Challenge Assessment: Instructor Guide
Course Objectives
- Develop diagnostic thinking skills
- Learn data-driven assessment approaches
- Prioritize organizational challenges strategically
- Build organizational buy-in for necessary changes
- Create assessment roadmaps
Session Structure (6 hours)
- Diagnostic Thinking (60 min)
- Data-Driven Assessment (75 min) - Break (15 min)
- Assessment Tools and Frameworks (75 min) - Break (15 min)
- Stakeholder Engagement (60 min)
- Creating Assessment Plans (45 min)
Key Activities
Opening: Root Cause Analysis Exercise (20 min)
Present a business problem: "Customer satisfaction declining 15% year-over-year despite quality improvements."
Have small groups use 5 Whys to diagnose root cause. Share findings. Discuss: "How easy is it to jump to wrong conclusion without digging deeper?"
Data-Driven Assessment Workshop (40 min)
Guide participants through key metrics for their industry/organization:
- Financial health metrics
- Operational excellence metrics
- Market position metrics
- Customer satisfaction metrics
- Organizational capability metrics
Have groups identify what data they're currently tracking and what gaps exist.
Stakeholder Engagement Discussion (20 min)
"Who needs to be involved in assessment for their buy-in?" Create stakeholder map showing different audiences and their interests.
Challenge Prioritization Exercise (20 min)
Present 5 organizational challenges. Have groups prioritize using magnitude, urgency, addressability framework. Discuss trade-offs.
Facilitation Tips
- Use real data from participant organizations when possible
- Encourage questioning of accepted narratives
- Model intellectual curiosity and suspension of judgment
- Emphasize need for multiple data sources
- Highlight common diagnostic errors and how to avoid them
Discussion Questions
- What challenges is your organization facing?
- How well do you understand root causes of your challenges?
- What data are you currently tracking? What gaps exist?
- Who should be involved in challenge assessment?
- How will you prioritize which challenges to address?
Resources
- Root cause analysis templates
- Key metrics by industry
- Stakeholder engagement worksheets
- Assessment communication templates