FUNDATMENTAL #4: BE PROCESS-ORIENTED. Have a bias for structure. Learn to create systems and processes that support our ability to perform with consistency. Strong processes are the foundation of organizational effectiveness.
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”- Jim Rohn
I am a self- professed ADHD-er and process lover. For many years of my life, I saw myself as a failure due to falling short in the ways I thought my peers were excelling. I would compare myself to people who had “made it”. People who managed their time well, were focused, and organized. These skills seemed to come so naturally to them, while I struggled to keep up.
After speaking with mentors, taking classes, and reading leadership books- mainly the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- I realized no one was born this way. It was a PROCESS, made of a bunch of little processes! It seems simple, and for many people the processes they create are unconscious, but we all must learn to be successful. We must set reminders, create routines and outlines and plans. We reevaluate and do it again.
While working at Avow, I learned how writing a process could change a volunteer program, making it more efficient and purposeful for all involved. I have also learned that having clear processes and plans make a job site safer and help to save us and our clients’ money in the long run. My process of making my bed and having coffee helps me to start my day and leave the house on time.
I was so excited when I found out about the fundamentals at PBS. I had been given a blueprint on how to BE A GREAT TEAM MEMBER. I shared it with everyone I knew. My love for processes has only grown in the past few months of working here. Len has created a binder that lays out everything a new employee needs to know when coming on board. We continue to improve our onboarding process with the feedback we receive from the team. Processes don’t make things perfect, but they do help us to have a building block to improve upon and a lighthouse to look to.
