Have you ever felt stuck on creating a strategic plan that was actually doable?
Is your team begging you to slow down? Or modify your implementation expectations?
It’s time to get unstuck with finding your yang that complements your visionary yin and also train your brain on effective strategic planning.
YOUR Yang to your Yin
All visionaries need an integrator by their side. The best integrators are those that possess constellation thinking skills. This person
- 1. likes complexities, solving, planning taking action, and getting things done
- 2. must practice self-care and boundaries as they use a massive amount of energy and can get drained more often than others
- 3. isn’t easy to find
- 4. is a game changer
- 5. liberates the visionary so they can pursue their passions, let their ideas flow, and see things come to life
While you find and/or groom this person, here is the What/How/Now on a technique to keep making progress and getting buy-in and action from your team.
WHAT is constellation thinking
Constellation thinking means that a single thought triggers a network of related ideas simultaneously. There is science and information that can be read in sources like Cambridge Scholars [1]. Constellation Models are used to design user interfaces on software (UX), organizational charts [2], other aspects in business. These models help your brain understand how separate elements dynamically shift and impact each other.
If you want to “max” your brain power (Type A personalities like this), you can train your brain on the most complex constellation thinking. This is called quaternary relations, which is defining the relationship between 4 elements.
A simple example of this thinking:
BUSINESS HURDLE: you need more capacity on your team or you can’t grow the client base
FOUR ELEMENTS that must be considered: is there enough profit to afford them and if not, what revenue do you need to attract to afford the hire? what responsibilities would they take on and what level of authority do they have with each? what career path is possible to incentivize and retain them? what learning tools and training can you provide?
Halford, Baker, McCreden, and Bain (2005) established that quaternary relations are the most complex relations that adults can mentally represent and constitute the upper limit of human processing capacity. So if you train your brain on this, give yourself a HUGE pat on the back!
HOW do you train your brain
We love visuals as they quickly expand your brainpower by activating synapses. You can start by opening a whiteboard software and searching for constellation images in the template library. Or tack white or glass boards to your walls and grab some colored expo markers. Tip: Standing boosts the brain and colors make it more fun to write ideas and draw lines between elements.
STEP 1: Write these 4 words:
- People
- Productivity
- Profit
- Presence
STEP 2: write visionary ideas that you want to implement
STEP 3: Draw a line between any idea and the P’s that would be impacted, if you implemented the idea.
STEP 4: Celebrate!! You are doing constellation thinking :-).
NOW is the time to do it
Now it’s time to translate this constellation thinking into action. View our visual in Collaborative Business Planning and [3] download a simple template HERE [4].
Then let your brain and hands do the rest by drawing, typing, and then sharing with your team.
If you want a boost or curious about getting help designing a plan and leading the changes, Boost Up [5] or Chat with Us [6].