One of my regrets early in my career is that I didn’t share enough stories of digital accessibility successes that were happening across the organization. Over time, I have learned that great storytelling can be a creative and effective way to move teams forward, gain momentum, and make progress. In this presentation, discover practical tips for storytelling that have helped contribute to organizational improvement.
In today's fast-paced and collaborative work environments, effective teamwork is crucial for achieving organizational OKRs. Great teams can be a powerhouse of innovation and productivity when they operate in sync. However, successful teamwork doesn't happen by chance; it requires careful planning, communication, and continuous improvement.
We’ve applied the fundamental principles of agile methodology to digital accessibility in our day-to-day work. We know it’s efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable, and it moves our teams and clients from reactive to proactive work, which has been a great way to support inclusive digital experiences.
Hear practical tips and lessons learned from accessibility managers that can be used to help your team collaborate and communicate better than ever. Whether you are a manager or individual contributor, in this presentation you will discover 10 effective practices that you can use to improve collaboration and communication in your team.
Agile accessibility is efficient, cost effective, and sustainable.
Article: The Future of Accessibility is Agile by Tim Springer: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-digital-accessibility-agile-timothy-springer/
Article: Agile Accessibility https://www.levelaccess.com/agile-accessibility/
Article: Agile Accessibility KPIs: https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/agile-accessibility-kpis-how-to-measure-what-matters/
Image by pencil parker from Pixabay
Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls Image Source: https://www.sportscasting.com/michael-jordans-father-was-the-reason-his-tongue-was-always-sticking-out/
Mickey Mouse / Disney: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_%28TV_series%29
The Avengers: https://fabrikbrands.com/avengers-logo-history-avengers-symbols-with-names/
Caitlin Clark/University of Iowa Image Source: https://who13.com/sports/accolades-pour-in-for-iowas-caitlin-clark-after-stellar-week/
Steve Jobs Image source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/steve-jobs-knew-iphone-would-be-iconic-more-than-2-billion-phones-later-he-was-right/
Yoda Image Source: https://medium.com/the-nerd-report/why-yoda-is-arguably-the-best-star-wars-character-ea068310876d
Detroit Lions: https://1000logos.net/detroit-lions-logo/
Abraham Lincoln: https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/abraham-lincoln/
Duolingo Owl logo: https://www.duolingo.com/
Brand: How the team is recognized and differentiated from other teams.
Cultural: Helping team members see how they belong through shared values and beliefs.
Social: How we agree to work together. Communicate productively.
In the late 1950s, NASA started the first space program to put humans into outer space. They called it "Project Mercury."
The goal of the team was to put humans into orbit, and return them safely. When I think of that team of pioneers and explorers, they worked together to do something that no one had done before.
And it makes me think about our pilot pod. I think about this incredible group of professionals with a variety of skills, background and experiences, all coming from different countries. All here to do something in the new Level Access hasn't done before.
So I thought it made sense: Today. Going forward, this team will be known as "Team Mercury."
If you are in the pilot pod, please stand, I want to recognize you: "Please support and encourage these folks as we start this work. We have a big task in front of us, and this team is up for the challenge. We look forward to working with all of you."
How many of you experience anxiety, fear, difficult challenges, difficult clients?
These things are hard, and get us all stuck sometimes. The challenge is, we can get stuck, because we get focused on the problem.
https://www.tiktok.com/@melrobbins/video/7233749042176511238
If you focus on being distracted, you will become distracted.
If you focus on being stuck, you're gonna get stuck.
If you are focused on the problem, you might become the problem.
That last one is hard for us to hear, isn't it?
Flip it around; How can we help our teams get focused up on outcomes?
A good read on problems vs. tensions: https://www.hixsons.co.uk/news/blog/problems-vs-tensions/#:~:text=A%20problem%20has%20a%20cause,present%20and%20needs%20ongoing%20management