Questions to Move Strategy toward Execution
By Kristin Ingstrup, Strategic Project Manager, Division of Project Management
November 7, 2022
So you and your team spent the past few months creating a strategic plan… now what? Making strategy work is often more difficult than strategy making. A leadership team must shift focus when stepping away from strategic planning and into successful execution of the plan. The focus stems from ensuring that the strategy:
1) Has a clear vision.
2) Has a defined structure.
3) Has an effective management team.
Define vision and resources
To effectively implement a strategy, a leadership team will need to map out the projects as a whole to see where they fit on the overall strategic plan. A main factor in project success are defined roles and responsibilities. As leaders look to transfer implementation of the strategies to their teams, determine whether there is defined ownership in the week. It’s important to have a shared understanding regarding who are the team(s) that are accountable for this work. As you identify whether the right people are engaged, also understand how you can best collaborate and engage across different teams or stakeholders. A common tool used is to define roles and responsibilities is a RACI chart (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed). For more information on how to map out responsibilities, see this short article on RACI charts.
Clarify the structure and tools to implement
A vision needs to clearly mark out the future state, and the mapping of the projects can create the pathway for the strategy. When working to fulfill a strategic vision, it’s also important to think through whether you have the right tools in your tool box. Identify what organizational capabilities are needed to implement the plan and be curious about where there may be risks. Leaders should whether the team already has the capabilities and resources needed or if the organization needs new tools. This is also a good opportunity to explore your collaborative work: what shared resources are there, and can they be leveraged for this work? Understand where there may be potential weaknesses or risks during implementation.
Effectively share the vision
One of the CEOs I previously worked with had a saying: “Communicate nine times and in nine different ways!” Leaders need to share their strategy with the people in their organization and tailor towards each target audience so that listeners can support the seamless integration of goals and objectives. Leaders should ask themselves: “Does this vision lay out a path where everyone can see themselves in it?” Discussions need to occur at every level, with the organization’s strategy expressed in a few key phrases that are easily understood. Leaders should engage teams regularly to ensure everyone stays connected to the greater vision and continue understanding the importance of strategy implementation.
Transformational leadership should seek to grow the positive relationship between open strategizing practices, such as empowering team members, and effective strategy implementation. In sharing their vision, leaders should empower team members to utilize their expertise and lived experience, and trust them to pivot as needed during implementation.
Bi-directional feedback is key! Ensure that the management team is seeking out and considering the voices of community members and other stakeholders who may be impacted by the work. When engaging these voices, it is important to tell the story of the vision and make intentional efforts to gather feedback from those who are invested in where the story will end.
Want to learn more? Check out this short read. Or, participate in our open office hours on November 8.
For more information on moving from strategy to execution, please contact Kristin Ingstrup at kristin.ingstrup@state.co.us. If you would like to stay in touch and receive updates from the Division of Project Management, visit our website or join our network today.
Sources:
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas and Darko Lovric. 20 June 2022. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2022/06/how-to-move-from-strategy-to-execution.
Doeleman, H.J., van Dun, D.H. and Wilderom, C.P.M. (2022), "Leading open strategizing
practices for effective strategy implementation", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 15
No. 1, pp. 54-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-09-2020-0253
Edinger, Scott. "Three Cs of Implementing Strategy." 7 August 2012. Forbes.