Invest More Time Aligning Your Workforce to Achieve the Goals of the Organization or Go Insane

In my experience the #1 reason organizations fall short in executing their strategic plan is because they use the same people to develop the plan and then it lands on the desk of everybody else in the organization that is actually expected to implement it.  We need to stop with the top only approach.

Don’t get me wrong, the strategic part of the planning process is obviously important and one that obviously requires the strategic thinkers in the organization but it also involves the tactical thinkers and alignment of the entire workforce.  Taking the time to align your workforce, the heartbeat of the organization, is the only way to see your plan come to fruition without going insane!

Here is what usually happens.  The same people (the executives and departmental decision-makers) get in a room for two days and develop a plan with the following elements.

Vision √
Mission √
Values √
Brand Promise √
Goals √
Objectives √
Strategies √
Tactics √

Once complete, it is posted on the company intranet or rolled out at a company rally and then it's business as usual.  Here is what needs to happen.  The executive team and the departmental decision-makers develop a plan with the following elements and leverage the talent in the workforce to determine the objectives and tactics.

Vision √
Mission √
Values √
Brand Promise √
Goals √
Strategies √

Objectives and tactics are the sections of the plan that allow you the opportunity to listen to your team, show them you value their expertise and contribution to the organization, create a culture of inclusiveness and actually have them help you identify your edge in your industry.

Let’s talk about objectives.  What does success look like once we have achieved the goal?  Ideally, departmental decision-makers meet with their teams to unveil the draft strategic plan and obtain ideas for the objectives.  This an opportunity to let the team share insights as to what success looks like for the company.  They will base the objectives on what they believe is achievable as a team and will therefore establish a common goal not only within the organization but among themselves.  They will get excited about it.  This will create momentum and ironically, a common dialogue for gauging success.

Tactics…I can’t imagine anything less motivating to a team member who is responsible for implementing the day-to-day tactics than having a plan shared with them and telling them to get it done without soliciting their feedback on how to get it done beforehand.  Instead of presenting them with what needs to be done after the fact why not ask them how it can realistically be done.  Empower them by recognizing them as the tactical experts within the organization and valuing their expert opinion to realistically achieve the goal in a particular timeframe.  The result?  Ownership, accountability and believability.

Some may be reading this and saying too many layers, too much time, too many headaches.  But the consequence is less employee engagement, more headaches and increased costs because you didn’t invest time with your team to get their buy-in and leverage their expertise resulting in momentum and an increase in productivity.

It amazes me how impactful this process is not only on increasing productivity but on shaping a company’s culture.  Just the process above establishes a culture of inclusiveness, ownership, accountability, teamwork and open communication.  It allows the entire team to be inspired by the impact an organization is committed to  making and become part of the movement.  How could one argue that alone will not accelerate growth within your company and reduce the amount of insanity?

So, it’s time to shake it up and stop doing things the way they have typically been done.  Empower and value your workforce, inspire them to be part of a movement, get different results and reduce the amount of insanity!