Are You Ready?

Embarking on something new for your company is an aspirational exercise. You imagine that if you proactively adopt a new method or approach to your work, it will improve, if not transform, the way you do business. You discover something fresh and become enamored with the idea of operating differently and achieving exponentially better results. What you may not consider is whether your leadership team and/or employees are ready to embrace or even accept a new approach that may sound great on paper, yet be far more difficult to implement successfully if you’re not prepared. So, how do you know you’re ready?

Marathon Training 

I fell in love with running in my late thirties. Prior to that, running was a necessary evil to getting shape for other sports. I ran my first half marathon in Jacksonville, Florida. Upon completing it, the idea of running that same distance again to complete a full marathon seemed out of the question – until I decided I would try it. Being from Boston, I thought that if I were going to run a marathon, I would only do it once, and if I did, Boston would have to be the race. Of course, for those of you familiar with the sport, you know that to run Boston, you have to qualify for it.

One of the benefits of being in the marketing/communication field is that one can often get access to attending and even participating in events that are not always otherwise available to the general public. So yes, I ran Boston, but not because I qualified. I did so through a sponsor’s exemption. In telling this story, I thought it was important to fess up.

When it comes to training for such a race, though, I found Hal Higdon’s Marathon Training programs to be the best, at least for me.  I know this because after running Boston, I would run twelve more marathons, and Higdon’s programs shepherded me through each time. Here’s the point: to start Higdon’s 18-week program, you had to be capable of running seven miles before you even began. His program wasn’t designed for someone to jump off the couch one minute and start training the next. You had to do the pre-work to ensure you were ready for the long haul ahead.

Peernovation Readiness 

The pre-work involved in marathon training is a fitting metaphor for how one must assess whether they are ready to take on what’s next. It’s for this reason that I wanted to create clarity for business leaders regarding whether their company is ready to embrace Peernovation before they even start – which is why I created the Peernovation Readiness Survey.

This short survey offers a quick snapshot of whether Peernovation is right for you. Feel free to invite your leadership team and others to take it and see if your assessments align.

Instructions: Indicate your level of agreement with the following ten statements on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means “Strongly Disagree,” 2 means “Disagree,” 3 means “Neutral,” 4 means “Agree,” and 5 means “Strongly Agree.”

Section 1: Common Purpose and Shared Values  

Our employees understand the organization’s purpose and feel aligned with its goals.

Our team shares and upholds common values and principles.

Section 2: Continuous Improvement  

Our team is committed to continuous learning and improvement.

We have regular opportunities to share knowledge and best practices.

Section 3: Shared Responsibility and Accountability  

I feel a sense of shared responsibility for achieving team outcomes.

We set high standards for ourselves and our team members.

Section 4: Psychological Safety and Productivity  

I feel safe to express my ideas and concerns within the team.

Our organization encourages speaking truth to power and the leadership team makes it inviting for employees to speak their truth.

Section 5: Leadership and Servant Leadership 

Our leaders are committed to creating an environment that helps organizational teams perform to their potential.

Leadership actively encourages team members to take initiative.

If you select “strongly agree” or “agree” for all ten questions or are willing to commit to improving your scores on questions that scored below 4, then you are ready to begin your Peernovation journey.

Summary : Whether you choose to introduce Peernovation or any other new initiative into your organization, examine the program closely and be sure that your team is prepared to embrace the challenge or undertake the preliminary work necessary to make that feasible. It’s not always as simple as running seven miles. There may not be a readiness assessment to guide you. That said, take time to reflect on where you are and who you are as an organization and proceed from there. Change is coming. Time to get ready.

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