Intensive Self-Assessment
What is intensive self-assessment? Why
do it? How does an organization get started? What resources and time does a tough,
self-critical review require?
Intensive self-assessment is a planned, structured,
and staffed evaluation of system or process performance against accepted
criteria. It takes place concurrently with the working process. It is not an
end-result inspection. It is not conventional continuous improvement.
You Have to Want It
Successful organizations want an
intensive self-assessment. Top executives and middle managers passionately care
about what is going on in critical areas and are ready to act on potentially unflattering
information when they find it.
Self-assessments fail when they only search
for ways to imitate others, satisfy regulatory agencies, or placate industry oversight
groups.
Your self-assessment must reflect your
organization’s unique style, while moving it in a positive direction. If you
have total quality, lean manufacturing, or Six Sigma processes already, we'll build on
them. Intensive self-assessment is no program du jour.
Be Tough, Be Realistic
Strong self-assessors choose standards of
comparison in advance and write them down. They waste no time with aimless
brainstorming. They systematically chase down valid performance data, convert
troublesome findings into problem statements, and solve those problems with root cause
analysis. Benchmarking fits perfectly here.
Just as standards of comparison enable
measurement, self-assessments must trigger concrete, measurable actions.
You must budget, schedule, and execute
Intensive self-assessments as valid “work.”
Why? Because they constitute
preventive maintenance on the organization. Self-assessments
are as valuable as equipment cleaning, calibration, and lubrication. Include them in
the annual business planning process, and support them at the highest executive
levels.
Intensive Self-Assessment IS Leadership in Action
Self-assessment leadership is a management
skill that contributes to career growth. Don't depend on idle or plateaued persons
for such critical work.
Organizational effectiveness staffs should
recognize and support self-assessment as "learning in action." Avoid
agenda-free group exploration sessions. Instead, develop leadership in real
time. Facilitate - never direct - people engaged in intensive self-assessment.
Make it “safe” for self assessors to
identify and discuss any issue they find. The first adverse finding you squelch will
be the last one you ever hear.
Proposed solutions must not create additional
investigative or defensive work, especially for the assessors. They must be free to describe clear paths forward
with no second-guessing or debate.
We Can Help
SeaState Group is ready to help you apply Fix-It-Once® principles during your next self-assessment, or we can help you plan an effective cycle of integrated reviews.