What role does leadership play in Strategic Planning?

With the end of this fiscal year racing towards us, many organisations are currently reviewing budgets and strategic priorities for this coming year and beyond. This article is written to introduce some proven concepts that when applied effectively will guarantee improved strategic business and organisational performance.

Throughout my career and now having the hindsight of many strategic planning discussions with Board members and executive managers, I have always advocated that they need to involve stakeholders from across every level of the organisation’s ecosystem to ensure successful strategy execution.

I also suggest that CEO’s and GM’s need to provide their team constituents with a sense of ownership of both the planning process and the outcomes, most importantly though, they need people to account for the delivery and execution of the organisations strategic business objectives. Easily said, but not always easy to implement.

That being said, what is the role of leadership in the end-to-end strategy implementation process?

In summary, leaders play a critical role in creating and leading the culture to support strategy execution, the alignment of resources, and fostering collaboration and accountability. Based upon nearly twenty years of observations, this article we will explore both the inherent leadership and  organisational challenges often encountered, and a suite of recommended solutions for leaders to be better equipped, enabling them to deliver more effectively on their organisation’s strategic priorities.

Let’s start with the challenges.

Feedback from a raft of clients across the Corporate, Not for Profit, and Industry Association sectors suggest the following ten resistors are commonly observed within their work teams.

1.  Lack of clarity or consensus on goals and objectives,

2.  A resistance to change,

3.  Insufficient resources (financial, human, technology),

4.  Inadequate communication and coordination,

5.  Unforeseen market and external / environmental factors,

6.  Inability to adapt to fast changing circumstances,

7.  Poor strategy execution and a lack of accountability,

8.  Ineffective leadership and management,

9.    Insufficient stakeholder buy-in and support, and an

10. Inability to measure and track progress.

When you look deeper into the above list, a greater percentage of resistance can be directly related back inept leadership skills, poor communication and issues related to what we call the “People Stuff”. Often, it’s not so much the technical elements of the planning and strategy execution processes, its more often related to the human elements of poor leadership and communication, the “People Stuff”!

So, what can leaders do to improve strategic performance?

Dr. Norman Chorn PhD. in his book titled ‘Strategic Alignment’ suggests, …“that most organisations spend significant amounts of time and money strategising for the future and planning cultural change programs. But much of this investment is wasted because leaders fail to recognise how to align the strategy with the culture or leadership styles within the organisation”.

Again, based upon direct client feedback and consultation, we now have sufficient data that has identified the following actions and behaviours necessary to build a more strategically focused culture.

1.  Define clear and measurable goals and objectives that align with and directly support the vision and mission of the organisation,

2.  Allocate sufficient resources in both time and technology,

3.  Foster open communication and collaboration across all tiers and stakeholder groups,

4.  Build a strong and flexible culture that has a sense of ownership in respect to goal setting and strategy execution,

5.  Have access to innovative technologies that can continuously monitor and adjust strategies as necessary to meet shifting or changing client needs / expectations,

6.  Foster a data-driven approach to decision-making, what we can measure we can manage!

7.  Empower and engage employees, “people will support what they themselves create”,

8.  Foster stakeholder alignment and buy-in,

9.  Foster and encourage innovation and creativity,

10. Build a results driven, performance-oriented culture and hold leaders and employees accountable for results.

I guess the next question for most executives therefore becomes… “

What are the best methods to build such a performance-oriented culture and hold managers and employees accountable for results”. Lets now explore some necessary fundamentals.

1.  Set clear expectations and goals: Clearly communicate expectations and hold managers and employees accountable for achieving specific, measurable results.

2.  Foster a growth mindset: Encourage continuous learning, professional development and improvement.

3.  Provide regular feedback: Offer regular feedback and coaching to help individuals, help them to understand how they are contributing to the organisation's vision and key operational priorities.

4.  Encourage teamwork and collaboration: Foster a collaborative work environment, a culture that supports shared goals, encourages open communication, and promotes a sense of interdependence.

5.  Use data and metrics: Find and apply an intuitive platform that measures performance against goals and uses data to inform decision-making and identify areas for improvement. We recommend the Mission Met strategy execution platform as a proven and user friendly cloud based resource that delivers results.

6.  Provide incentives and recognition: Reward high performers and encourage others to strive for excellence.

7.  Promote transparency: Foster open and transparent communication that promotes accountability and encourages individuals to take ownership of their work. Monthly team progress reviews (morning teas) that highlight progression and achievements are low cost / high impact activities that support this concept.

8.  Empower employees: Give employees the autonomy and resources they need to succeed and hold them accountable for results. Again, we reinforce the concept that…”People will support what they themselves create!”

9.  Foster a culture of continuous improvement: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging experimentation, learning from failures, and iterating / improving on processes.

10.  Lead by example: Model the behaviour you expect from others and demonstrate the importance of accountability and performance-oriented practices.

So, in summarising what is the role that Leadership plays in strategy execution, I offer the following?

It is imperative that leaders …

1.  Articulate the organisations vision and mission: Leaders must communicate the organisation's goals, values and purpose clearly and in a format that inspires and motivates employees.

2.  Setting direction: Leaders must provide clear direction and prioritise initiatives to align resources and focus efforts in achieving the organisations vision.

3.  Building and aligning teams: Leaders must build strong, cross-functional teams to execute the strategy and foster collaboration. Give your teams a sense of ownership of their work and how it contributes to the larger organisational vision and mission.

4.  Allocate resources: Leaders must allocate resources such as financial, human, and technology to support the execution of the strategy.

5.  Foster a culture of execution: Leaders must create a culture that values results, encourages risk-taking, encourages participation / engagement and supports continuous improvement and learning.

6.  Monitoring progress and adjusting course: Leaders must continuously monitor progress against the strategic plan, consult with the team (key stakeholders) and make adjustments as necessary to ensure the strategy stays on track.

7.  Communicating progress: Leaders must keep stakeholders informed of progress and help build support for the strategy. We recommend monthly team updates and quarterly Executive and Board reviews in respect to progression and strategy execution. The Mission Met platform provides high levels of visibility of progress and peer accountability across the whole organisation.

8.  Holding themselves and others accountable: Leaders must hold themselves and others accountable for results and ensure that the organisation's culture and values reinforces accountability.

In closing out this article, I offer this one pearl of wisdom…

Strategic planning should not be considered a one-time annual event that only includes the Board and key executives. It should be a continuous organisational practice that is inclusive, a cultural habit that drives and stimulates, and builds support for your organisation's brand, vision and reputation. If done correctly it defines your organisational DNA and creates a culture that espouses and strives for excellence in every action and behaviour. It becomes the essence of what your organisation and brand becomes known for … your DNA.

For more information on Strategy Execution or to book an initial obligation FREE (30-minute discussion) DM me online (Linkedin or Facebook).

Direct Contact details are:

Mark Jones on Phone: +61 (0) 428 727 076 or email mark@jenarkbusinesssolutions.com.au

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Jenark Business Solutions. None of this material can be copied, reproduced, or used in any format without express permission of the Author.