Connie R. Charles: Strengthening Your Business Through Understanding People
Even the savviest business leaders face challenges when trying to maximize their company’s output. They have the technical knowledge and have done everything by the book, yet they are not meeting their benchmarks. Their workplace synergies are not quite where they need to be. Something is a little off.
That’s where Connie Charles steps in!
Founder and CEO of iMap Strategic Solutions™, Connie built her company to optimize the performance of businesses and individuals across all industries. A natural educator with experience in curriculum design, Connie has always held the belief that in order to effectively teach someone, you have to begin with who they are. She eventually decided to launch her own consulting company specializing in gaining accurate and authentic understandings of individual people, backed by a technology tool she had been introduced to while designing programs at a previous job. Her book, The Magic of the Method, although no longer available, provides insights into how leaders can find solutions relevant to their daily situations.
“Using behavioral data and how to apply it to your work can be the difference between a highly regarded, efficient and profitable business, and one that is mired in dysfunction. If an organization fails to meet its objectives, it’s rarely because they lack business acumen or technical skills. It’s usually a people issue,” said Connie. “I created iMap to help business leaders and all levels of employees accelerate their ability to build solid relationships based on trust and mutual respect.”- Connie R. Charles
Tell us about your background and your philosophy about education.
My career has spanned roles in non-profits, government, corporate and entrepreneurship. I think this diversity in experiences and people shaped my philosophy about education. People are complex, no matter who they are or what they do. If you are going to be effective in educating them, you have to begin with an understanding of each person as an individual. With this knowledge, you can then shape the learning experience so that you maximize the time and investment in the educational process.
What was the synthesis that led you to launch iMap Strategic Solutions™?
I was working for Dupont as an instructional designer and through a series of serendipitous events, began to develop skills in analyzing people using a data centric approach. I applied this knowledge to some of the programming that I created, and we saw remarkable results in the outcomes.
One specific example was with a group of equipment repair engineers who were now being asked to sell annual service contracts to their customers. These folks had a negative image of a salesperson, and were quite vocal about not wanting to take on that responsibility. However, the program I designed allowed them to see that there were different ways to sell and that they already possessed natural skills to do so. By grounding the instruction in self-awareness, the engineers were able to harness the power of choice and adapt their style to a new goal. As a result, there was a 20% increase in service contract sales.
This and other successes got me hooked and I developed a vision for how this data centric model could transform the work environment. But the corporate walls were too confining and wouldn’t allow me to focus on what I wanted to do. So, I left and started my own consulting firm, Strategic Solutions International, Inc., a decision I have never regretted.
Over the years I’ve perfected a process for converting data into practical advice that is customized for the user. As a result, relationships thrive, people are happier, work gets done faster and the performance goals are achieved. Everything iMap accomplishes can be achieved by a person on their own, given enough time. However, iMap does it faster and without the damage of a trial-and-error process that uses experience as a teacher. Instead, we use data to guide our understanding of people.
What does “The iMap™” provide?
iMap delivers insightful information about individuals and the teams they are on….with speed. It circumvents a trial-and-error method for learning about each other, avoiding costly interpersonal mistakes. It is also important to understand what iMap is not. It’s not an assessment tool. Assessments often judge, criticize or pigeonhole a person. Instead, iMap is a descriptive method that shows you how to be successful at whatever you want to do. It gives you the power to choose how you want to handle yourself in any situation that is linked to your success.
If someone is failing in their role, it is rarely due to skill, business acumen or technical expertise. It is most often because of a people problem. The iMap Dashboard helps people build relationships fast, even if they have never spent time together. To do this, iMap uses two key elements. First of all, the customized coaching guides give people an accurate and authentic language to talk about who they are. Secondly, iMap aggregates these human portraits and compares and contrasts the characteristics of multiple people. The self-awareness is expanded to being able to understand each other. This enables leaders and team members to collaborate more effectively on common goals and objectives.
The addition of iLA, the iMap Leadership Accelerator, means the customization of the descriptive guidance is now driven by the unique questions that surface in the moment. This AI enhanced App lets the user drive what’s most important to understand about each other by responding to real time questions.
You pioneered the development of a virtual team building platform, iMapMyTeam®. Take us through the platform.
The iMap dashboard was developed to meet a specific need of a client I had been working with. While she loved what I was able to accomplish with her leadership team, she now was responsible for an organization of more than 2,000 people. The iMapMyTeam dashboard enabled us to create a top to bottom experience that would connect all members in the organization. The project was actually expanded to include their customers so they could establish better working relationships.
Upon completion of a brief questionnaire that surveys your opinions, each person is immediately given access to their personal dashboard. Each team member then goes through a self-directed learning process that focuses on their passions, strengths, expectations and reactions. As they navigate through each step, customized descriptions along with video clips provide insights about their personal characteristics.
Once grounded in self-awareness, each individual can learn how to manage themselves in a variety of situations through a series of personalized coaching guides. These cover topics such as How to be Happy, Dealing with Differences or The Stress of Managing a Meeting. Additionally, each dashboard is populated with their team members so through these customized guides they can learn How to Build Trust, What to Avoid and Working Together.
While the dashboard is pre-populated according to the organizational structure, each individual can build their own teams based on cross-functional responsibilities. The Team Dynamics report uses a four quadrant grid to visually Map out the combined characteristics of the team. It provides instant insights into team blind spots, who is likely to have conflict and how to keep each person motivated.
How do golf and business go hand in hand?
Business and golf are both about relationships. A round of golf with a customer is a five-hour meeting that you would never get any other way. I learned early on in my career that if you give people what they want, you earn the right to deliver what they really need. For many people, time spent on the golf course is by far a better choice than being in a conference room. If you create a great experience, you earn the right to do business with them.
Many of SSI’s clients came because of Executive Golf Schools. We invited key leaders to spend a day with us at a great golf course. The program spent time indoors, learning about oneself, and then took this self-knowledge to the practice range to apply it to golf skills. This approach to introducing ourselves got us in the door with many Fortune 100 clients.
I think all learning is enhanced through experience and golf simulates so much of what goes on in the work environment. Changing conditions, making quick but strategic decisions, following rules and protocol are all examples of skills required both in business as well as in golf. As a result, the golf course can become the classroom.
Several years ago, we launched a team building activity called the Team Tee Off. This experiential learning program replicates what happens on a daily basis in the workplace. Teams are formed and capitalized, and their first task is to put a strategy together. They then implement that strategy and on the first three holes they focus on how to use their talent. The second three on how to effectively use their tools (clubs). The final three holes require the team to hit a target. Their performance either adds to their capital or drains it and the team with the best ROI wins. The experience is debriefed over cocktails where they discuss how the Team Tee Off experience was similar to or different from what happens every day at work. The insights are profound.
People are people. They just do different things. iMapMySports starts by building self-awareness in the same way it is done for every other iMap application. It is the coaching guidance that is crafted to reflect how they use this knowledge in sports. It is particularly important for coaching athletes because often if a person isn’t performing at their best, it’s considered their fault. Instead, it could be the way they are being coached is triggering stress reactions which will prevent optimum performance.
The sports coaching guides in iMapMySports help provide the right coaching for each member of the team so that the skills and ability are not stunted by inaccurate communication. Personalized coaching guides include The Elite Athlete, a description of two layers of motivation, behavior in control (strengths) and behavior out of control (stress reactions), Prepare to Win, a guide on how to stay out of stress, or the Coach/Player comparison that identifies where the coaching could get off track.
Do you have plans to expand the iMap brand to new applications and geographies?
We’ve already begun! Because iMap is designed for virtual use, we can literally go anywhere in the world. We have a company in South America that is using iMap for helping students make career choices and we’ve also developed content for iMapMyEducation. Our next challenge will be translating it into other languages. Additionally, iLA, the iMap Leadership Accelerator, uses AI capabilities to provide instant insights about how to motivate and manage people. It answers your questions with real time suggestions. It’s like having a coach in your pocket.
Any upcoming speaking engagements?
I do a lot of speaking for private client events and am doing engagements in Wisconsin, Alabama, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Sacramento over the next six weeks. Additionally, I will be a featured speaker at the Women’s Empowerment World Golf Tour beginning in July of 2025. These will take place at premier venues in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia as well as two U.S. locations.
