You never know if you’re seeing things others don’t, and this may happen a lot when I talk about the Unified Service Management (USM) method. So, that’s what this post is about.
USM is based on systems thinking. At its core is the management of the routines of an enterprise, and these routines encompass all assets of the service provider’s system — people, process and tools.
What I absolutely love about this is it enables ALL stakeholders to become actively involved in improvement, and better understand how they ‘fit’ within the service ecosystem. The seemingly “little things” that people do can make enormous differences to an organization, and these are not always driven by executive management.
“God must love the common man, he made so many of them.”
Abe Lincoln
In fact, the USM method enables leadership to lead from behind. In fact, any employee can influence the vision and direction of an organization, not just ‘leadership’. (This is another reason why I like Being First’s Conscious Change Leadership; it helps senior leaders learn how to transform themselves which is a prerequisite to changing the organization.)
Leading from behind focuses on buy-in as well:
“Both Mr. Mandela and Mr. Obama appear to believe that in order to get the results (s)he wants, a leader has to make sure that everyone buys into the vision of what they are trying to achieve. At the core of this idea seems to be the abdication of one’s ego for the good of the collective. It is also the kind of leadership that is more concerned about accomplishments of the group rather than the elevation of personal and individual glory.”
Leading From Behind September 7, 2014 – by Omar Mohammed
So, don’t assume that just because your contribution seems small that it doesn’t have a small impact. What you do, however ‘small’, really does matter!
“the flap of a butterfly’s wings might ultimately cause a tornado”
When the Butterfly Effect Took Flight, By Peter Dizikes, February 22, 2011
It takes everyone to roll the improvement ball uphill.
USM defines a universal service management system for the enterprise. A service management system is the coherent set of organizational resources that can be used by everyone to realize the goals of the service organization effectively and efficiently.