When Strategy Aligns Behavior
A clear, well understood, and believable strategy aligns behavior with the priorities of the business. Just as a coxswain guides his crew to pull together in the same direction in a coordinated way, a clear and compelling strategy guides everyone in the organization to make the right strategic choices and behave in a way that makes sense.
Great leaders know is difficult to cross the finish line ahead of your competition if you do not work cohesively together toward a well-defined target.
When Strategy Does Not Align Behavior
Just think what can happen when a strategy is unclear, unsupported, or too far-fetched. You can have:
Four Elements to Ensure Strategy Aligns Behavior
Ensure strategy aligns behavior — a strategy that is clear, succinct, easily understood, achievable, and implementable — one that employees can internalize and adapt to their specific jobs.
Our organizational alignment research found strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performance when these four elements are in sync.
You want every employee to have a clear line of sight to be able to contribute to what success looks like at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
It is your business’ “sweet spot” where you expect to win gracefully the majority of the time. You want every employee to stay within this “sweet spot” and to avoid out-of-bounds investments, initiatives, and projects that do not fit.
You want every employee to be able to succinctly describe your unique value proposition.
You want every employee to be able to apply the “how” to their job so that they operate according to the same principles as their leaders, managers, and co-workers.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to strategies and plans, the simpler the better. A one-page strategy map that can be cascaded throughout the organization will impact the behavior of the workforce far faster than a complicated and over-detailed strategic plan. You know you have succeeded in cascading your strategy when your employees can clearly articulate the what, where, why, and how and are making decisions accordingly.
To learn if your strategy is clear enough, download 7 Ways to Stress Test Your Strategic Clarity
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