by M. Anthony Sacco
Change
Recently I picked up a book by Roger Connors & Tom Smith entitled Change The Culture Change The Game (Portfolio, Paperback 2012), who are also the authors of The Oz Principle and How Did That Happen. What immediately impressed me about it was that it paralleled (once again) and provided perspective on the work of Lencioni as well as Buckingham and Coffman regarding the role of clarity and accountability in the relationship between managers and their teams. It is common sense but not common practice for those in leadership roles to provide clarity through clear and complete communication with all levels of the organization in order to engage and motivate aligned behavior. But how often do we see this done poorly, partially, or not at all in situations where we find organizations struggling with strategic outcomes.
Incomplete Communication
Those people who develop strategic plans need to complete them by communicating clearly, completely, and relevantly to all levels of the organization. In small organizations, everyone gets in a room and has the plan presented then discusses how they understand it and how they feel about it. In larger organizations the same thing happens but with more meetings and a high level of quality control as to the consistency of the message and the accuracy of the feedback mechanism(s). If everyone does not get the same message accompanied by how they will participate in making the plan a success, no one should expect success in executing the strategy. You cannot communicate a strategic plan using telepathy!
Distributed leadership
Leaders must be fostered throughout the organization by giving them the information (data) about:
- what the strategy is
- how it affects their area or team
- the outcomes and milestones anticipated as goals of the successful execution
- how this will create financial success if properly implemented
If the communication is complete. clear, and provides for two-way communication from the start to finish, organization leadership and innovative behavior will be engaged.
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