Six Keys to a Winning Team Key #5 – Action Plan

By Action Coach Dave Beam

A fifth key to a winning team is to have a written action plan. Great ideas, an inspiring vision, and even a happy work place don't automatically produce results. Results come from taking action. Each team member needs to know daily who is supposed to do what by when.

The name of our franchise is "ACTION COACH". There is a great reason for that. Nothing happens in life and business until someone takes ACTION. You can have a strong leader with a common goal and great, clearly defined rules, but with no action, nothing happens.

Procrastination is the enemy of all progress and learning, and it is rooted in fear. Fear is a paralyzing emotion or expectation about negative outcomes. The antidote and cure for fear is action. For the action to be most effective, it should be preceded by some organized thought and planning. Very simply stated, a great action plan has three components - WHO does WHAT by WHEN. That is it. If you are clear on the goal and the rules, then organize your plan into logical steps, and delegate each step to the right team member. Assign an accountability and deadline, and you are ready to go.

Many meetings are de-energizing because they don't end with an action plan. Talk and analysis with no action is really non-productive, because you really learn nothing until action is taken and you produce a result and a response.

We have another saying in Action Coach, that "Seminars Don't Work - People Do". The focused purpose of all learning and discussion is action, and the Action Plan is the tool to create that outcome. So here is what I challenge you to DO next time you are in a team meeting. Near the close of the meeting, take out a piece of paper with three columns - Who, What, When, and complete your action plan for all present. Be specific on WHAT actions will be taken, and put in a deadline and an accountability for each item. It really sounds simple, but it is a profound way to get your team moving.

The action plan keeps the accountabilities for the established routine in place. While the team is innovating and experimenting, they are still performing the necessary bread and butter tasks and responsibilities by sticking to the action plan.

I hope you are beginning to see the power of these six keys in operation together. Finally, we will look at the imperative key of 100% participation. I challenge you to throw off your fear and take a chance! You just might learn something!