Is Your Strategy People-Centric?

Strategies are often focused on the next big thing – what new market, product, or service will enable the organization to hit its financial targets.  Unfortunately, with this focus on the strategy at large, employees can often become an afterthought.  Even great strategies fail when they are insufficiently connected with the people responsible for executing them. 

A strategy becomes more than “shelfware”, a nicely bound set of PowerPoint slides that sit on a shelf behind the CEO’s desk, when people understand how they fit into it and how their daily activities should change as a result.  Ask yourself these questions to determine if your strategy is people-centric:

Culture – Does your culture enable or inhibit your strategy? An organization’s culture drives every aspect of day-to-day operations.  Conducting a cultural assessment will help articulate critical change efforts required to align culture and strategy.  For example, if your strategy requires risk-taking and innovation, are you creating mechanisms that encourage and reward those who exhibit this behavior?

Capabilities – Do you understand what capabilities (people / skills, processes, and technology) are required to execute your strategy? To drive change, the strategy must be articulated down to the level of the required capabilities; the team must be equipped with the right skills and tools.  Determine what capabilities are required and prioritize building them through hiring, training, and development.

Connection – Are the goals and incentives of your people aligned with the goals of the strategy? There needs to be skin in the game to create accountability and buy-in.  Create this by connecting the strategy to individual goals, action plans, incentives, and performance management.  Articulating the “why” is critical – why is it important and how will it affect each individual and team?  This will take the strategy from high-level to specific for each person.

Case for Change – Is there a clear argument for why the organization needs to change at this point in time?  Build buy-in and engagement by creating a compelling case for change.  Articulating the “why” is critical – why is it important at the organization level, but also at the individual – why should I change what I do on a daily basis?

Communication – Do you have a communication plan in place that will reach and stick with every individual in your organization?  Communicate seven times in seven ways!  No strategy ever failed due to over-communication.  Understand who your target audiences are and how messages must differ for each.  Solicit regular feedback to make sure their input is incorporated.  Remember that communication is a dialogue, not a monologue; holding effective strategic conversations at all levels is the only way that people will understand and execute the strategy effectively. 

By putting people at the heart of your strategy execution efforts, you can dramatically increase your chances of achieving the results you desire.  If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to us at contactus@geigsen.com.  In future blogs and articles we will explore each of the five C’s in detail, and how to enact these principles in your organization. 

So now ask yourself: is your strategy people-centric?