Evolve

The Evolve area of the McLean Loop of Leadership Agility is perhaps the most important. The Connect area will have brought up lots of impediments and blockers to success in the new practices and behaviours your have relearned to be more effective than previous ones. Within Evolve, we get an opportunity to share those impediments with others and find a way through, helping each other to find better ways.

Evolving is so important as it helps us close the loop - we can start to consider once more our situation and go round the loop again, in a new context, a changed system. Without any evolution, things won’t really change!

A drawing of the loop, with A character climbing past evolve to consider

Tools

The following tools may be useful when exploring this area:

  • Impact assessments

  • Imagination Retreat

  • Executive Action Team

  • McLean Loop of Leadership Agility

  • Kata

  • Change Mapping

Questions

It may be useful to ask yourself these questions as you navigate the Evolve area:

  • What am I hearing?

  • Where are the blockers?

  • Where should I be spending my time?

  • Am I open?

  • What conversations do I now need to have?

  • Who should I be having conversations with?

  • How can I help them feel comfortable working with me?

  • Is the problem being solved still the right one?

Within this area, you may need to show kindness to others who have not been on your journey from the start. They may need to go through their own unlearning journey to help you unblock the things you need to do.

Moving on

It might only take one simple change to unlock your return to Consider, with a new frame and context to look at your situation from.

Key References

Sooner, Safer, Happier: Jon Smart