughtful gifts for someone having a tough time, to his final half-time talk when he encourages his players to “play hard, play smart, play together, and just do what you all do”, we can learn a lot about how to bring people with you on a change journey. This means a touch of Lasso kindness, positivity, and his trademark word “believe” in what you’re trying to do.
In the public sector, it’s important there is alignment between the change strategy and leadership. Change teams need buy-in from senior leaders; so develop a game plan tailored to your organisation’s capabilities and strengths. Find a sponsor in the leadership team to help make a case for change management by demonstrating its value, linking back your change objectives to the vision and aims of the programme. Use regular comms to be clear to senior leaders where their input or support is needed.
Alongside building support amongst senior leadership, you need to do so amongst your own change team. Lasso was a master at motivational speaking. If, like Lasso, you believe in learning from mistakes, giving 100%, and teamwork, you can use these qualities to build team spirit and the desired culture within your organisation. There are many ways to build resilience and maintain morale, so consider what works best for your team (and your budget!). Lasso used regular socials, and benefitted from having a very clear team objective (winning games), with a clear part to play for each team member. An easy way to build momentum in your team is to recognise the wins, highlight what worked well, and celebrate milestones.
Managing resistance amongst both your team and wider stakeholders will be part of the journey. Sometimes, people will be concerned or sceptical, especially if the changes do not play to their strengths. Listen to concerns, provide clear rationale for changes, and make sure you involve the team in the process by encouraging them to share ideas about the different ways goals can be achieved. Expect to have moments of fatigue; achieving lasting change is never a quick journey. Have mechanisms in place to monitor the readiness for change, using both qualitative and quantitative data. Monitor the teams’ workload and allow for recovery periods.
Also consider how ready the organisation is for cultural change. Prior experiences of change can affect existing mindset and previous failed attempts can cast a shadow over current and future attempts. Acknowledge to stakeholders where change hasn’t been successful in the past and get feedback so that you can learn lessons to demonstrate how the forthcoming change programme has been adapted.
A wider culture change may also be required to ensure your team and stakeholders have adopted a change mindset. To achieve this, start by defining the change behaviours your people need to exhibit. Perhaps you need them to display increased levels of empathy, collaboration, flexibility, and curiosity. Model these yourself. Carry out a gap analysis to identify how teams and roles can be supported to achieve this, and hold workshops to embed these behaviours.
Lasso and his team discussed a string of possible trick plays, each with an entertaining name, to get the wins they needed. Only a couple were used, but being adaptable, having plenty of tried and tested ideas up your sleeve, and adjusting to the game or project at hand is important. Good leaders make real-time decisions, adjusting their strategies based on the situation in front of them.
On the football pitch, the key performance indicator is the scoreline. In the public sector, it isn’t quite as straightforward, but you can measure success through feedback loops and change analytics. Learn from the information you gather and pivot your strategy accordingly. Have a prioritised backlog of any continuous improvement ideas that you receive through feedback, and have a process in place to implement these.
Ensure employees continue to develop their capabilities and integrate ways of working with other teams. Use a training needs assessment to identify development opportunities for your team, and ensure this is reviewed on a regular basis (e.g. quarterly) so team members are continually growing in their roles. For change teams it’s crucial to be linked in with any business analysts to ensure that the above continuous improvement changes are user-led and combat stakeholder pain points.
Both football seasons and change journeys are long, but Lasso manages to stay focused, dealing with setbacks in his quiet, determined way, refusing to be derailed. In the final episode, he encourages his son to do the same. “What do we always say, son?” Lasso said when a football match wasn’t going his son’s way. “Be a goldfish”, his son replied. In other words, be resilient, shake off the losses and approach each new situation with a fresh outlook. What a great lesson in football, in business, and in life.