Back to top

Process + Executive Leadership

Your starting point: 

Process improvements with a focus on executive alignment.

It looks like you're experiencing pushback from within the wider org about your team's processes. There may be a disconnect between expectations and reality. Or perhaps you need to sort out a few kinks in the way your team is working together. We recommend starting your adaptive journey here.

Starting steps: 
Get it all on the table

Since other parts of the organization are voicing frustration and concerns about your team's processes, you will need to dig deeper into their feedback and the challenges they're facing working with your team.

This could go two different ways, depending on the quantity and weight of the feedback given:

If you are seeing a pattern of feedback about specific, limited issues: If you sense broader discontent with your team's processes:
  • Consider setting up meetings with frustrated stakeholders to allow them to voice their challenges and express their ideas for improvement.
  • Consider setting up a survey to understand the issues that partners are having with your team in more detail.
  • In both cases, be sure to solicit a point of view from your team about how they think things are going.
  • We suggest a survey of your team that includes questions across a wide range of work streams such as prioritization, approvals, time management, briefing and tools.
  • This will be important for comparing how your team sees themselves vs. how the rest of the organization is experiencing working with your team.
  • Include space in the survey for them to share their ideas for addressing each challenge.
  • Once you've gathered this input from stakeholders and your team, group the issues into categories that enable you to address them systematically.
  • Rank each item with a simple weighting system based on frequency, urgency or impact to the business. This will give you a frame for understanding the relative severity of each issue.
Review with the team
  • Review the results of the feedback with the team and lead a facilitated discussion about the themes that emerge to gain further context.
  • Remove any personal callouts and instead focus on the process issues that execs and partners are facing.
  • Encourage your team to empathize with the exec team and other departments and try to model a sense of humility in how you frame each item.
  • Next, translate this feedback into a shared list of systemic issues that are clustered into groups that everyone understands. Remember that it's not about solutions yet—it's about identifying the problems to start solving.
  • Once you have clarity on the issues that need attention, facilitate a prioritization exercise to identify which problems to solve first.
  • We like using a weighted scorecard system. Individuals score items on their own. Then everyone's scores are combined to create a prioritization. Finally, each person gets a set of bonus points to use to alter the final weightings.
  • Keep these bonus points low so they only have value if team members can convince colleagues through debate to put their points toward the same items.
  • Based on the scores, create a backlog of the issues from highest to lowest priority. Spend time as a group assigning owners or committees to tackle the top issues.
Identify new processes to apply
  • For each process change, create a timeline for when it should be addressed.
  • Then prioritize your team's time depending on the size of the issues they are solving. Ask them to research possible solutions and put together a proposal for how the issues should be addressed and which processes they recommend for implementation.
  • Keep it light. Use the planning and proposal process to ensure each item has been given enough thought, but don't make it a heavy lift for projects to get going.
  • Use this planning work as a moment to return to internal stakeholders who provided you with feedback. Let them know how you are responding to their concerns. They may spot ways that your proposed solution can be improved.
  • Once you're sure you have good options for improving processes, provide your team with the support they need to pilot the new processes. Be mindful of your prioritization exercise and refrain from introducing too much change at once.
  • Make one team member responsible to oversee the rollout and adoption of each new process. This team member should check in with colleagues and groups to collect further feedback and ideas on how it can be refined.
  • As your team rolls out and implements each process change, be sure to include time for reflection, socialization of results and revision.
  • Remember that when it comes to change initiatives, how the change is communicated and supported is just as important as the change itself.

It looks like you're experiencing pushback from within the wider org about your team's processes.

“If you’re on a mission to make change happen, you want Modern Craft in your corner.”

Jon Mamela, CMO, Tourism Toronto

Modern Craft Privacy Policy

We at Modern Craft (Modern Craft Inc.) are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy covers Modern Craft’s treatment of personal information or personally identifiable information (both “Personal Information”) that may be collected or submitted when the web- user (“you”) are using either www.themoderncraft.com and www.startingpoint.com. This policy applies to both of the websites (“sites”) listed above.

1) Information We Collect

When you visit our Sites, you may be asked to provide certain information about yourself including First Name, Last Name and e-mail address.

We may also collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address and time zone. Additionally, as you browse the sites, we may collect information about the individual pages that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site.

2)  Our Use of Cookies

Modern Craft may use cookies to remember certain user information. Cookies are electronic identifiers that are transferred automatically to your computer through your browser that allow our computers to save certain information you provide us and store information about you so we can recognize you when you visit our website in the future. You may, at any time, disable or refuse to accept cookies by changing the preferences or settings on your web browser. Please note that if you choose to disable cookies, you will NOT be able to use Starting Point.

3)  Use of Your Information

3.1 Your information will enable us to provide you with access to all parts of our site and to supply the services you have requested. We will also use and analyze the information we collect so that we can improve and develop our business.

3.2 Where you have consented, we might also use your information to inform you of other products and services we offer that may be of interest to you and we may contact you by email. If you change your mind about being contacted at any point, please email us at info@themoderncraft.com

4)  Disclosure of Your Information

It is Modern Craft’s policy not to disclose, sell or rent your Personal Information to any individual, business, government entity or outside parties except: (i) to provide products or services you've requested through us; (ii) in response to a validly-issued subpoena, court order, or other legal process; (iii) when necessary to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal action; or (v) where you request Modern Craft to do so.

5)  Security and Data Retention

5.1 We employ security measures to protect your information from access by unauthorized persons and against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage. Please understand that whenever you voluntarily disclose Personal Information online this information cannot be made one-hundred percent secure and, in some cases, that information can be intercepted, collected and used by others. However, we work hard to protect your information at all times and protect your information in several ways. Your information is stored on a secure server that Modern Craft and can only be accessed through SSH security keys.

5.2 We will maintain your Personal Information of our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information.

6) Scope of this Policy; Third-Party Websites

Although this policy applies to the all site information owned by Modern Craft, it does not apply to businesses or entities that are not owned or controlled by us. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Please be aware that Modern Craft does not claim any responsibility for the privacy practices of these third-party sites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our site and to take reasonable precautions when sharing your personally identifiable information on third-party websites.

7) Opt-In Policy

You may "opt in" to receive newsletters, and other useful information from us. To unsubscribe from our mailings (except important system and content update information), you may use the unsubscribe link in the footer of each email from Modern Craft.

8) Accessing and Updating

8.1 You are entitled to see the information we hold about you and you may ask us to make any necessary changes to ensure that it is accurate or for its deletion. If you wish to do this, please contact us.
8.2 If we have collected and processed your personal information with your consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal
8.3 Object to the processing of your personal data: this right entitles you to request that Modern Craft no longer processes your personal data.

9) Changes

We may update this privacy policy from time to time in order to reflect changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Changes will be posted to the site and, where appropriate, through email notification.

10) Contact Us

For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by e-mail at info@themoderncraft.com or by mail using the details provided below:

1700-1177 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2K3, Canada