Why Employees Don't Get Business Strategy...Or Do They?
Gary F Grates
Globally renowned expert and counselor in change mgt, organizational communications, corporate relevance, business strategy in a digital world
Apathy, Distraction, Poor Information, Lack of Importance all contribute to a troubling aspect of Organizational Performance...yet, in the end people actually do get it!
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Pouring through employee survey data at several organizations, I’ve been uncovering an interesting yet troubling insight.? People do not grasp business strategy.
This comes through in several ways.? Lack of awareness on the company’s priorities. Failure to connect decisions to intent.? Poor communications on business related subjects internally.?
The latter causes corporate communications heads to develop new messaging, programming, themes, and task groups to raise the profile through quantity of business strategy among the workforce.?
And nothing changes.
When employees indicate they don’t understand the organization’s strategy it’s not a communications problem.? It’s a projection of numerous experiences people face that block clarity and comprehension.? Among them:
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In this reality, communicators can not be reporters or cheerleaders but drivers and enablers partnering with leaders and managers to re-calibrate the approach to strategy deployment.?? Unfortunately, employee surveys trigger the wrong response from leaders and communicators.
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?Chasing symptoms rather than dissecting the cause.
?In effect, employees actually do understand strategy. They view it through the lens of what it is meant to accomplish. A self-actualization of the plan and its benefits to stakeholders.
Maybe its leaders and communicators who don't get it. Relying on messaging, themes, campaigns, and other tactics to "sell" strategy internally. When employees only need to "discover" on their own terms.
Organizational confidence is the most critical trait for business success.? It begins with the well-being of talent and the level of knowledge about the company.
?Time to stop chasing ghosts.?
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Gary
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(he/him) Founder, #WeLeadComms; Editor-in-Chief, Strategic; Communication Consultant and Strategist
11 个月Another solid piece. One thing I am looking at currently is KPI alignment - whether and how KPIs roll up into strategy and down into focusing comms leaders into misprioritizing their activities. My sense is that this is a relevant issue.
Top 50 Governance Professional (NACD 2023 Director 100 Awards); Top 50 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Risk Management 2023 & 2024 (Thinkers360). Dedicated to director development and boards that add value.
11 个月Gary F Grates I have found it often begins with lack of alignment at the CXO level. In matrix organizations, the strategy often is inconsistent. There also are countless studies showing CEOs unable to clearly articulate the strategy, likely because there is none.