The Leadership Team Debrief
How your leadership team can be a role model for learning + a free downloadable template for Boards and Leadership Teams
The leaders I work with have a tendency to be future focussed, and always ready to tackle the next challenge.
It’s not necessarily that they need the excitement of something new, but that what lies ahead gives them a chance to do more, achieve more and often to make a bigger, more impactful difference.
Yet when focussing forward, the practice of looking back and learning from the past often defaults into the ‘low importance, nice to do’ box.
This approach, when coming from the top, sets the tone for the rest of the business.
But pausing to look back and learn from the past is a key ingredient in creating a learning organisation. Reflecting on your senior team’s performance has the potential to exponentially elevate your business’s success.
For military leaders, debriefs are a critical component of their operations. They understand the power of stepping back and reflecting on performance; whether it is good or bad. It underpins everything that they do.
Yet, outside of programme management, debriefs are much less likely to be embedded into core business operations.
Considering they can improve performance by up 25%, there’s clear value in making time for them.
It raises the question: Why don't we debrief more frequently at leadership team level?
Perhaps some of these reasons that might resonate with you:
Forward Focus: Leaders who thrive on getting things done tend to focus on what’s ahead. For many, the subconscious mind holds the perception that looking backward does not move you forward.
Relief: After major events, it is normal to want to put the experience behind you and move on quickly. After transformation or crisis, the collective sigh of relief and “thank goodness that’s over" can be almost audible. There’s a strong desire to move forward to something different and perhaps more positive, rather than look back.
Lack of Time: Debriefs commonly fall into the ‘nice to do’ box; deemed important but trumped by the urgent. Even the best of intentions can make it a challenge to dedicate time to debriefing, until too much time has passed to make it worthwhile.
Fear of Blame: The notion that debriefs can become platforms for blame can hinder open and honest discussions, stifling the candid sharing of experiences. These types of conversations are not something that people jump readily into, especially in a team setting.
Ego and Defensive Behaviour: Fear of blame and reluctance to acknowledge your own or others mistakes can create a barrier to productive debriefs. Defensive attitudes can lead to unproductive discussions, doing more damage than good.
Lack of Structure: In the absence of a structured approach, debriefs can turn into unproductive venting sessions. A lack of direction can render them futile and leave participants feeling time has been wasted.
Resistance to Change: Some may perceive debriefs as a disruption to established norms, leading to resistance from team members and leaders alike.
What else?
The wonderful thing is that every experience, whether a success or a setback, offers valuable lessons if you are willing to learn.
But becoming a learning organisation doesn't happen by chance, and leaders must be role models for learning. Incorporating regular debriefs is an essential tool to facilitate this transformation.
You may take 30 minutes, or you might set aside an entire afternoon depending on the scope and importance. But however long you invest, the benefits of a debrief far outweigh the time they take, especially when you get into the rhythm and they are well integrated into the way you and your leadership team work.
Because the goal is not just to look back but to view past experiences through a lens of innovation and creativity, stimulating new perspectives and ideas for the future.
Not only do regular debriefs improve your business performance, they enhance your leadership skills and behaviour too.
They provide an opportunity for sharing different experiences and diverse perspectives, enhance your quality of feedback, build trust, openness and communication within your senior team, all of which acts as a cultural cascade through your business.
To help you review and develop your leadership debriefs, here are four tools and thought provokers.
Use them to enhance the way you debrief as a leadership team, or as the foundation of a debrief in itself.
Debrief your debriefs!
Model: The After Action Review (AAR) is a simple, structured and widely used approach for conducting debriefs, especially in the military. It is a methodical process for assessing what happened, why it happened, and how to improve in the future. It begins with a clear comparison of intended versus actual results achieved and is forward-looking, with the goal of informing future planning.
Whilst there are different interpretations these are core steps:
What did you intended (plan): In the first phase of the AAR participants set the scene and acknowledge what the intended outcome was, and what you were aiming for.
What happened (facts): Participants outline the key events and facts of the situation. This is a straightforward account of what took place.
What can be learned (analyse): In this phase, participants delve into the causes and factors behind the outcomes. The focus here is on looking for lessons, not for blame. Identify both the positive and negative contributors to the results.
What should be done next time (recommend): Participants identify what may or may not work again, what would need to be done differently and why. The focus is on agreeing specific actions or recommendations for improvement.
What needs to be done now (act): In the final phase, participants agree who will do what, by when as well as who will be responsible for owning delivery. Importantly, identify too how this learning will be shared and used to inspire others.
This 1993 US Army Leaders guide makes for interesting deeper exploration of the origins of AAR’s, for those interested.
Think for a moment. In the debriefs that you currently do:
How does your leadership team currently approach debriefs, and how often do you do them?
Of the points above, which do you tend to focus more time on, over others?
What's holding you back from doing more effective debriefs within your team?
What's working well in your debriefs, and what could be better?
Assess: Regular debriefs create a culture where leaders and teams willingly embrace their roles in the organisation's success and failures; and a culture of accountability and responsibility grows.
How do your debriefs impact the way your team learns and grows?
What can you do to make debriefs a more positive and open experience for everyone in the team?
How can you make sure that you share lessons from debriefs and apply them in your everyday leadership culture?
What resources or support do you need to get better at debriefing and learning?
Toolkit: For a simple step by step guide that you can use to structure your debriefs, here is a free super simple and downloadable Leadership Debrief Plan:
Read: A Better Approach to After Action Reviews published in Harvard Business review delves into the myths of AAR’s in business and how to focus your collective time to do them well.
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