The first step once you have lined up an X-Ray is to select the participants.
There is a resource on the GCS Membership site courtesy of Jackie Freedman, a GCS out of Milford, NJ, that is called Who Should Attend a Stages of Growth X-Ray. She did a great job in putting together a quick summary of this important step in the X-Ray process.
Find it here: On the Membership Website under the Resources Tab, under the Stages of Growth X-Ray Tab, under the SubHead called Training, Who Should Attend a Stages of Growth X-Ray.
http://www.gcspecialists.com/member-dashboard
Critical points to consider include:
You always start with the CEO and his/her direct reports.
I always ask to see the company’s organizational chart and I spend time talking to the CEO about who are the critical players that reside right below the Executive Team. In a Stage 5 X-Ray I recently conducted of a manufacturing company, we included the CEO’s four direct reports AND a chief engineer, the purchasing agent, the marketing manager, two sales engineers, the HR manager, the warehouse manager, the customer service manager, the shop foreman and one of their senior craftsman.
After talking with the CEO, it was clear he wanted to hear from people a bit further down in the organization because he felt he needed the perspective based on some of the concerns the company was having. The result couldn’t have been more enlightening, not just for the CEO, but for everyone in the X-Ray. People were identifying challenges from the assessments and even though the senior craftsman admitted he didn’t totally understand some of the statements in the assessments, his input and his delight in being able to be a part of the discussion was amazing.
I urge you to explore who should be included in this process with your CEO because the entire purpose of the X-Ray process is to uncover issues, let people’s concerns be heard and provide the opportunity to engage in productive dialogue.
The number of participants is important to keep in mind, because the larger the group the more dialogue you’ll have and getting a large group done in two days can be challenging. My own experience is I’ve conducted X-Rays with up to 18 participants. This becomes a time-management challenge but it can absolutely be handled.
One other key point. I don’t recommend inviting people to just ‘sit-in’ on the X-Ray who haven’t taken the online assessments. Because the purpose of the exercise is to generate dialogue, people who haven’t taken part in the assessments would tend to feel left out. However, I’ve learned to never say never, right? If this becomes an option, just make sure you explain to the people who aren’t taking the assessment what their role will be so they understand the process and are okay with listening and contributing if they can.
Your success. My passion.
Laurie Taylor, FlashPoint!
P.S. Don’t forget when you are on the GCS Membership site to check out my newest product called Flash Sheets by FlashPoint! For the FIRST TIME EVER, all of the knowledge about the 7 Stages of Growth is in one easy-to-read package! Check out my website by just clicking on the Flash Sheet image. I believe this will become your Go-to-Resource for everything 7 Stages of Growth!
Or just go here right now!
http://www.gcspecialists.com/flashsheets
