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City of Portland: Process Improvement Leadership, November 2017

Title: Process Improvement Leadership

Event: City of Portland, Professional Development Training

Date: November 28th, 2017, 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

Speaker: Christopher Dennis

Summary

Want your direct reports to create significant change? Want them to make the critical connections with other bureaus, offices, and programs that can make the City hum? Know that process improvements are necessary and want to have your people devise the improvements instead of getting run over public dissatisfaction? Can you see which plays should come next, yet need some help to get your people moving constructively?

We’re getting smarter about making process improvements and solving problems: people who care and collaborate can be astounding. But what can we do as managers, as supervisors, as leaders-in-development to help them? 

The first key is to build our ability to motivate high-knowledge, high-skill workers. With this in mind, participants sharpen their vision for process improvement and develop language that gets people out of their chairs. We’ll catalyze a good team and work with them to identify what has to change, who has to change, and the barriers that stand in our way. We’ll practice rapid planning techniques, quick, effective communication, and adaptation in the face of evolving challenges. Part of our work will assess the gaps between rapid prototype and a full-scale solution, and shift our efforts from proof-of-concept to full adoption. There will be serious challenges along the way, and we’ll examine effective actions—both proactive and reactive—that can help keep us moving towards our goal.