The Four Phases:

Phase One: Vision (Why and What)  This phase in the beginning point and where you or your team broadly defines your desired outcome or vision that you want to achieve.  It is also the phase in which team members are identified.  Many times, a person or team believes that an idea is their vision.  Be sure to ask yourself things like:

1. What will we have a year (or more) from now when the project is completed?
2. What will we/or our customers be doing differently a year (or more) from now?
3. How will we feel when we have completed working on this project?

Phase Two: Ideation (Possibility thinking – Brainstorming)  Alternatives are generated & outside resources are identified.  Many times, the first idea is taken and you “run with it”.  To brainstorm or “ideate” properly you need to be sure to gather ideas from different perspectives and be sure you have ample ideas to move into the planning phase with.  For instance, if your vision is to create a more efficient and effective customer experience, ideas could be generated not only on the ways you currently serve customers but also add ideas that seem “crazy” or unobtainable.  That type of brainstorming allows people to build on each other’s thoughts and ideas and true innovation can occur.

Phase Three: Planning (How)  Plans are developed & potential conflicts are resolved.  By taking the ideas generated and considering which ones will impact you achieving what right will look like or the “vision” for the project you can begin to pull to the top of the pile those ideas which you can begin creating a plan to achieve.  By keeping all the ideas on file you can retrieve from that list as the project progresses.

Phase Four: Execution (Go!)  Plan is selected, implemented & results are measured.  By using short-term goals that are specific, measurable, and actionable, your team and its members can start taking the small steps to move towards the outcome you want to achieve.

The Four Premises of the work cycle:

1.  Allowing people to do work they prefer will result in achieving your desired outcomes.

2.  It is important to make an effort to spend an equal amount of time and energy for each of the four phases and not skip or move quickly past any one of them.

3.  Making sure that you have a team member or input for the phase you are working on, in the meeting, is important in achieving the best results.

4.  It’s best to use each team member’s strength in the area they prefer.

Your Cortex Team Strengths® Results scale:

58-90 Preferred/Overemphasis – you may overemphasize this area of the cycle and neglect others.  You may also become anxious or agitated when in a meeting that is outside of this scope of the cycle.
41-57 Equal Emphasis  If you have these scores for one of the phases you probably feel competent in this area.  Your experience has probably been that you are able to work in this phase with good results in this area.
18-40 Avoided/Ignored, even when needed  When asked to work in this area you may become slightly agitated or unknowingly anxious.  You may try to ignore this phase and jump more quickly into the area or areas that you enjoy or feel more confident and competent in.

To learn more about your results, you may find this article helpful to discover the common mistakes teams make.  For an overview, watch this video from a news story conducted by WFXR news.