We are always working on our performance even when we we aren’t consciously working on it. During this work, one of the questions we ask ourselves is, “How do I consistently maintain a high level of performance?” Perhaps there are more effective questions to ask.

Businesses and other types of organizations have dozens of projects in a given year. Each has a beginning, middle and end. Each requires a different amount of time. Some may be rated more important than others. Completing the project may take a week, month or even a year although a long project may have several smaller projects in the duration of it.

Having said that, perhaps a primary question is “Where are we?” Determining that can tell us, not only where we are, but who we need to be to consistently perform at a high level and how to prevent becoming discouraged when we are going through a rough patch.

The phases of being engaged in a project are always the same. How long we are in a particular phase is different with each project. Also, the transition from one to another varies. Each state requires different intentions and different evaluations of our performance. Our “A” game may call for different actions that we see because we are paying attention.

I won’t pay a lot of attention to introduce each phase in this piece. I will address each in more detail over the next few weeks.

For starters, here are the phases:

FORMULATION. This is the time when you create the project, its purpose and who and what you will need to deliver on the purpose.

CONCENTRATION. This is where we begin and continue to work very hard on the project with little reward. You know, put 10 in the hopper to get one out.

MOMENTUM. This is when the project is beginning to produce results. The team is coming together. Consistency is showing up.

STABILITY. We know our team and its capabilities. It is what it is and our results are consistent no matter what they are.

COMPLETION. The team and its results are acknowledged. We determine what worked and what didn’t work. Is there anything we learned from what didn’t work? If so, what action will we take? If not, let it go and move on to what is next.
Stay tuned for the next few blog posts where I will give you the details so you can recognize each phase. Meanwhile, check out the Coaching Bookstore for more helpful tips on performance and mastering consistency.