You need to lead change in strategy. What are your options?

Utilize surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather input from key stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners, and industry experts. Analyze market trends, competitor actions, and customer feedback to identify emerging opportunities and challenges. By incorporating both quantitative and qualitative assessments, you can ensure a comprehensive understanding of the situation and make informed decisions about strategic changes that align with your organization's goals and values.

When I faced the daunting task of leading a strategic shift in our legal tech firm, the first thing I did was play "corporate detective" to assess the situation thoroughly. I didn't start with spreadsheets or reports; instead, I initiated a series of "coffee chats" with team members across all levels. These informal sessions, often filled with laughter and off-topic discussions, provided me with invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities we faced, far beyond what data alone could show. For example, during a chat with a junior developer, I discovered that our team was eager to explore AI-driven legal research tools, a direction we hadn't considered seriously.

Before using any frameworks, it's important to understand why and who wants to change the strategy. Simply saying 'because it's time' is not enough. The decision to change should only be made after key stakeholders express a need for change due to current business challenges or a desired future state.

As a leader, I can facilitate change by communicating the rationale behind the new strategy, involving team members in decision-making, providing relevant training, piloting changes, monitoring progress closely, and celebrating successes to maintain motivation and momentum.

Assessing the situation is crucial in leading change in strategy because it provides a clear understanding of the current situation, identifies challenges and opportunities, and helps benchmark against competitors. This evaluation forms the foundation for informed decision-making, enabling leaders to devise a strategic plan that is realistic, targeted, and aligned with the organization's goals. It ensures that the change is necessary, feasible, and effective in achieving the desired outcomes.

The team is great! However, they may sometimes fall into routine and share a similar vision. To implement a strategy change, we need to prepare a stakeholder map that covers all constituents and affected groups. This will allow us to form a project (!) team for the strategy changes, that can be more diverse and efficient.

When it was time to steer our legal tech company in a new direction, I knew I couldn't do it alone. So, I turned the strategy overhaul into a series of team-led brainstorming competitions. Each department was tasked with developing innovative strategies that aligned with our new direction, complete with mock presentations and a panel of judges from different areas of our company. For instance, our legal research team proposed an AI-driven predictive analytics tool that could revolutionize how we approached legal precedents. This playful competition not only unearthed a wealth of creative ideas but also fostered a deep sense of ownership and excitement across the team.

Don’t underestimate the importance of stakeholders mapping. This will ensure you know who to involve from the start or at different stages of your change strategy. Involving your team from the start or at earliest possible (depending on the confidentiality level), would assure faster buy in of the why. They can then develop the what and how more effectively

Involving the team in leading change in strategy is crucial because it fosters engagement, builds commitment, and leverages diverse insights. Team involvement ensures that those implementing the strategy understand and support it, increasing the likelihood of successful execution. This collaborative approach enhances problem-solving and innovation as team members contribute unique perspectives and expertise. Moreover, it promotes a sense of ownership and accountability among team members, motivating them to achieve the change objectives.

Change in strategy is more successful when you involved the team. Brainstorming with the team can uncover the best methods and increase buy-in from everyone on the team.

To share the new strategic vision of our legal tech venture, I decided to launch what I dubbed "The Future Is Now" campaign, a mix of old-school charm and modern tech. I kicked off with a series of short, animated videos that depicted our journey into the future of law, complete with flying books and AI assistants, which we shared across all our internal communication channels. But I didn't stop there; I also revived the company newsletter turning it into a monthly comic strip that illustrated our strategy's key points and milestones in an entertaining and digestible format.

One quality that strategy teams often lack is the ability to persuade. To achieve our goals, we must effectively communicate our vision to others. It's important to be open to debate and acknowledge that not everyone will agree with our ideas. However, it's not productive to pressure others into accepting a strategy that has been approved by the board. Instead, we should focus on integrating and engaging clients and employees in the pivot. It's crucial that every worker understands the purpose of the new strategy, not just for the company, but also for the team and themselves. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked.

Communicating the vision is crucial in leading change in strategy because it aligns the organization around a common goal, providing direction and purpose. Effective communication clarifies the reasons for the change, the benefits it will bring, and the role each individual plays in its implementation. This fosters a shared understanding and commitment among team members, reducing resistance and increasing support for the initiative. Leaders inspire and motivate their teams by vividly presenting the future state, facilitating smoother transitions and higher chances of successful change.

Articulate the strategic change clearly, highlighting its benefits and alignment with organizational goals. Employ varied communication methods to reach all levels of the organization. Gain buy-in by engaging key stakeholders early, addressing concerns, and showcasing how the change benefits everyone. Use storytelling to make the vision relatable, reinforce the message through consistent updates, and involve employees in the change process to foster ownership and support. Celebrate small wins to maintain momentum and commitment.

One thing I find more powerful when communicating vision and strategy in a change process is the power of story telling. Tell a story why this is important. Imagine the scenario if we stay at present without making the change. Tell a story of others’ similar successes and also failures. Paint both side of the story. When they see the full picture, they get it and embrace it.

I like to use a strategy cycle, where every three months we review with the C-level team. Additionally, every month, C-level managers review their strategies internally with their teams. This approach promotes agility and reduces the risk of going a long way without achieving results.

To monitor our progress, I initiated the video updates, where I shared the highs and lows of our journey in a candid, often humorous manner, encouraging teams to do the same. This not only kept everyone informed but also cultivated a culture of openness and learning from mistakes. When challenges arose, as they inevitably did, I was quick to convene impromptu brainstorming sessions with team leads to conjure solutions and adjust our course as necessary.

While monitoring and tracking the milestones in your strategic plan, be prepared to exercise flexibility to adjust the plan when something is not working out. Be transparent and be swift to change as long as the guiding principles are observed. Main aim is to get there. How to get there can be revised when needed. But involve and communicate to the relevant stakeholders or team members as their pieces of deliverables could be dependent on yours.

The support of the strategy should be at the company level. It should not just be in slogans or mottos, but in the actual contributions of the founders, C-level executives, and middle management. This will make it a genuine issue rather than an artificial one.

Supporting and empowering the team are key elements in leading change in strategy because they enable individuals to navigate through uncertainty and challenges effectively. Providing support through resources, training, and encouragement builds confidence and competence while empowering team members to make decisions and take initiative and fosters a sense of ownership. This approach accelerates the implementation of change and cultivates a proactive and resilient organizational culture. It encourages innovation and adaptability, essential for sustaining long-term success in a dynamic business environment.

Once the why and picture of success is clearly articulated and embraced, empower the team to formulate the what and how. Support by guiding, coaching, encouraging and motivating them along the change journey. This way you can avoid or pick signals of disengagement or resentment that could derail the plan.

A major change in strategy is not for the faint-hearted. That's a good thing because it can be quite a burden on the entire system, not just the customer (reason enough to be circumspect), such as the burger chain, Wendy's, found out when it tried, out of the blue, to cross-pollinate a pricing strategy from the ride sharing industry: dynamic pricing. We all get annoyed when Uber, for example, kicks in a surge to the airport but it has become something of what I, a pricing strategist, call an industry pricing convention. Can you imagine your spouse cutting your convo short with, "Honey, I know you're 3cms dilated, but I need to grab this burger before it costs $5 more in 5 minutes". Even less dramatic strategy changes need monitoring.

Change in strategy can be triggered for various reasons but one should be mindful about execution especially if it impacts people. 1. Define the "Why" (Purpose), "What" (Vision), and "How" (Mission) surrounding the change. 2. The impact it will have on different resources and how it will lead to constructive outcomes. 3. Define how the change will be measured for its success or failure. 4. If its a disruptive change than what other options were considered. 5. Be factual, establish a Change Control Board to consider unbiased diverse perspectives and feedback before going further to plan, formulate, communicate, and execute. 6. Tweak considering additional viewpoints and inputs. 7. Get additional buying and sponsorship as needed to go ahead.

Look at the strategy from multiple angles. Business, Mission, Ethics, Impact and more should all be considered. Strategy isn’t always about making money. Sometimes there are other goals in mind. Think of both short term and long term strategy. Start wide then narrow the scope.

Leading change in strategy can involve visionary leadership, collaborative decision-making, and data-driven insights. For example, a company aiming to transition to a more customer-centric approach might involve key stakeholders in developing a new strategy based on comprehensive market research and customer feedback. By articulating a compelling vision for the future, backed by data-driven insights, leaders can inspire buy-in and alignment across the organization, fostering a culture of innovation and agility to drive successful implementation of the new strategy.