Virtual Idea Session: Engaging Your Team in Strategy Execution Recap

This week, we hosted a virtual idea session, Engaging Your Team in Strategy Execution, to coincide with the release of our exciting new e-book, Making Strategy Everyone’s Job.

Many of our ClearPoint Community members have shared with us both their challenges and successes experienced during their journeys of embedding strategy in their organization’s everyday culture. With this in mind, we wanted to provide a platform for peer-to-peer learning, which is a powerful tool for improving our communities, especially around this important topic.

With a full house, we kicked off the hour with quick introductions followed by a high-level overview of the six themes highlighted in the Making Strategy Everyone’s Job e-book:

• Creating Strategic Awareness
• Creating Ownership
• Integrating Strategy with Other Processes
• Aligning Competency and Skill Development
• Aligning personal goals
• Aligning incentives

We then dove into two back-to-back break-out sessions where participants were split into rooms to first talk about their challenges and then to share their best practices.  Behind the Zoom curtain, this is what we heard.

Break-Out Session #1

What challenges are you facing in executing your strategy across your organization?

• Getting leadership buy-in
• Getting staff buy-in, which can be overwhelming for them when they barely have enough time to get the work that they are doing done
• Departments all have their own strategies, creating a silo effect
• Working with elected officials who are on a two-year cycle is a challenge
• The constant pivoting in 2020 and having to change directions
• Getting everyone together and collaborating
• CARES Act funding is driving their work and strategic projects are on the back burner
• Tendency to focus on one goal and neglect the remaining goals
• People not seeing themselves in the plan

Break-Out Session #2

What are some best practices that you’ve implemented to help you execute your strategy across your organization? What has been the value add?

• Meet on a regular basis to keep people involved and engaged
• Create ownership so that people can relate it back to their role and position
• Include everyone in the planning process
• Choose the top three strategic priorities to discuss in meetings
• With employees remote, create an outline format of your strategy and keep it in front of your team
• Simplify everyone’s reporting obligations with ClearPoint
• Integrate strategic planning into budget process
• Through meetings and processes, make sure leadership knows when budget decisions are outside of your strategic framework
• Give leaders a problem to solve so they are focused and have something they are striving for from a strategic lens

FAQ:

Strategy or execution: which is more important?

Both strategy and execution are crucial:

- Strategy sets the direction and defines goals.
- Execution ensures that plans are implemented effectively to achieve those goals.

What is project execution strategy?

Project execution strategy involves:

Planning and organizing resources.
Assigning tasks and responsibilities.
Monitoring progress and making adjustments to achieve project goals.

What does good strategy execution require?

Good strategy execution requires:

- Clear communication of goals and objectives.
- Alignment of resources and actions with the strategy.
- Accountability and monitoring of progress.
- Adaptability to changing circumstances.
- Leadership support and commitment.

What is the difference between strategy and execution?

- Strategy: Involves planning and setting goals.
- Execution: Involves implementing plans and achieving those goals.

Who is responsible for strategy execution?

Responsibility for strategy execution typically falls on:

- Senior management and executives who oversee strategic planning.
- Department heads and team leaders who implement strategies within their areas.
- Employees who execute tasks aligned with strategic goals.

How do ghost scenarios haunt strategy execution?

"Ghost scenarios" in strategy execution refer to unforeseen challenges or scenarios that can derail plans:

These can include market shifts, unexpected competition, or changes in regulations.
They haunt execution by disrupting planned actions and requiring adjustments.
To mitigate, strategies should be flexible, and organizations must be prepared to adapt swiftly.

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