I wrote recently about how I’ve made writing a multi-year habit. Part of that habit is showing up for myself, and allowing myself the grace to write in less elaborate or less formal ways when my brain won’t comply with proper paragraph structures or narrative. So here are just a handful of moments from this week.
5 things that happened
· I met the team who monitor and manage our live service. I asked a bunch of questions about e.g. service metrics, incident monitoring, continuous improvement. It was reassuring to hear how much is already in place, and that we have scope to make things better over time.
· Steve hosted a lunch and learn all about working in the open, which I joined to cheerlead/ask questions/encourage colleagues to join in. Steve’s talk was unsurprisingly excellent, and he generated enthusiasm in the room for even more sharing (the team in question already work in the open to an extent, but there’s always more that we can do).
· I hosted our weekly ‘surgery’ for users from local authorities. I’ve attended a few in the 2+ years they’ve been running but this was my first time in the hot seat. The team made it very easy for me because they answered all the questions, but I helped a little bit with timekeeping and making sure questions didn’t get lost in the meeting chat.
· I met with another of our policy teams (there are a few with different focusses), prompted by their request for system changes. It was a useful conversation to understand what’s important to them, what they’re trying to achieve, what options they are considering/have considered, and also to set some boundaries around what technology can and can’t help with.
· A new team member joined us on Wednesday, and another is off to pastures new next week. I’ve been trying to make sure both individuals feel supported and appreciated as they onboard/offboard, and that we have the right spaces for people to talk and transfer knowledge.
5 things I’ve been thinking about
· The roadmap for the next 12 months. I’ve reviewed what we already have, which is quite granular/team focussed, and started shaping it into something that has a longer view. The previous version isn’t wrong, we’re still using it, but it’s helping my creative brain to work in a different medium for the moment. I’ve shared my thinking with a couple of trusted folks to get initial feedback, and I’ve more to do before we share wider.
· Communication and choosing the right words. The language we use day-to-day is always important, but I sense my words have taken on a new gravity as I’ve become more senior. What I say really matters to people. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I communicate, and asking for feedback from the team, which has so far been reasonably positive. I made a particular point this week of talking about rest (in relation to the upcoming bank holiday) — I want the team to know that their wellbeing is important to me, and a component of that is being given permission to rest.
· Onboarding — how much context is enough? We have three new team members starting over the next month, I want to give them a useful introduction but not overwhelm them with all the project history that may not be relevant to them. I got to try the intro patter this week with our first new starter, and I think I need to tweak my approach for the next person — I think I got most of the key points in but essentially rambled at them for half an hour. Could be more structured.
· I’ve been following the media around the Democratic National Convention in the US, listening in particular to the speeches. Not so much for their content, but because I’m interested in the power of rhetoric and what makes some speeches more or less compelling to an audience. Varying speed and cadence, repetition, magic 3s, personal stories, pause — we’ve heard examples of all these techniques this week.
· I’ve also been a close eye on our various assurance and budgetary processes. This wouldn’t usually be part of my role, but given various personnel changes I feel a responsibility to make sure these don’t slip through the net. Financial management has been on my development plan for a while — not because I fear it, but because I’ve rarely been exposed to this side of our operations — so it’s been useful to temporarily be more involved in the detail.
