Download 3.2. High-level diagnostic tool (Word, 4 pages, 65KB)

CSIT
A toolkit to help the culture, sport, green space & tourism sectors to
re-group, survive & re-grow the services for the community
Document 3.2
High-level Diagnostic (for leadership teams)
Assessing & understanding your organisation’s, or partnership’s,
current strengths & areas for improvement
“He who asks the questions cannot avoid the answers”
A Cameroon proverb!
Version 2 - April 2011
High-Level Diagnostic
Introduction
This tool part of CSIT1 enables you to move towards your Vision & Organisational Goal by triggering high-level &
significant improvement projects through a quick & incisive high-level diagnostic, conducted by your organisation or
partnership’s senior leadership / management team, based on the Vision for Excellence shown in Document Two.
This should take approximately half-day of focused discussions and needs to involve all senior leaders / managers
(within the scope of the improvement programme). Therefore you could conduct the diagnostic and plan high-level
improvement actions within one day. Consider the use of an external facilitator / challenge agent to help make the
exercise as effective as possible.
Method
The following process is recommended (adjust this to suit your specific needs & style – it is your Self-Assessment!):
1.
Give out the Diagnostic Tool on the next page to each member of the team
2.
Take one Characteristic at a time
3.
Individually (i.e. each team member by themselves) consider the Characteristic, reading the words carefully, and
decide which of the following statements best reflects the organisation or partnership’s current progress:
a = Not yet
b = We are in the early stages of developing this
c = We partly do this
d = We do all of this, most of the time
e = We have been doing all of this for a few years - we have assessed & refined our behaviour in this area
Shade or tick the appropriate box.
4.
When everyone has completed this for the Characteristic, discuss your perceptions and reach a team consensus
on ratings, strengths & areas for improvement (focus the discussions on the disparities)
5.
Move on to the next Characteristic and repeat the process
6.
When you have completed this, review your Self-Assessment and discuss & agree…
What are the three most significant areas for improvement, bearing in mind the vision, goals & priorities
of the wider organisation or partnership?
7.
Use the improvement planning guidance in CSIT Document 4 to plan a small number of significant improvement
projects
1
This version of CSIT has been designed and developed in association with Steve Wood [email protected]
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High-Level Diagnostic
Health Warning!
Remember that self-assessment is not a competition, a points-scoring exercise, a blame game or a way to
improve your image; it is merely an exercise to help you to agree priorities for improvement.
Ref
Characteristic
Shade the appropriate
box
1
We have visionary, forward-thinking, ethical, flexible, influential & self-determined leaders
who lead by example and are passionate about making a difference to the community
through the services, committed to working with civil society, system thinkers, not motivated
by building empires, honest brokers, skilled facilitators, advocates and willing to think & act
differently.
a
b
c
d
e
2
We understand that our organisation’s existence depends upon achieving tangible &
sustainable social, economic, environmental & health-related outcomes; we define what
outcomes we are striving to achieve based on the identified needs & expectations of the
communities we serve, focus all activities on achieving these results, measure & predict the
achievement of the outcomes base all decisions on facts.
a
b
c
d
e
3
We understand & respond to needs & expectations of all parts of the community, put the
community at the heart of the service, build capacity within civil society organisations and
deliver the services in partnership with the community bodies & volunteers.
a
b
c
d
e
4
We understand what ‘value’ means and are committed to enhancing ‘value for money’
through the use of techniques to diagnose & reduce non-value adding activity & waste,
sharing resources with partners, exploring creative opportunities for funding, developing
opportunities to win strategic commissions and making optimum use of assets.
a
b
c
d
e
5
We proactively seek, create & sustain mutually beneficial collaborations with public sector,
commercial sector & civil society organisations to achieve enhanced efficiency & value for
money, increased innovation, a ‘total place’ approach to services and mutual peer challenge
& support at organisational, team & individual level.
a
b
c
d
e
6
We nurture, generate & make use of innovation in relation to services, marketing,
partnerships and the way in which the organisation works (to achieve improvement in
effectiveness, economy & efficiency), and take advantage of emerging & unusual
opportunities to fund, develop & deliver services which meet the needs of the community.
a
b
c
d
e
7
We develop true ownership amongst its people & partners, creating one team which is
passionate about meeting the needs of the community, collectively responsible for results
and willing & able to change in response to the changing external environment.
a
b
c
d
e
8
We support personal learning, development, improvement & staff care for the whole
workforce, including professionals & volunteers in line with the present & future needs of the
organisation and the people.
a
b
c
d
e
9
We understand that the knowledge of people within the organisation & within partner
networks is a key asset & key part of the service, and identify, develop, retain, share & make
the best use of this resource.
a
b
c
d
e
10
We recognise the impact of our services, working practices & supply chain activities on the
local, national & global physical, social & economic environment and act on this when
planning improvement & service development activity to achieve the best results for all
a
b
c
d
e
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High-Level Diagnostic
stakeholders and the environment
NOTE: The above Characteristics are all Red Threads – they cut across the Themes & Criteria of the main CSIT
Benchmark. If you want to drill down into any of the Characteristics, use the relevant Red Thread Self-Assessment Tool.
What are the three most significant areas for improvement, bearing in mind the vision, goals & priorities of the
wider organisation or partnership?
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