Building a Collaborative Culture with the Simple Mantra: Discuss, Decide, Champion

Guest host post by Lisa Schwartz, ITSM Academy Founder and Chief Experience Officer

Many years ago, I attended a presentation at an itSMF conference where the speaker introduced the audience to the mantra; Discuss, Decide, Champion.

It's a decisive approach to building a healthy culture. Culture is more than a buzzword—it's the essence of how we interact, work, and live together. At the heart of a thriving culture is a simple yet powerful mantra: discuss, decide, champion. This approach fosters open communication, decisive action, and unwavering support for shared goals. It is a powerful tool for promoting positivity and discouraging negativity.

Discuss: The Foundation of Understanding

Every strong culture begins with open dialogue. Discussing ideas, challenges, and solutions openly and honestly allows for a diversity of perspectives. It's through these discussions that we gain a deeper understanding of each other's viewpoints, fostering empathy and collaboration. By prioritizing open communication, we create an environment where everyone feels heard and valued.

Decide: Turning Talk into Action

Once the discussions have laid the groundwork, it's time to make decisions. This step is crucial for maintaining momentum and ensuring that the ideas generated during discussions don't languish in limbo. Decisive action demonstrates commitment and builds trust within the group. When decisions are made collectively, they carry the weight of shared responsibility, making implementation smoother and more effective.

Champion: Supporting and Advocating

The final piece of our mantra is to champion the decisions we've made. Championing means advocating for and supporting the agreed-upon actions. It involves rallying behind the decisions with enthusiasm and determination, ensuring that they are executed with the same passion that fueled their conception. Champions are leaders and motivators, driving the culture forward and inspiring others to do the same.

Building a Culture of Success

By embracing the mantra of discuss, decide, and champion, we cultivate a culture that values communication, decisive action, and mutual support. This approach not only enhances productivity but also strengthens the bonds within a community, whether it's a workplace, a social group, or a broader society.

In a world where change is constant, the ability to adapt and thrive hinges on our cultural practices. Let's embrace this simple yet profound mantra and watch as it transforms the way we connect, collaborate, and succeed together.

Comments

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group. As a service provider, we can’t stop there! We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer. Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include: Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods. Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you. You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you. ...

The Four Ps of Service Design - It’s not all about Technology

In the rapidly evolving landscape of IT service management (ITSM), the principles of service design have expanded beyond just focusing on technology. As we embrace new methodologies and innovations in 2024, the Four Ps of Service Design remains a critical framework to ensure comprehensive and effective service delivery. See also: The New Four P's of Service Management These Four Ps are People, Processes, Products, and Partners. 1. People: At the core of any service design are the people who deliver and consume the services. In today's world, this includes a diverse range of stakeholders from employees and customers to vendors and partners. Effective service design considers user experience (UX) and employee experience (EX) to ensure services are intuitive and meet the needs of all users. The rise of AI and automation has transformed roles, making it essential to invest in continuous learning and development to keep skills relevant. 2. Processes: Streamlined and efficient proc...

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

I was recently asked to clarify the roles of the Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner and wanted to share this with you. Roles and Responsibilities: Process Owner – this individual is “Accountable” for the process. They are the goto person and represent this process across the entire organization. They will ensure that the process is clearly defined, designed and documented. They will ensure that the process has a set of Policies for governance. Example: The process owner for Incident management will ensure that all of the activities to Identify, Record, Categorize, Investigate, … all the way to closing the incident are defined and documented with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and deliverables. An example of a policy in could be… “All Incidents must be logged”. Policies are rules that govern the process. Process Owner ensures that all Process activities, (what to do), Procedures (details on how to perform the activity) and the...

Search