The Challenge of Strategic Clarity
Unfortunately, far too many corporate leaders struggle to create the strategic clarity required to set themselves and their teams up for success. Leaders, especially during times of change, need to be able to prioritize strategic initiatives in a way that makes sense.
What the Research Says
Our organizational alignment research found that, on average, the C-Suite believes the overall corporate strategy to be twice as clear as their direct reports. And the farther you get from the strategy retreat facilitation that happened in board room, the higher the level of strategic ambiguity.
Not surprisingly, the higher the level of uncertainty, the harder it is for individuals and teams to make decisions – especially when under pressure to make tough choices with limited resources and demanding time constraints.
The Mindset Required to Prioritize Strategic Initiatives
We know from our strategic decision making simulation data that teams often struggle to decide upon the right moves to help the business and their people to grow.
With no crystal ball to help them weigh the alternatives, leaders in fast-paced environments must do just enough forecasting, strategic scenario planning, and risk management to ensure that the long-term makes sense while delivering high impact results in the short-term.
How to Prioritize Strategic Initiatives
First, you must understand that while all high growth companies have big ambitions and increased pressures to scale faster, not all strategic initiatives are of equal value. The key is to make informed trade-offs and only a few big bets at a time.
There are three considerations from our leadership simulation assessments that should guide your decision making. Focus on:
What to Do When Things Are Falling Apart in Your Fast-Paced Environment
With highly ambitious growth goals, it can be challenging to consistently meet short-term targets while keeping people engaged over the long-term. Most employees end up working long hours and must be able to handle high levels of complexity, rapidly changing demands, and the need to run the business while simultaneously scaling and planning for the future.
For many, employee burnout becomes a real and present danger. If you and your team find yourself in this precarious situation it is time to stop and triage. Get your team together immediately and:
The Bottom Line
Your strategy should guide your decision making and facilitate individual, team, and organizational prioritization. Focus and keep things simple so that you continue to do what you do best, to add value to your customers and to stay in business for the long-term.
To learn more about how to create the strategic clarity required to better set priorities, download 7 Proven Ways to Stress Test Your Strategy Now
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