Finding Focus

Focus is often thought of as an individual effort but writer Kare Anderson suggests that it also acts as a kind of social cement that holds teams together [1]. An example of this is a sports team. Each player has their own focus which influences their own performance but to achieve success, the entire team, all the players, the coaches, trainers, managers need a collective focus. The same is true in an engagement readiness practice, focus anchors the organization’s engagement efforts. While individual team members come to a project with a focus, working to reveal the common focus brings the team together and supports an efficient and effective approach to engagement.

So, how can focus be found?

Capacity and expectations are two important inputs when exploring engagement focus. Capacity is about what the organization has and what it needs in order to be able to produce and deliver the engagement. Expectation is about considering past influences, current circumstances and the values motivating the engagement both internally and externally. Before figuring out focus for an engagement, it’s important to work through these two inputs. For guidance, check out our blogs on capacity and expectations in an engagement readiness practice.

The process for finding engagement focus involves thinking about the internal and external context of the engagement opportunity, asking questions that will help Frame, Organize, Clarify, Understand and Select the engagement approach and then using that information to act. Below is a table that breaks down each element and some key questions to guide “focus finding” communication and deliberation.

Being ready to engage means understanding what needs and will get attention. Thinking, asking and doing helps breakdown assumptions. Rita Gunther talks about the challenges these assumptions can present in her article The Destructive Power of Assumptions. The key questions noted above, and any others you can think of, help overcome these challenges by illuminating the ‘truths’ being held by individuals and the team. Making these visible enables the group to address them up front. This helps create shared understanding, clarity and, the focus needed for the project team to move forward together.

[1] Anderson, K. (2012). What Captures Your Attention Controls Your Life. Harvard Business Review.