Last week I introduced the third behavioral change, Alignment and Collaboration, in creating a company culture that aligns individual productivity with team values and goals, and the importance of changing the culture to be solution-oriented rather than placing blame. In today’s post I address the fourth aspect, Implementing Strategic Goals. • Proactive vs. Reactive • Focus vs. Interruptions and Distractions • Alignment and Collaboration vs. Competition • Implementing Strategic Goals In my experience as an Executive Coach and Collaborative Leadership Coach, I am often told by leaders that although strategic meetings take place, the execution aspect is not successful. Through the cultures of interruption and distraction created in recent times there is a loss of focus. The simple act of coming to work, turning on the computer and going directly into e-mail can create a reactive rather than proactive day. Following through on strategic goals necessarily requires proactive leaders and managers. These skills can be taught to emerging leaders and individual contributors as part of the mentoring process. One aspect of aligned teaming is focus; opportunities for real communication, and delegation processes with accountability. Often the culture dictates immediate responses as indicated above. This has led to constant email checking and drop-ins with a neglect of regular meetings, which has created a culture of interruptions and distractions leading to difficulty with focus. To-do lists are made daily without the overall structure of strategic goals and project organization that leads to successful completion. With the behavior focus and changes described above, the result is that the top leaders are aware of the strategy plan on a daily basis and can plan work that will implement those both individually and as a team. Reminders for keeping the momentum going:
- Create regular leadership team meetings at least bi-weekly for 1 ½ hours and put in the calendar on a recurring basis
- Coordinate Tasks with Calendar
- Create task categories to match
- Yearly goals
- Projects
- 1:1 Meetings
- Actions
- Calendar actions
- Set aside work time on the calendar
