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

Four Service Characteristics

Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.” Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...

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. ...

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

This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of this best practice has changed. See ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Updated Definitions in ITIL 4: Process Owner: In ITIL 4, the concept of 'processes' has expanded into broader 'practices.' Consequently, the Process Owner is now often referred to as the 'Practice Owner.' This individual is accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, and improvement of a specific practice within the organization. They ensure that the practice achieves its intended outcomes and aligns with the organization's objectives. Process Manager: Now commonly known as the 'Practice Manager' in ITIL 4, this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the practice. The Practice Manager ensures that activities are carried out as intended, manages resources assigned to the practice, and oversees the practitioners performing the work. Process Practit...

Search