The purpose of Practical Leadership is to build stronger organizations by aligning employees, teams and leaders around smart strategy for optimal results. What is important for both Practical Leadership and you is that we help clients develop strategic plans, improve or grow in whatever area(s) matter most and then prepare leaders and teams to sustain that improvement over time. Here are some tips to help you improve the strategic planning process within your organization.
It is my observation that most organizations do include a vision statement, have financial data as well as some anecdotal information to reflect history of past performance, and use a format for setting high level goals.
What is often missing in the planning process is participation by people closer to the frontline – those developing the product or service or those interacting with the customer. This means that some important customer information and perspectives are not included in the plans. Over time this matters a great deal to customers and the relevancy of the organization.
Tip #1: Engage employees in the strategic planning process
Many times clear measures for goals are missing or only reflect one perspective of goal achievement. For example, it may be good to gain market share. It is important to know the cost of a specific increase in market share to know how much gain is good. You can manage that which you measure.
Tip #2: Define and communicate measures for strategic goals.
Finally, the linkage between organization goals and team or individual performance is frequently missing. This linkage needs to be clearly aligned and communicated. Every employee should know how their individual performance contributes to overall results.
Tip #3: Link individual performance to strategic goals