Roadmap to Success

140 Pages·2015·4.41 MB·English

by  Dr. Deepak Chopara

Copyright © 2012
Published in the United States by
Insight Publishing Company
707 West Main Street, Suite 5
Sevierville, Tennessee o 37862
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission
from the publisher except for brief quotations embodied in critical essay, article, or review. These articles and/or reviews must state
the correct title and contributing authors of this book by name.
Disclaimer: This book is a compilation of ideas from numerous experts who have each contributed a chapter. As such, the
views expressed in each chapter are of those who were interviewed and not necessarily of the interviewer or Insight Publishing.
ISBN: 978-1-61750-844-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER
The interviews in this book were conducted by David E. Wright, the President and
founder of Insight Publishing and ISN Works
I’VE DONE A LOT OF DRIVING IN MY LIFE and one thing I have been smart enough
to have is a dependable road map. If you don’t have a good plan to get from where
you are to where you want to go, you will get lost.
I’ve known many people who have started out in business and thought they had a
good plan, but did not achieve the success they wanted. A major problem for many of these people was
that they had not sought good advice from people who had achieved success. If you don’t learn from the
experience of others, you might achieve success but you will probably get there the hard way. You might
get lost down many side roads before you find the right one.
ROADMAP to Success, is a mini-seminar on how to plan for your success. The successful people in
this book have the experience that will help you find what you need to create your ROADMAP to
Success. These perceptive businesspeople were fascinating as they unfolded their own personal road maps
and told me about their various success journeys.
I invite you to set aside some quiet time and learn from these exceptional authors. I assure you that
your time won’t be wasted. It’s not often that you can access such a large quantity of quality information
that will either get you started or help you get further along on your road to success. This book is an
investment in your future—your successful future!
—David E. Wright
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Building a High Performance Team
Ken Zelazny
Chapter Two
Leadership Mindset
Franck Nicolas
Chapter Three
Discover Your Inner Resource
Dr. Deepak Chopra
Chapter Four
Proactive Hindsight –7 Steps to a Mentored Roadmap to Success
Art Fox
Chapter Five
Align With Your Success
Dr. Ronit Lami
Chapter Six
The Heart of Success
Deborah Colman MA(Ed), CPCC, MCC
Chapter Seven
Coaching Top Performers
Mark Moses
Chapter Eight
An Interview With
Dr. Kenneth Blanchard
Chapter Nine
The Alignment Road Map: Key Elements to Building Clarity, Consistency, and Performance .
Jon Alexander Martin
Chapter Ten
The Power to Create The Life you Want to Live
Julian Bolster
Chapter Eleven
Succeed With Purpose
Dennis Rattiner, DC
Chapter Twelve
Your Path to Happiness Is Your True Road Map to Success
Steve Steinberg
Chapter Thirteen
Breaking the Pattern
Lesley Southwick-Trask
Chapter Fourteen
Success in Business Doesn’t have to be Hard
Laurie McNaughton
Chapter One
BUILDING A HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAM
KEN ZELAZNY
DAVID WRIGHT (WRIGHT)
Today I’m talking with Ken Zelazny. Ken is an international multiple award-winning Certified Master
Business and Executive Coach, as well as a Global Franchise Trainer for ActionCOACH business
coaching. As President and Founder of Z2K Business Solutions Incorporated, Ken comes with extensive
expertise in Operations and Program Management, as he has worked with many businesses around the
World. His past corporate experience extended to the international stage at a senior level in high
technology industries with government, commercial, and defense agencies. Ken currently serves on
various Boards of Directors for his local Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Committee, and
Memorial Hospital Foundation.
Ken, welcome to ROADMAP to Success.
KEN ZELAZNY (ZELAZNY)
Thank you, David; it is truly an honor to be invited to share my thoughts and experiences with such a
great group of business experts.
WRIGHT
Would you describe for our readers what a high performance team looks like?
ZELAZNY
What a high performance team looks like is a group of individuals who collaborate together to
perform a common goal and meet desired results efficiently and effectively. That team needs to be
passionate about what they are doing and be communicated to effectively, in order to ensure clarity and
focus in what they are trying to accomplish. The leader needs to ensure the team understands the tasks and
strategies of what they’re trying to complete and provide some form of recognition at the end of the day.
When we appreciate our people, it’s a huge factor that helps inspire the team and will ensure a greater
success rate of achieving the goals.
The success of a high performance team comes from having the proper tools in place to help them
succeed and making sure they perform what we have asked them to execute. This is accomplished by
implementing a process called the Six Key Steps to Building a Winning Team.
WRIGHT
So what are the Six Key Steps to Building a Winning Team?
ZELAZNY
The Six Key Steps to Building a Winning Team as delivered by us at ActionCOACH business
coaching are:
1. Strong leadership
2. Common goal
3. Rules of the game
4. Action plan
5. Support risk taking
6. 100 percent involvement and inclusion
WRIGHT
Will you elaborate on each one of them for us?
ZELAZNY
Sure, number one is about strong leadership. As leaders, it is extremely important to hold people
accountable for the tasks they are assigned. The manager’s title is a little misleading, as I believe we
manage a bank account, yet we lead people. It’s important that we develop those leadership skills early
because we don’t actually have to do the work—we work through people to get the tasks completed. This
is where high emotional intelligence is required to recognize all the different skills, behaviors, and
personalities that make up the team.
When people work within a team-oriented environment, there are four key points for a leader to
consider.
1. To give recognition for the work they are performing.
2. To ensure there is job security such that they can plan their personal lives accordingly.
3. To provide challenge; people want to be challenged in their positions, and a leader needs to
ensure opportunities are available.
4. To provide a great working environment where the team has fun and it’s engaging to be in.
WRIGHT
Common goal, would you tell us a little about that?
ZELAZNY
Number two would be the common goal. Remembering that a goal is the ongoing pursuit of a worthy
objective until accomplished. It is not always obvious what the goal is, only what the result should look
like. All too often team leaders are out there trying to get things done when they haven’t really sat down
and mapped out the goal they’re actually trying to achieve. They have a vision in mind of what they want
to accomplish but have never communicated it effectively. A goal has a few vital components required for
clarity and focus.
It should be a SMART goal; meaning Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, with a
Timeframe. My youngest son Kyle came home one day from his business class in school and said, “Dad
SMART goals are good however, SMARTER goals are better.” He explained to me that the ER is to
Encourage and Reward. When the goal is in play and then accomplished, all too often we say okay what’s
next? So set a common goal with a desired level of performance, measure it and communicate it to the
team so they understand what is expected, then recognize and reward when the goal is completed.
WRIGHT
Rules of the game—would you tell us a little about that?
ZELAZNY
Number three is rules of the game that are basically our company’s culture. When we think about all
the goals we’re going to be putting in place and planning them out to execute, we need to include a set of
rules to play by. It’s not just about showing up for work on time—it’s how we go about the business of the
day. We have fourteen points of culture, or core values, in our company that we strive to live by. A
company’s culture should encompass values that are vital to the company and vital to how the business
will succeed. Include values that are core to your customers and values that are important to your team in
striving to do their best.
Some rules of the game can encompass communication, commitment, integrity, gratitude, ownership,
fun, and excellence just to name a few.
When we are implementing a goal, we go through all those values and make sure the rules of the game
are being satisfied and that we live up to those standards we have set for ourselves. It is also important that
everyone on the team holds each other accountable to these core values on a daily basis.
WRIGHT
And action plan?
ZELAZNY
The action plan at number four is where we plan the work then work the plan. We sit down for a full
day and go through a planning process, which we hold every ninety days. Basically we take a one-year
plan and break it into four manageable pieces; these are called quarterly planning sessions.
When you’re working on the action plan you are stating, “The strong leadership is in place, we have
the common goal in play, we know the rules of the game, now we need to sit down and figure out what
we’re going to do in the next ninety days.” This is a good time frame for people to keep in their sights.
Things change very fast in the world we live in today, and it can be tough to stay focused. I believe
that to stay focused we have to keep our attention on something we can moderate over time. The plan
must be written and made visible for all to see. It needs to stay current with metrics over the ninety-day
timeline outlining the strategies used on the goals and the tasks required to implement those strategies. If
this process is followed, the plan has a huge success rate toward being accomplished.
WRIGHT
What about risk taking?
ZELAZNY
Support risk taking, at number five, is another term for empowerment. A lot of the time, people are
thinking that they can’t do certain things without having to ask a lot of questions and getting hourly
permissions. If we put the first four key steps in play, the support risk-taking component will enable
people to perform and then accomplish their goals. We’re not asking our employees to make critical
decisions about what they are trying to accomplish; however, we want to give them enough information
and tools to implement what they need to do in order to complete the task.
WRIGHT
And the last one is involvement and inclusion. Is it really possible to get 100 percent involvement and
inclusion?
ZELAZNY
Well, this is where we cement the success of the first five keys. So when you think about getting the
team involved in understanding everything we just went through, it’s important for them to get their
fingerprint on it. It gets pretty amazing how the likelihood of the success of the goal will improve when
they have a say or idea about how to get it done.
There are many ways to get the team involved, from explaining the value they bring to the table on the
job they perform each day to letting them chair weekly huddles, and asking for their input regularly, just
to name a few.
When we get that 100 percent involvement and inclusion from the team, there is no question that we
have a higher success rate of achieving the goal. Everybody feels they’re taking ownership of it, because
they’ve had a say in how it’s going to happen. It also adds to the accountability of each team member to
ensure he or she will do what is expected when each one has input.
WRIGHT
So what are the significant qualities of an excellent team leader?
ZELAZNY
The old cliché goes “you are only as good as your people are.” I would like to suggest that we treat
our direct reports as equals and “work with me” rather than subordinates and “work for me.” The resulting
productivity, efficiency, and self-worth will be something the team members will want to be a part of.
In your role, leading the team will require delegation not abdication in creating the high performance
outcome you are responsible for. There are seven simple rules for delegation as taught by one of my
mentors Keith Cunningham, author of Keys to the Vault.
1. Clearly define the desired outcome. Make it results-oriented.
2. Ensure the person has the necessary skills and competence.
3. Check available resources and inform the person of them.
4. Provide a deadline.
5. Ask them to repeat what you’ve just said to ensure proper communication.
6. Be clear on what is going to be measured.
7. Be clear on consequences (both good and bad).
Some other significant qualities of an excellent team leader I break down into what I call the “Four C’s
of Leadership.”
Communication. It is extremely important to ensure you deliver a clear concise message of what
needs to be done, so there is clarity and focus on what is required.
Charisma. There has to be a certain level of charisma in a leader for people to want to execute on
tasks. I believe the leader has to be sincere in approach with everyone’s interest at heart. That being said, a
charismatic leader creates a fun environment for everyone.
Connector. Connectors can meet and evaluate people and put individuals together who will work well
with each other. They look for win-win situations and make sure the goal or strategy is implemented
effectively.
Collector. Collectors have the ability to collect people’s attributes and use them to their fullest
advantage. This includes skills, talents, values, potential, and if they are promotable. They need to collect
all of these traits from people on their team and ensure they can move them to the right position within the
team.
WRIGHT
So what are some of the inspirational qualities you use to get the team going?
ZELAZNY
I’ve always been a firm believer that I’d never give a task or job to someone else that I couldn’t do
myself. In a leadership role, the idea is to work through people and not actually do the work ourselves, so
I always try to lead by example. The fact that I have done that job in the past and may not have been very
good at it, I know what kinds of skills and requirements are involved in making it happen. I believe that
leading by example is an inspirational quality, and it has worked exceptionally well for me in the past.
Another inspirational quality to have is a little bit of humility. I believe it is a core piece of evidence of
good leaders when they can admit they don’t know everything. Even with my own clients, I tell them that
I’m not the guru coming down from the mountain with the tablets, and I don’t have all the answers. I’ve
got lots of experience, and I’ve done a lot of great things in my life; however, I have a great team locally
and internationally that I can always rely on and go to for help to ensure we collectively come up with
recommendations to problems.
Personally I believe that a little bit of humility is a great quality in a leader. It can be inspiring to say
that this person isn’t perfect and doesn’t know everything. It’s nice to know. We’re not in positions of
leadership because we know everything. All too often, as leaders we think we have to know everything,
and I believe that’s the farthest thing from the truth.
WRIGHT
So what do you believe are some of the common pitfalls a new team leader may experience?
ZELAZNY
We have two ears and one mouth, so we’re supposed to listen twice as much as we speak. Let me
explain. One of the common pitfalls that a new team leader may experience is performing to an agenda
that is probably not in line with the entire team. New team leaders are trying to get things done with little
or no communication. Leaders need to take a hard look at themselves and listen to what’s going on around
them to ensure the team understands what needs to be done.
One of the habits from Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is to seek to
understand, then be understood.
When we can understand our team by accessing them in both their behavioral style and skill set, we
can identify whom to delegate to. Then we can be understood on what we want them to do.
There are many assessment tools available that can be used to identify behavioral traits; Meyers
Briggs, True Colors, and Thomas DiSC profile, just to name a few. My personal favorite and the most
effective tool I use, is the “Thomas DiSC” profile. When you and your team identify and share the way
they interact based on their personality traits, the team works more efficiently and effectively in achieving
the overall common goal. Good leaders need to understand why they get the reactions they do when
dealing with different behavior and skill sets.
Other diagnostic tools that are effective in achieving the desired outcome with the team are the XT
Profile, which is used to help identify if the person is a right fit for the position, and the Flippen 360
degree profile assessment, which helps indentify if there are any personal constraints. All too often
individuals are hired or promoted to positions they’re not suited for because personality and behavior
traits have not been properly identified in order to match the person to the position.
Another great tool for a new team leader to avoid any pitfalls is to do a Team 360 degree assessment.
This is where colleagues, family members, managers, managers once removed, and customers and/or
vendors provide constructive feedback on team members, giving another valuable perspective.
A lot of data can be compiled to support the old adage that goes, “perception can potentially be
reality.” As a new leader, this feedback can be useful if used in the right format. Everyone can improve,
and these tools help identify blind spots and areas for improvement; a development plan can be put in
place to enhance those areas. This can be used for current position improvements or identifying
requirements needed for the next level of promotion within their careers.
WRIGHT
You’ve come up with some key things that inspire individuals to help create a great team. Would you
share that with our readers?
ZELAZNY
It gets back to making sure you put a challenging work environment into play. I believe that
everybody wants to be challenged to a degree, not over-challenged, but enough to make things interesting.
The environment has to be there, too. If we’re not having fun in that environment, it tends to bring the
team down. Fun can be had in the workplace, but I see a lot of business owners and team leaders out there
who think there is no room for fun. This is another common pitfall and misconception. At the end of the
day, a quote I use all the time is, “What’s fun gets done!”
Another key component is making sure that recognition is always given and received personally. It
doesn’t cost anything to say thank you, but when things are going well, leaders can start taking things for
granted.
When people have been in a company for a long time, gratitude for what they do can be overlooked.
It’s like being in a marriage. When we start taking for granted all the things that are done from day to day
with no recognition for what was done, we start losing interest in doing anything because it feels that
nobody cares.
One last key element is security in their position with a safe environment for them to operate in. When
people feel comfortable knowing their workplace is safe and their position will be around for a long time,
they are more effective in their role within the company.
Being challenged and recognized with a secure environment are all key things to consider when
building a great team on a solid foundation.
WRIGHT
So how do you effectively point out blind spots that the team may have?