Christian Science Monitor

REINFORCEMENT: MONITORING “THE MONITOR”

A single meeting or seminar rarely solves a long-standing performance problem. Regular reinforcement is required, but maintaining it is a challenge in the face of operational deadlines. And nowhere are deadlines a bigger fact of life than at a major daily newspaper.

For over 90 years, The Christian Science Monitor has brought quality reporting and insightful perspective to readers throughout the world. Highly respected for its international coverage, the paper has won six Pulitzer prizes for journalistic excellence.

Change at The Monitor, no matter how essential for adjusting to new conditions, must overcome the weight of tradition. Getting buy-in to performance improvement requires overcoming other obstacles as well:

• immutable daily deadlines
• staff spread around the globe
• reportorial skepticism
• the editorial chain of command, which can stifle initiative

At csmonitor.com, the paper’s new Web site, management faced additional problems. High staff turnover and lack of rules and set procedures, both typical of Internet enterprises, made the creation of better communication and teamwork a challenge.

ASSESSMENT AND ACTION

In January 2000, Madelon Miles led an offsite conference with key staff teams from the print and online enterprises. Previous performance initiatives at The Monitor, conducted without an outside facilitator, had built skepticism when they failed to produce the desired change. Madelon first applied her experience and objectivity to help the staff assess the areas that needed improvement. Once a comprehensive list was developed, she facilitated efforts to pick critical areas to work on first. The resulting list of seven tasks included integration of the print and Web teams, modernizing newsroom technology, improving recruitment, and how to best represent the foreign bureaus at headquarters. Teams were assigned to each task and a review was planned for February 2000.

REINFORCEMENT

At the February review, it became apparent that some team members had put in the work to achieve their goals, while others had not. “Journalists are skeptical,” says Monitor editor David Cook. “They think, ‘Is this going to last? Is this going to matter?’”

Guided by Madelon, the skeptics came away impressed by the efforts of their colleagues who had demonstrated commitment to the process. “Madelon acts as a change agent,” says Cook. “She gives you feedback that’s constructive.”  By the second review meeting, in April, the commitment and momentum were palpable. The Web team developed a business plan and a series of actions to be taken. The newspaper side developed better channels of communication between department heads, and became more aggressive in recruiting reporters. Team members were enthusiastic; their previously untapped potential is now driving progress at The Monitor.

Staff buy-in has led to self-reinforcement. Team members at widespread locations conduct “do-it-yourself” conference calls on “telebridges” established by Milestones. This non-operator-assisted conferencing capability is more efficient and less expensive than conventional conference calls.

Madelon Miles will return to The Monitor every two months through Year 2000 for review meetings and to coach the teams. According to Cook, “Madelon nudges you and nudges you to keep working.” As a result, he adds, “now people are hungry to participate, and they have the skills to contribute far more to our operation than under the command-and-control model.” The Monitor is now meeting performance goals and deadlines. In the daily maelstrom of newspaper publishing, that’s front page news.