What it Takes To Succeed in Consulting: Part Two

World-Class Performers

During the past few years, my staff and I have spent countless hours researching world-class performers. We have interviewed dozens of people who perform at world-class levels including athletes, actors, musicians, politicians and business executives. We found that they possess a common set of behaviors and skills. The same behaviors and skills can be learned and implemented by you to create a successful consulting practice.

1.     Seek out a coach or mentor.

2.     Use performance feedback.

3.     Turn unconscious tendencies into conscious choices.

4.     Realize that what is required for improvement may be counterintuitive.

5.     Manage energy.

6.     Develop actionable plans.

1. Seek out a coach or mentor

World-class performers look outside themselves to find a set of eyes that can give them advice and feedback to help them get better. They seek out somebody who is not necessarily better than them at a given task. They find folks who may not even be good at the task about which they’re coaching. Instead, what they’re good at is having a discerning eye. They’re good at identifying a tendency that helps their mentees get better.

Let me give you an example using professional actors and actresses. We have interviewed several very successful people. Everyone we interviewed told us that they don’t have to find an established “superstar” coach for a mentor. Their coaches don’t have to have won Oscars or Emmys. What they have to find is someone who can provide them with that important set of outside eyes. The right mentor can help us understand our tendencies and what we may need to do to get better. In fact, most great acting coaches never actually made their living as an actor or actress, but each had a gift for coaching others.

2. Use performance feedback

All world-class performers use performance feedback. Actors and actresses film themselves and then look at what they’ve done. Musicians record themselves, and athletes have game film. They study performance feedback in order to understand what their tendencies are -- those small, almost imperceptible things that may keep them from being the best of the best.

What kind of game film do you have? Go back through your career. Do you have any performance appraisals? Have you taken a 360-degree evaluation? What kind of feedback have you received along the way?

3. Turn unconscious tendencies into conscious choices

World-class performers realize that they have unconscious tendencies. These are things that they do because they’ve always done them. They realize that they need to turn these tendencies into conscious choices.

World-class performers understand that it’s critical to stay in the moment. It is vital that they stay focused and not go on “auto pilot.” That’s not to say that they don’t have very highly tuned skills that allow them to do certain things without thought, but what they understand is that they need to stay in the moment and remain there.

4. Realize that what is required for improvement may be counterintuitive

World-class performers understand that what might be necessary for improvement can feel completely counterintuitive. Most people are able to drive a reasonable level of results because they leverage their natural talents well. World-class performers leverage their talents and learn that what might be critical for success may feel quite uncomfortable and not be at all natural.

If you want to be a world-class performer, you need to step up and understand that you don’t know everything. You have to develop some unnatural, counterintuitive skill sets and get comfortable with new processes.

5. Manage energy

World-class performers learn that they have to manage their energy. We all know that we have 24 hours in a day. We wouldn’t have gotten to the level of our careers that we’ve reached if we didn’t understand how to prioritize or how to get things done. We know that there’s only so much time in the day.

World-class performers also know that there’s only so much gas in their gas tank every day. They know that they have to manage their energy judiciously -- just like their time. They understand that they can’t waste their energy on unproductive activities. This concept is going to be very important as you develop your consulting practice. Don’t waste your energy on people or tasks that do not help you move your business along.

6. Develop an actionable plan

World-class performers create an actionable plan. They understand their strengths and build upon them. Having a coach and studying performance feedback helps. In addition to building upon their strengths, all world-class performers seek to uncover their blind spots. They do not want to be derailed by something they are completely unaware of. They want to know their weak areas. They do not waste time on being defensive. All world-class performers set about minimizing their blind spots and maximizing their strengths. With this knowledge, they then develop a plan.

The plans of the world-class performers we interviewed tended to have the following traits:

·       The actions need to be countable. Did you do it or didn’t you do it?

·       The plans were not overwhelming. You need to “eat the elephant one bite at a time.”

·       The plans were written. Writing it down is critical because then it becomes more real.

·       The plans were communicated. Share your plan with someone. It can be a friend, your coach, or your mentor.

·       Adapt, adapt, adapt. A plan will constantly provide you with data points. Your job is to adapt your behaviors to the data in order to maximize your success.

This article is an excerpt from Buddy’s latest book, "Experience Matters: How to Succeed as a Consultant in Today’s World." To download your free copy of the full version CLICK HERE.