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| Learn the purpose behind the chart and the Blackberry. |
Ah-Ha! Moment – In October and November, my associate and I defined and began implementing the "Relationship Management" program we had vaguely pictured in our minds for well over a year. December was the month we completed our first deliverable of this program!
To deliver this initial component, my associate and I were again required to work together in a highly collaborative manner, as we tested many ideas for this first deliverable and went through several changes in our approach. The challenge was formidable – our goal was to interpret the contents of 5 separate reports from a comprehensive "professional sales assessment" totaling 81 pages, and then present a relevant summary of this to our client-facing consultants to help them better serve our clients.
Throughout December, the two of us met several times, each time working hard to:
- Consider what results were most relevant to our overall "Relationship Management" goals of having better discussions with our clients about (a) our progress in implementing ideas to improve their business, and (b) our additional ideas for them to consider.
- Discuss ways to present the results to our consultants – who are naturally inquisitive people, eager to comprehend information, especially an assessment about them.
- Understand how these results could be used to better work with our consultants.
- Select report excerpts to tell a concise, coherent story which could be relevant and meaningful to the individual.
- Determine the most appropriate professional development activities and goals for the individual for the upcoming quarter.
- Define the "next steps" for preparing the "Executive Summary" and the "Individual Development Plan" for the individual.
We went through this process about 5 times, feeling better about things each time, ending up with a 4-page "Executive Summary" and 1-page "Individual Development Plan" (IDP) for the individual, and also our notes on how to use these 2 documents to frame the full 81-page assessment.
All of this work culminated on Wednesday, December 30, when my associate and I met with the first consultant to put this into action! We had initially planned for a 60-minute meeting, but this actually lasted about 90 minutes, because of the questions and discussion coming out of the detailed assessments. At the end of this meeting, my associate and this consultant agreed to followup in early January, to answer any other questions and refine (as needed) and agree to the activities and goals in the IDP. (This followup has already happened – and without involvement by me!)
What worked? Well, the large investment of time I had made with my associate in October, November, and December paid off! She is now well-equipped with:
- An overall vision of the "Relationship Management" program, which she is ultimately responsible for implementing.
- Specific formats for 2 key documents to get this process started with individual personnel.
- Examples or, or ideas about, specific activities to develop these skills in our personnel.
- Measures to track how well personnel are actually applying these skills in their day-to-day work.
- Techniques to maintain accountability for results in our personnel.
The hard work with this associate over 3 months – where I progressed through the Directing, Coaching, and Supporting leadership styles – has now paid off, since I can now function in the Delegating leadership style for the "Relationship Management" program. This is a huge payoff for me, since my associate is now fully Competent in the required areas and definitely Committed to producing results. And, as she obtains her results by implementing this program, the firm and its clients will benefit by having consultants even better equipped to serve our clients!
This is a very nice way to end the 2009 edition of insights and "ah-ha moments" for "Todd's Results." Come back next month when I begin the 2010 edition!
