Supporting through change, part 2: the after action review
Last week, I shared some of the insights of my MBA students related to shaping culture and leading change. In their writing assignment, they chose the “most overlooked” element of the five keys for supporting members of an organization through change. These key elements are from the textbook, The Leadership Experience, by Richard Daft (p. 484-485) and are as follows:
Provide a positive emotional attractor.
Make sure people have a support system.
Use repetition.
Involve people early.
Apply after-action reviews.
There were two elements most frequently cited by my students as the “most overlooked,” and last week, I discussed one of them - make sure people have a support system. This element speaks to the emotional needs of employees, since establishing new emotional relationships is a bridge to establishing new skills and habits. Research supports the claim that leaders frequently overlook the need for this type of connection.
According to my students, the second most “overlooked” element is applying the after action review. As I ponder my own career, I recall a supervisor from several years ago who insisted on conducting a review of our projects and events, with the intention of using that information to improve our processes and most importantly, our effectiveness. I have to admit the habit annoyed me at first. Sometimes the event wasn’t even over before she began asking questions about what was working and not working. I just wanted to get through the event!
My response reflected a level of immaturity and a lack of patience and thoughtfulness. Over time, however, I started seeing the impact of the after-event analysis, and I noticed we were consistently improving, constantly looking for new and better ways of reaching our clientele. It also provided an avenue to talk about elements of the events or programs that didn’t work or that were burdensome on the staff or attendees. Over time, I realized the reviews led to a better experience for the attendees and for the staff. My habits during the planning stages changed, too, knowing there would be a thorough review at the end of the event.
My supervisor was leading us through a version of an “after action review.”
An after action review (AAR) addresses questions such as:
What were the intended results and the actual results?
What went well?
What did not go well?
Did we achieve our goal?
What changes need to be made?
This review should be dynamic, allowing for input from a variety of people connected to the process, project, or event. A written version of the review is helpful, since it provides consistent communication across the organization regarding the analysis of the event and intended future changes. Some organizations call this an “after action report;” however, I prefer the term “review” so that the emphasis is on the action rather than on the development of a report. The report is not the goal; the goal is to learn from experience and apply that wisdom to future work.
In Learning in the Thick of It, the authors describe the military origins of the AAR, what it is, what it isn’t, and what the corporate version often looks like. Here are some lessons for us.
Start at the beginning. The AAR begins before the event, process, or project begins. It’s impossible to answer the question, “did we meet our goal?” if we never defined the goal and specified what success looks like. In the military version, the commander begins the operation by defining the following:
the task: what the unit has to do
the purpose: why the unit will be doing it
the intent: the rationale and thinking behind the purpose
the end state: what the desired result looks like
Within our organizations, we should follow some variation of this. As leaders and managers, we should clearly communicate the task, why we need to do it, and what we hope to accomplish. What is the deliverable, and what measures of success will we use? Having a clear understanding of the goal from the beginning increases the likelihood of completing it and creates a common understanding of where the organization or team is headed.
Foster a culture of honest and open review. The AAR needs to be worth more than the paper it’s printed on. For it to truly have value, there should be an expectation of and support for open and honest feedback. If an organization has a culture of squashing divergent views or of fostering “yes men,” then AAR meetings will not produce the quality of feedback required for future improvement. In addition, when organizational members know the review will be meaningful and honest, their actions during the planning and implementation phases are likely to be more reflective and purposeful. As one military leader stated in the article:
“We live in an environment where we know we will have an AAR, and we will have to say out loud what worked and what didn’t. That leads to asking tough questions during the planning phase or rehearsals so that you know you have it as right as you can get it. No subordinate will let the boss waffle on something for long before challenging him to say it clearly because it will only come out later in the AAR. As a consequence, AAR meetings create a very honest and critical environment well before they begin.”
Honest and open feedback is not just a part of the review phase; it should be a part of the culture.
Be forward-focused rather than casting blame. One aspect of an AAR is accountability, but be careful to distinguish accountability from blame. Blaming someone for an outcome is not helpful, as it allows those allegedly not responsible for the outcome to walk away without a plan for change. In addition, casting blame during an AAR is likely to work against efforts to foster open and honest feedback.
Rather than looking to blame someone, every member of the team should analyze their own actions and identify ways they can improve as individuals. In addition, the team should identify how the future will be affected by what they learned - “for forging explicit links between past experience and future performance.”
Is the AAR overlooked in your organization? I suspect there are plenty of leaders and organizations who are skipping this powerful tool for improvement and culture-building. I know it’s easy to want to move on to the next project, but consider building the AAR into your leadership habits. ABL Wise Consulting can help!
Source: Learning in the Thick of It by Darling, Parry, and Moore
