Understand

Seek a common level of understanding. 

All change starts with understanding. 

It begins by understanding what exists at the most comprehensive level possible in the time available - and realising this will not be a perfect understanding no matter how long you have. 

Understanding will continue to grow and mature past any timeframe. It never stops, so be ready to always incorporate new understanding as you discover it. 

The most important thing to understand? The people. Those who you are advocate change for. Those who will be affecting the change. Those still others who will be impacted by the change. What are their needs? What is their context? What is not being addressed? What could work better? 

Most problem solving spends far too much time on the solving and far less on the problem. Sitting in the problem is the beginning of true understanding. It is not the time for solutions - they will come soon enough. It’s also not the time for extensive validation - it’s about people and context and perspectives. 

Finally, share what you learn. Make it a common understanding. Add more voices and distill the commonality further. Build points of view that bring people together to create possible solutions in the future. 

Bring all the empathy you have and an open mind. Listen and share. Sounds brutally simple but takes a lifetime of practice.

Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash