How leadership teams can inspire engagement and motivation for strategy execution

How leadership teams can inspire engagement and motivation for strategy execution

Visionary evangelists making grandiose pronouncements, but unable to put any power on the road? Many strategies fail simply in execution rather than vision. Moreover, few people become enthusiastic about anything new beyond the incentivised operational business.

The secret of execution

How can leadership teams ignite engagement and enthusiasm for implementing strategies?

In “Humanocracy”, Gary Hamel writes:
“It is no secret what encourages engagement. From Douglas McGregor’s ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’ to Dan Pink’s ‘Drive’, the formula has not changed for sixty years:

1. Purpose
2. Autonomy
3. Collegiality and
4. The opportunity to grow.”

1. Purpose – identification comes through participation

The meaning and purpose that make a strategy worth implementing emerge best when you involve the people who will later drive its execution in developing it. Identification arises only through personally engaging with the why: why are we taking this path towards our long-term goals? It cannot simply be handed down from above or pre-chewed by consultants. Anyone who thinks participation means digesting ready-made ideas and implementing what others have cleverly devised will never ignite fireworks in #StrategyExecution.

2. Autonomy – set the direction

A strategy should broadly establish the direction for achieving particular company goals. Please avoid detailed instructions and minute project plans. Let the teams who want to follow that direction work out the precise route. There are two messages here: let people shape the work, and make participation voluntary!

3. Collegiality – create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration

Collegiality is closely linked to working together in a team. It implies people pursuing a shared goal and supporting one another. If you also staff strategic project teams across disciplines, you strengthen a sense of community beyond departmental boundaries. Anyone wanting to reduce silos should use the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration in strategy execution!

4. Growth opportunities – give talent a stage

In hierarchical organisations, growth and career paths are primarily rewarded through moving up the hierarchy. Job enrichment within your own corner of the organisation chart may motivate early in a career, but its effect quickly wears off. Before that fatigue sets in, strategic projects offer a wonderful stage for organisational talent to help shape the company’s future, prove themselves and become visible beyond their own corner of the chart. This often opens up unexpected growth opportunities.

#ExecutionWins

To put power on the road in strategy execution, involve implementers in developing the strategy, give only broad implementation directions, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and give talent a stage for growth. Then even grandiose pronouncements can deliver. 😉

You will find valuable tips and insights in the GCP playbook “Execution Wins – Making Strategy Execution Effective”.

To receive the link to the free GCP content playbook, simply leave the word PLAYBOOK in a comment or send me a message.

Good luck with execution.