3 tips for using the 'rolling contract' question

Imagine you are a leader. You have a good team, but they need to become even more customer-focused. People need to recognise that, in the new world of work, ‘there are no jobs anymore; there are only projects’. They are only as good as their present project and the success they deliver. Here is an exercise you can use to encourage the individuals – and the whole team – to demonstrate even more professionalism.

* You can invite the team to answer the ‘rolling contract’ question.

Gather the team together and ask them to tackle the ‘Rolling Contract’ exercise. You may want to say something like:

“Imagine we have each put £100k into the kitty and this team is our own business. We have got a 6 month contract with our present organisation. But there is a challenge. This is a 6 month ‘rolling contract’ that must be signed-off – extended - every month by our key sponsors. How would we behave? Knowing the contract could come to an end in 6 months, would we behave any differently? Remember, it is our money and our mortgages. Would we get closer to our sponsors, make clearer contracts, report successes, anticipate future challenges - and business opportunities - or whatever? Take 15 minutes to brainstorm what we would do if we were on a 6 month rolling contract.”

The specific things we would do if we were on a rolling contract would be:

*

* You can implement the ideas that emerge from the ‘rolling contract’ question.

Gather all the suggestions, sort these into themes and discuss what has emerged. Looking at the ideas, settle on those the team want to implement. Consider the pluses and minuses of pursuing these strategies. Build on the pluses and minimise the minuses. Get ‘owners’ for the actions which, in some cases, will be everybody. Provide the necessary support and encourage people to get some quick successes. Repeat the ‘rolling contract’ question during team meetings and one-to-one sessions. So invite people to complete the following sentences.

The specific ideas that we can implement now are:

*

The benefits of doing these things will be:

*

* You can encourage individuals to consider what they personally would do if they were on a ‘rolling contract’.

Great teams are made up of people who take responsibility and are committed to constant improvement. If appropriate, ask each person: “If you were on a 6 month rolling contract - that had to be signed off every month - how would you behave?” Even the most professional person will find some ways to improve their performance. Encourage them to translate these ideas into action.

Institutions frequently give double messages. On the one hand they say: “Be quick, agile and think for yourself.” On the other hand they say: “Let us do the thinking for you.” People can become inward facing and lose the ability to live off their wits. The ‘rolling contract’ question aims to re-ignite their sense of urgency and increase their customer focus.

You can find many similar tools in the free download The Super Teams Pack at:

http://www.thestrengthsway.com