Focus Magazine - Fall 2017 - 34

FEATURESTORY

Speed
is most likely to achieve success. is
type of leader benefits from a
progressive, repeatable skill set and
process that helps him/her translate
and implement required change
throughout their organization.
Regardless of the type of change, all
change initiatives require leaders with
the following capabilities:
* Masterful at seizing and translating
strategic direction.
* Ability to quickly accept the need
for and make a personal
commitment to drive change.
* Expertise in risk assessment and
identifying the potential impact
change may have to the company,
teams and people.
* Ability to sharply focus on
continuing business requirements,
while still pressing ahead with
change initiatives.
* Skilled at creating high-performing
teams that address pressing
business matters during periods of
change and concern.
* Eﬀective at coaching and can
address personal reactions and
resistance to change.

Speed
For athletes, speed is the ability to
think, react and move quickly. Images
of nine-time Olympic gold-medal
winner Usain Bolt come to mind. His
abilities to quickly charge out of the
starting block and accelerate his pace
through the finish line have made him
the best sprinter in the world.
Having the capacity to commit to a
change eﬀort and motivate others'
movement through a transition is a
contributing factor in successful,
strategic executions.

34

As leaders and learning
organizations, what can you do to help
an individual get up to speed quickly,
make decisions faster and respond to
customer demands more eﬀectively?
Consider eﬀorts and learning
programs that support the following:
* Integrating the voice of the
customer sooner into the process
and/or solution.
* Engaging in process improvement
eﬀorts that improve eﬃciency
and/or performance metrics.
* Streamlining governance and
processes that result in shorter
decision time and/or review cycles.
* Developing change management
and stakeholder engagement
capabilities.
* Accelerating development of highperforming teams.

Strength
Athletes, no matter their sport,
oen dedicate time to a disciplined
strength training regimen to improve
overall performance. ere is nothing
more inspiring than seeing a relay
team who can overcome the flawed leg
by one of its own team members and
then find the strength to finish strong.
e same can be said for developing
team and individual change agility
through eﬀective coaching and
development planning.
During times of change one of the
most important roles a leader plays is
assessing team and individual

Strength

readiness for change, as well as
determining what support is needed
through transition. In both cases, a
leader needs to develop a transition
plan that leverages strengths and
addresses specific performance gaps.
Below are a few best practices for
transition coaching:
* Identify transition challenges that
employees face personally and
professionally.
* Understand individual strengths
and development needs related to
those challenges.
* Conceptualize and take appropriate
action by setting specific goals and
timelines.
* Assess, understand and evaluate
the impact of those actions, and
adjust, as needed.

Coordination
In sports, an athlete must possess a
high degree of hand, eye and body
coordination. is is defined as "the
ability to control the body in
cooperation with the body's sensory
functions (e.g., hand- and eyecoordination to catch a ball)." From
the team perspective, wins are
achieved through an aligned eﬀort.
In an organizational setting,
coordination can be described as
working well with others, engaging in
joint problem-solving, aligning on
determined objectives and partnering
with cross-functional colleagues.
In this evolving marketplace, one of
the biggest challenges
facing life science
companies is to
improve the level of
collaboration and
coordination with
customer-facing
teams; those who
service large and
complicated
healthcare delivery
systems and
stakeholders. ese

FOCUS | Fall 2017 | www.L-TEN.org
http://www.L-TEN.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Fall 2017
