THE LAUNCH WAS THE EASY PART
ALIGN Practice: Nurture
Have you ever attended a launch party?
They are fun and full of energy. People talk about how hard everyone worked to bring the new idea, system, or initiative to life.
There are fewer parties for the next stage.
No one throws a we are not yet sure this will work party. There is rarely a recalibration party when the original milestones prove unrealistic.
Yet that is where much of the leadership work begins.
Launching sets a priority in motion. Nurturing it means maintaining leadership attention as the organization learns what it will take to achieve the intended results.
That includes:
• checking progress regularly
• recalibrating milestones when the evidence calls for it
• addressing resource, communication, and implementation gaps
• continuing to develop staff as proficiency grows
• keeping the priority visible across the organization
• celebrating the wins along the way
If leadership diverts its attention away from the state priorities, the organization will follow. When leadership sustains its focus on the stated priorities, the organization will follow.
In my experience, a two-year window is often more realistic for maximizing the intended results of a significant change. The first year is new and uneven. In the second, leaders can make year-to-date comparisons, see how fully the change has been integrated into operations, assess what has become routine, and determine whether the intended results are being achieved.
That does not mean every priority deserves two years. A fully resourced, properly implemented priority that is moving in the wrong direction needs to be reconsidered. A viable priority gaining forward momentum may need continued attention, even when the milestones differ from what was originally scoped.
A launch may get the biggest party. Nurture makes sure there are wins worth celebrating along the way.
In ALIGN℠, this is the work of Nurture. Momentum is sustained when practices are embedded and supported over time. Leaders steward culture, check progress, and adjust as conditions shift.
Satement #9 in the ALIGNment Snapshot reads: Leadership demonstrates ongoing commitment to stated priorities, staying attuned to progress and adjusting course as needed to reach the objectives.