Thirteen years ago, I joined Designed Learning as an independent contractor to assist in marketing and sales. I knew absolutely nothing about Designed Learning, Flawless Consulting, or Peter Block. I knew even less about setting strategic vision and its importance to organizational effectiveness.
Learning the skills to avoid siloed work environments and embrace collaboration within the entire organization is essential to successful outcomes. Setting strategic vision includes establishing realistic goals and working with others — fully utilizing the expertise of all. It is also about communicating effectively, developing working agreements across organizational boundaries, and solving problems long term. The results include increased job satisfaction, employee commitment, and bottom-line improvement.
Setting strategic vision means learning to convene others in a way that quickly builds connection and trust. It creates a personal view that you are part of something larger than yourself, the people you work with directly every day or a single client. You learn to look beyond the immediate and begin to hold yourself accountable, voluntarily committing to the well-being of the whole. Acquiring these valuable skills will ensure that every project and conversation moves the organization forward in a positive direction.
Flawless Consulting® develops tools that enable participants to be more strategic in their thinking and more effective at solving problems. These essential skills include:
During the experience, participants practice in real time the skills needed to have their expertise used. Every phase is discussed and practiced ensuring that no phase is skipped or ignored for the sake of expediency.
The first and most critical phase of Flawless Consulting is Contracting. Contracting is about building trust, exchanging wants and offers, and deciding what you’re going to do together and how you’re going to do it. In other words, establishing a working agreement. The success of the entire project and the decision to act and implement a lasting solution is incumbent on this initial phase.
During Flawless Consulting, participants also learn what role they typically choose as a consultant and partner: Expert, Pair of Hands or Collaborative.
The skills learned in Flawless Consulting are essential in setting a strategic vision. Putting them into practice means ensuring that every person’s expertise is fully utilized, accountability and commitment are chosen, and individual success is achieved. More importantly, Flawless Consulting creates a culture of collaboration, sets strategic vision, and ensures the health and success of the whole.
Article by Chris Witt
