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Synthesis of project management and leadership principles that facilitate positive changes by appealing to people's rational and emotional sides
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Project Management for Positive and Lasting Change
Some thoughtsAnd Examples from the Island of Mauritius
Dr John Mauremootoo
Adapted from a presentation given to the Mauritius Protected Area Network (PAN) Project National Steering Committee Meeting,
Wednesday 2nd April 2014: PAN, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Port Louis, Mauritius
Project Planning, Implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation
www.inspiralpathways.com
Some Key Principles that underpin Project Management• Projects facilitate but do not create change• A growth mindset is essential• Most change is a process & not an event• Communication is everything & everything is
communication• Planning, monitoring and evaluation is integral to
project management
Structure of Presentation
Changing Hearts and MindsThe Elephant and Rider Metaphor
Structure of Presentation
"Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis introduces the metaphor of the rider and elephant. Haidt says that our emotional side is an Elephant and our rational side is its Rider. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched. So to make things work we cannot appeal only to the rational side of people. We have to appeal to their emotional side as well." ~ Chip and Dan Heath (2011)
Changing Hearts and MindsThe Elephant and Rider Metaphor
Structure of Presentation
Direct the Rider• Develop a shared understanding• Point to the destination• Know, show and grow the bright spots• Know who your partners are & how they interface with the
project• Script the critical moves• Learn and share
Changing Hearts and MindsThe Elephant and Rider Metaphor
Structure of Presentation
Motivate the Rider• Find the feeling• Rally the herd• Identify & implement quick wins• Embed change in culture• Shape the environment where you need to• Celebrate success
1. A project is all about facilitating lasting positive change – the project does not in itself create this change
Some Principles that underpin Project Management
Some Principles that underpin Project Management
2. To facilitate change one must embrace a growth or possibility mindset rather than a fixed mindset
John Mauremootoo | [email protected]. Most positive change is a process and not an event
Trying to implement change too quickly may backfire
3. Most positive change is a process and not an event
• We are always communicating• The meaning of communication is the response that we get• Communication is not a one-way street
• So we have to understand not only the messages we transmit but how they are received
4. Communication is everything and everything is communication
External events are transformed into thoughts via our filters which delete, distort and generalise these events
WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN UNIQUE MAPS OF THE WORLD
Individuals give events their meaning
• We need to understand the outcomes of our actions by monitoring early & often
• & translate the results of this monitoring into action
5. Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation is integral to Project Management
Change is all about people…Elephants
& their riders
How do we facilitate change?
John Mauremootoo | [email protected]
How do we Direct the Rider?
Develop a shared understanding
forums.macresource.com
The needto integratepeople’s diverse perspectives
Point to the destination• Develop a shared vision which:
• Functions as a lighthouse – something to guide our movement
bumblews.com
• & a star – something inspiring for us to reach for
arvidaxelsson.se
19
The Vision is your dream
Martin Luther King, Jr.August 28, 1963
Know, Show & Grow the Bright Spots
On May 6th 1954 Roger Banister became the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes a feat considered impossible by many.
Banister’s record lasted only 46 days and within one year thirty seven other runners had broken the 4-minute barrier.
Know, Show & Grow the Bright Spots
J Mauremootoo
The recovery of the Mauritius kestrel from a wild population of only 4 birds in 1974 to safety has inspired similar species recovery successes in Mauritius and all over the world.
MWF
The Brise Fer Old Plot was first weeded in 1986. It has become a bright spot and has helped to inspire a now rapidly growing area of restored native forest in Mauritius and Rodrigues.
Know who your partners are & how they interface with the project
Stakeholder Circles: A programme cannot control change, it can only influence and contribute to changes at the level of its direct partners
Implementing team
Direct partner 1
Direct partner 2
Direct partner 3
Community1Community 2
Community 3
Sphere of Control
Sphere of influence
Sphere of interest/concern
Project Partners have their own PartnersProject
Project’s Partners
Project’s Partner’s Partners
So a little (strategic) influence can go a long way
The famous Serenity Prayer speaks to the importance of accepting our
limited control
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,And the wisdom to know the difference.
Everybody knows something and nobody knows everything• Ask empowering questions…• Come in “clean” & really listen• Expect surprises along the way
Respect everybody’s map of the world
Plan the journey
Script the Critical Moves Plan tightly for the short term but not for the medium and
long term when uncertainty is compounded over time
Plan the journey
The Action Learning Cycle as a system of continuous learning by doing
• Learn & share
Plan the journey• Learn & share
WH
AT?
SO W
HAT?
NOW WHAT?
The Action Learning CycleAnswers the three basic questions
Everyone has a plan … until he gets hit!
~ Mike Tyson: American Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
The Action Learning Cycle is at the heart of Adaptive Management
M&E – finding the balance between…
Thanks to Ricardo Wilson-Grau & Michael Quinn Patton
But don’t make the system too heavy
Plan the journey• Learn & share
I can honestly say that we use these reports every single day of the year
Based on a cartoon by M.M. Rogers & Lawson Sworb
Plan the journey• Learn & share
I can honestly say that we use these reports every single day of the year
Based on a cartoon by M.M. Rogers & Lawson Sworb
Learn to COPE Create Once Publish Everywhere
But don’t just circulate the same stuff to everybody – different groups have different needs
John Mauremootoo | [email protected]
How do we Motivate the Elephant?
Find the feeling
Appeal to a positive sense of identity or help to create one, e.g.
• We are the stewards of our land for our future and for the next generations
• Together we can ensure that none of our species go the way of the dodo
• We are Mauritians and we are proud of our unique Mauritian plants and animals
J Mauremootoo
Rally the herd
• Work to establish norms• Norms are our Identities “in action”• Behaviour is contagious – people try to conform• Rallying the herd helps you to overcome
opposition by indirect means
Rally the herd
Don’t worry about getting all your ducks in a row
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer: German philosopher (1788-1860)
They will eventually fall into line if the idea is persuasive enough
Identify & implement quick wins
• What can be done RIGHT NOW?• How can value added/leverage be
maximised?• Use pilots learning by doing
J Mauremootoo Frankie Hobro
Planting on Round Island Weeding the forest Using tortoises to aid restoration
All of the above efforts started as pilot initiatives and have since become widely accepted
Identify & implement win-wins
• Can we kill two or more birds with one stone?• What can partners give and what can they get?• It's not just about me but about we• Doing well by doing good
J Mauremootoo Rachel Atkinson
Rodrigues native plant undamaged by cyclones Ecotourism raising money for conservation
Make change ecological
• Embed the change in culture
J MauremootooMWF
Village planting teams in Rodrigues adapting traditional systems for conservation
Management planning involving key stakeholders
Shape the environment where you need to
• Identify gaps & other obstacles• Which of these gaps are critical?• Which can be lived with for now?• What action can be taken right now to get
around these gaps?
Wikipedia.org www.rgbstock.com
Celebrate success• 20 years of the National Parks & Conservation Service
• Saving the kestrel - the world's most dramatic species recovery success
• Completing the jigsaw - consolidating the Protected Area Estate of Mauritius
MWFDurrell
THANKSfor Viewing
ReferencesChip & Dan Heath (2011). Switch. How to Change when Change is Hard. Random House.
Sarah Earl, Fred Carden & Terry Smutylo (2001). Outcome Mapping. Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs. IDRC
Jonathon Haidt (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis. Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books.
Jane Magruder Watkins, Bernard J.Mohr & Ralph Kelly (2011). Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination. Wiley.