A game plan you can rally around

CRE teams are so action-oriented that we'd rather do the work than talk about it. But newsflash! The more leadership articulates its priorities, the more those priorities can be supported by eager team members. Undercommunicating top priorities is a common trap. ? And since even team leaders often have different ideas about which initiatives are truly the top priorities, imagine how the rest of the team feels!

Imagine, if you will, a single slide that contains everything your team needs to discuss and know in order to prioritize their work. A slide so simple that every leader can explain it without too much trouble -- to both internal and external stakeholders.

Behold! The Game Plan Template!

This is the template I've used for years when facilitating annual and quarterly planning. I'm sure many of my clients and colleagues will recognize it when they see it! :-)

Don't let its simplicity fool you. There are some important nuances for how to tie the performance metrics to customer requirements and how to check that your improvement projects are well conceived.

For what it's worth, I have found that using a 3rd party facilitator for these workshops generates more sharing of points of view and allows the team leader to fully participate without biasing the process.

As my Most Wise Former Boss, Tom, used to say: "It's about the conversation!"

** Bonus Resource: if you want an editable version of this template, send me a direct message and I'll send you the source file.