One bite at a time.
It has been said that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
Mendy Shaffer, Vice President of Accountingof ValleyStar Credit Union shared a story with me that I asked her if I could pass on to you. I found it to embody the work that we do in multiple ways and thought it could be helpful and some of you could perhaps borrow it to use with your own teams as you go through process changes.
ValleyStar has gone through a considerable amount of organizational change due to multiple mergers and acquisitions in the last 5 years. The changes have caused significant adjustments in workflow and has required necessary upgrades to their systems of operation as people from different organizations find new ways to co-create the type of workplace everyone will want to experience. Every department has been effected as their CEO, Delbert Lee Morgan, has lead their organization through this culture change.
In the midst of these changes, their accounting department had a large process change that would take months to implement and work through. An 18-year veteran of ValleyStar, formerly Martinsville DuPont Credit Union, Sharon Clark had an idea. Why not take the concept that the best way to “eat an elephant” (implement a major change) is “one bite at a time” in small, incremental steps, and turn it into something tangible and fun that would track their progress as they took each step towards completion.
The department bought a puzzle of a huge elephant. Each time they complete a step towards what “right will look like” when the project is fully complete, they put a piece of the elephant puzzled in place.
How can your team turn what seems like a monumental task into something that can track the small steps required to make progress, be inclusive and fun? You and your team can turn something hard and intangible into something visual and tactile.
Please share your struggles and triumphs with me so we can co-create tangible, practical solutions and share them with others.
Delbert Lee Morgan, CEO of ValleyStar Credit Union will be one of the main speakers at the upcoming Cortex Leading a Winning Team graduation coming up on January 31st at the Shenandoah Club, along with Bob Cowell, Roanoke City Manager. Find out more about attending with a graduate or Cortex Council member by sending an email to [email protected]. It is an interactive event that inspires graduates, alumni and their guests to continue to thrive at work and in life.