Project management for positive & lasting change john mauremootoo

Project Management for Positive and Lasting Change

Some thoughtsAnd Examples from the Island of Mauritius

Dr John Mauremootoo

Adapted from a presentation given to the Mauritius Protected Area Network (PAN) Project National Steering Committee Meeting,

Wednesday 2nd April 2014: PAN, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Port Louis, Mauritius

Project Planning, Implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation

www.inspiralpathways.com

Some Key Principles that underpin Project Management• Projects facilitate but do not create change• A growth mindset is essential• Most change is a process & not an event• Communication is everything & everything is

communication• Planning, monitoring and evaluation is integral to

project management

Structure of Presentation

Changing Hearts and MindsThe Elephant and Rider Metaphor


"Jonathan Haidt in his book The Happiness Hypothesis introduces the metaphor of the rider and elephant. Haidt says that our emotional side is an Elephant and our rational side is its Rider. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader. But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He’s completely overmatched. So to make things work we cannot appeal only to the rational side of people. We have to appeal to their emotional side as well." ~ Chip and Dan Heath (2011)



Direct the Rider• Develop a shared understanding• Point to the destination• Know, show and grow the bright spots• Know who your partners are & how they interface with the

project• Script the critical moves• Learn and share



Motivate the Rider• Find the feeling• Rally the herd• Identify & implement quick wins• Embed change in culture• Shape the environment where you need to• Celebrate success

1. A project is all about facilitating lasting positive change – the project does not in itself create this change

Some Principles that underpin Project Management

Some Principles that underpin Project Management

2. To facilitate change one must embrace a growth or possibility mindset rather than a fixed mindset

John Mauremootoo | [email protected]. Most positive change is a process and not an event

Trying to implement change too quickly may backfire

3. Most positive change is a process and not an event

• We are always communicating• The meaning of communication is the response that we get• Communication is not a one-way street

• So we have to understand not only the messages we transmit but how they are received

4. Communication is everything and everything is communication

External events are transformed into thoughts via our filters which delete, distort and generalise these events

WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN UNIQUE MAPS OF THE WORLD

Individuals give events their meaning

• We need to understand the outcomes of our actions by monitoring early & often

• & translate the results of this monitoring into action

5. Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation is integral to Project Management

Change is all about people…Elephants

& their riders

How do we facilitate change?

John Mauremootoo | [email protected]

The Elephant and Rider

http://etiquettepage.com/news-feb2012


We Direct the Rider

& We Motivate the Elephant


How do we Direct the Rider?

Develop a shared understanding

forums.macresource.com

The needto integratepeople’s diverse perspectives

Point to the destination• Develop a shared vision which:

• Functions as a lighthouse – something to guide our movement

bumblews.com

• & a star – something inspiring for us to reach for

arvidaxelsson.se

19

The Vision is your dream

Martin Luther King, Jr.August 28, 1963

Know, Show & Grow the Bright Spots

On May 6th 1954 Roger Banister became the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes a feat considered impossible by many.

Banister’s record lasted only 46 days and within one year thirty seven other runners had broken the 4-minute barrier.

Know, Show & Grow the Bright Spots

J Mauremootoo

The recovery of the Mauritius kestrel from a wild population of only 4 birds in 1974 to safety has inspired similar species recovery successes in Mauritius and all over the world.

MWF

The Brise Fer Old Plot was first weeded in 1986. It has become a bright spot and has helped to inspire a now rapidly growing area of restored native forest in Mauritius and Rodrigues.

Know who your partners are & how they interface with the project

Stakeholder Circles: A programme cannot control change, it can only influence and contribute to changes at the level of its direct partners

Implementing team

Direct partner 1

Direct partner 2

Direct partner 3

Community1Community 2

Community 3

Sphere of Control

Sphere of influence

Sphere of interest/concern

Project Partners have their own PartnersProject

Project’s Partners

Project’s Partner’s Partners

So a little (strategic) influence can go a long way

The famous Serenity Prayer speaks to the importance of accepting our

limited control

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,And the wisdom to know the difference.

Everybody knows something and nobody knows everything• Ask empowering questions…• Come in “clean” & really listen• Expect surprises along the way

Respect everybody’s map of the world

Plan the journey

Script the Critical Moves Plan tightly for the short term but not for the medium and

long term when uncertainty is compounded over time

Plan the journey

The Action Learning Cycle as a system of continuous learning by doing

• Learn & share

Plan the journey• Learn & share

WH

AT?

SO W

HAT?

NOW WHAT?

The Action Learning CycleAnswers the three basic questions

Everyone has a plan … until he gets hit!

~ Mike Tyson: American Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion

The Action Learning Cycle is at the heart of Adaptive Management

M&E – finding the balance between…

Thanks to Ricardo Wilson-Grau & Michael Quinn Patton

But don’t make the system too heavy


I can honestly say that we use these reports every single day of the year

Based on a cartoon by M.M. Rogers & Lawson Sworb


I can honestly say that we use these reports every single day of the year

Based on a cartoon by M.M. Rogers & Lawson Sworb

Learn to COPE Create Once Publish Everywhere

But don’t just circulate the same stuff to everybody – different groups have different needs


How do we Motivate the Elephant?

Find the feeling

Appeal to a positive sense of identity or help to create one, e.g.

• We are the stewards of our land for our future and for the next generations

• Together we can ensure that none of our species go the way of the dodo

• We are Mauritians and we are proud of our unique Mauritian plants and animals

J Mauremootoo

Rally the herd

• Work to establish norms• Norms are our Identities “in action”• Behaviour is contagious – people try to conform• Rallying the herd helps you to overcome

opposition by indirect means

Rally the herd

Don’t worry about getting all your ducks in a row

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

~ Arthur Schopenhauer: German philosopher (1788-1860)

They will eventually fall into line if the idea is persuasive enough

Identify & implement quick wins

• What can be done RIGHT NOW?• How can value added/leverage be

maximised?• Use pilots learning by doing

J Mauremootoo Frankie Hobro

Planting on Round Island Weeding the forest Using tortoises to aid restoration

All of the above efforts started as pilot initiatives and have since become widely accepted

Identify & implement win-wins

• Can we kill two or more birds with one stone?• What can partners give and what can they get?• It's not just about me but about we• Doing well by doing good

J Mauremootoo Rachel Atkinson

Rodrigues native plant undamaged by cyclones Ecotourism raising money for conservation

Make change ecological

• Embed the change in culture

J MauremootooMWF

Village planting teams in Rodrigues adapting traditional systems for conservation

Management planning involving key stakeholders

Shape the environment where you need to

• Identify gaps & other obstacles• Which of these gaps are critical?• Which can be lived with for now?• What action can be taken right now to get

around these gaps?

Wikipedia.org www.rgbstock.com

Celebrate success• 20 years of the National Parks & Conservation Service

• Saving the kestrel - the world's most dramatic species recovery success

• Completing the jigsaw - consolidating the Protected Area Estate of Mauritius

MWFDurrell

THANKSfor Viewing

ReferencesChip & Dan Heath (2011). Switch. How to Change when Change is Hard. Random House.

Sarah Earl, Fred Carden & Terry Smutylo (2001). Outcome Mapping. Building Learning and Reflection into Development Programs. IDRC

Jonathon Haidt (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis. Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books.

Jane Magruder Watkins, Bernard J.Mohr & Ralph Kelly (2011). Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination. Wiley.

Project management for positive & lasting change john mauremootoo

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Project management for positive & lasting change john mauremootoo