A “Reality Check for Self and Others”
This 5R “Personal Assessment Tool” (5R-PAT) is a simple instrument designed for self-assessment as well as for assessment of others in your circle of interaction. The questions we need to ask ourselves about the tasks we are doing are given below under the 5R-PAT table. A sample set of 10 tasks, that apply to us or others, which give an indication of possible areas to be questioned are given below:
(1) Auditing/review of different operations;
(2) Networking – relevance check for ‘circle of interaction’ (COI)
(3) Alignment check with departmental or organizational goals
(4) Regular communication/contact with all important stakeholders
(5) Verification of ground reality situations of mission-critical projects/activities
(6) Keeping management and other mission-critical stakeholders informed
(7) Project, customer, vendor, and technology reviews
(8) Process audits and policy reviews
(9) Financial and other audits at the local and overall level
(10) Personal time expenditure/allocation and Life balance review, besides many others that are important for your performance and well-being
Examples of common questions and respective answers
Q: Are you contacting or communicating with important stakeholders? OR have you done a customer review of all important customers?
A: Yes, we are doing it all the time. We have systems and processes for this. We have people specifically for this job.
Answer Validation Questions – 5R – PAT
Very often we find that there are some lapses in the way we handle routine or operational tasks, mostly because we take things for granted. This is normally called the “System Creep” syndrome. This means that checks and balances are often ignored if things are going right over a period of time. Using the 5R tool helps to keep things in order.
While the 5R tool is very useful, it is important to keep in mind that it need not be used all the time. It is best used selectively, based on priorities identified from overall situation reviews. Also, if some person or institution is trying to influence your thought process, you may use the 5R tool to validate their proposal.
Hope you find this latest “Thought Trigger” interesting.
Alan Doulton
