One of a leader’s most important roles is setting strategy and direction which involves having a wider view of the business. But when it comes to execution, having a dedicated team on-side is the only way to succeed. So, how do you take a people first approach without having a ‘free for all’ when it comes to implementation? The answer lies in empowerment and accountability.
Empowering your team to take control of the wheel while keeping you as the navigator involves proper delegation of tasks and decision-making. Meanwhile, ensuring they take ownership of the results of these decisions while working towards the same strategic goal. This can, of course, be a collaborative process but there is a risk of going off-track.
Without the proper guidance, teams can mistake empowerment as a free pass to implement whatever strategy they want to take. This is where your leadership becomes critical. As the navigator, you provide the strategic direction and manage the team to help them perform their roles to the best of their capabilities.
Three principles can guide any leader in making this happen:
1. Design your organisation for optimal strategy execution
How an organisation is structured dictates its ability to execute strategies and sustain its long-term growth. When building a team, the first step is identifying the roles that will contribute to success based on what needs to be achieved. The second step is filling those roles with individuals with the right skill set. Not the other way around.
Even sports teams follow the same principle. In soccer, teams with a counter-attack strategy need to have fast attacking players. They don’t fill the roster with defensive players and suddenly change to a defensive strategy.
Basing your strategy and organisational design on individuals leaves you open to risk if they leave, and compromises potential opportunities for the rest of the team. Instead, build the team to support the strategy, and remember they will grow together.
2. Be firm yet flexible
When you want to make the biggest impact, you must communicate an easy-to-understand strategy that clearly outlines how each role fits in to the teams. And stick to it. When communicating this I find it more effective when you explain the challenge and importance of the strategy before discussing the direction. That’s why I always recommend that you are “strategically rigid and tactically flexible”.
Your strategy should firmly remain the same once decisions are made, but your tactics and plans to get there should remain flexible. Empowered employees understand that the strategy doesn’t change but that they have the power to execute in their own functions and local environments to reach the finish line. Meanwhile, they are accountable for their own role in the strategy and how they deliver on targets.
3. Focus on execution
In the strategic planning process, expect challenges and conflict to arise but know there is room for this to happen at the beginning before you set the strategy. It can be healthy at this stage to welcome ideas and encourage dialogue.
However, once the strategy has been set, all focus should turn to execution and consensus should end, or it can ruin productivity. Team members must commit to executing the strategy even when tactics change, and the focus should remain on getting to the finish line together with the help of your leadership.
Empowerment and accountability happen when people understand the strategy and are responsible for their role within it. By fostering this culture, you’re able to put people first while achieving your goals. And this contributes to individual growth and development as well as the company’s success.
That’s people first, and that’s good for business.