3 Rockstar Rules for Delivering Excellence

Video Transcript:

Hi, we're consultants and a brand implementation team for one of Simplicity's healthcare clients. I'm Denise Angarola. And with me today is Maura McCann, Jenn Desrochers, Kerry Caldwell, Christa Ramberg, and Torin Lee. Today we wanted to share with you three Rockstar roles that spoke to us in our team.

Being part of a client team allows each consultant to share their unique skill set and talents with the project, the client, and with other consultants. This is great for peer to peer sharing and creative Client Solutions. A connected team helps drive collaboration and promotes a good working relationship. And example part of our integration into the client culture, we embrace the reflection. A reflection begins the meeting with a quote or other tool to help team member center and focus. It bonds the team in a moment of quiet meditation; today we are sharing Simon Sinek on teams:

That's a great segue into Rockstar rule number seven, adapt to your client's needs. As I mentioned earlier, our client is in the healthcare industry. And as you can imagine, for these last two years of dealing with the global pandemic, has had a direct and ongoing financial and emotional impact to our clients where their main focus has been lifesaving and ongoing health care. The program began just a few short months before the pandemic hit the US and has had an ongoing impact to how the program has been executed. The client and the consulting team have had personal and professional losses in these last two years. So together as a Simplicity team, we've rallied around we've been resilient and supportive of each other and our client to keep our program moving ahead, we've been able to address the challenges and changes that the organization and quite frankly the world has had in these last two years. By moving the program along, we've had a positive impact on the results of brand awareness and choice across the client’s network.

Your point about changes in work environment is well taken. Adaptability is especially important in the remote work environment that we are all in today. So with all of us working online from home offices, great communication is a must for us to stay in sync on project priorities and program goals and to understand what the client's needs are. Our team has seen priorities change on more than one occasion. Our client’s organization has restructured a couple of times in the last two years of our project. And this restructuring has translated to changes at a leadership level. Oftentimes, that means revisiting decisions that have been made or maybe a direction we had already decided to go. It also has an impact on a more tactical level where we may see new stakeholders on a cross functional team. Adapting to our client needs means that in every one of these situations, we stay flexible. It means we recognize when to pivot, we get creative when priorities change, and we pull folks in and bring them up to speed quickly and efficiently when we have a new team member. Our group strives to maintain a positive team dynamic, and we all have pretty good sense of humor so that we can stay adaptable and flexible in these situations.

Building on that is rockstar rule number one, your client success is your success. Now, I'm new to consulting and when I joined the program, a wise man told me "your role is to advise and support". We all keep these on our desktop. He said if you figure out how to do that, everything else is easy. One of the ways we add value every day is through clear, concise and repeatable communication. All of our team members know exactly what's happening in the program. They can refer to about executive leadership, communications and weekly team statuses to answer any questions anyone may have of our program, weekly communication for this program is both top down and bottom up. There are no surprises in this program. Except the actual surprises like when your signs disappear in the middle of Montana, never to be seen again, working with a large healthcare organization that is in the middle of a global healthcare crisis. We've adapted to their style and flow. We report we communicate, we focus on what's critical in our program, so that our leaders and our team members can focus on what's important in their organization.

And speaking of your client’s success is your success - as a Simplicity Consultant, you have to also remember that it is from the client's perspective. Therefore, you bring your personal value which helps guide the client towards the stated goal and our project or programs. But remember, while doing so we need to release and not be beholden to the path. An example of that as during these last few years, there's been many, many times when Leadership has a crisis to deal with that had to do with serving patients and their customers and clients and we as a consulting team had to be there and be nimble and like Krista said earlier pivot to provide them with the space and time to do so make decisions and change directions. So remember, when your client shines, you shine.

As with all contracts, your client’s perspective is the reality. And you can help shape that reality by employing Rockstar rule number three, which is adding value every day. Great consultants have high emotional intelligence. Having a high EQ helps read the room and navigate the team dynamics for the best outcomes. As more I mentioned earlier, often cultural and political dynamics do come into play. And being able to navigate these successfully is essential. This helps to build trust and connection with the client. as consultants, we provide a fresh perspective that can often uncover new opportunities for the client. And this is how we bring value.

On that same note, leveraging your blend of hard skills and soft human skills can add business and personal value to your client and staying attuned to your client's needs in the short and long term. Add that value every day. We're seeing that their needs can change ever quicker these days; this in turn adds value to Simplicity as an organization that clients and employees alike desire in a business partnership. So remember, stay flexible, stay nimble. Remember that your client’s success is your success, and be the rock star consultant that adds value every day. You can teach the skills but you can't teach the attitude from our Simplicity Consulting Group. Thank you for spending a moment with us today!