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We Are The Champions Why do so many strategic planning initiatives start with a big bang, only to fizzle out a few months later after untold hours of task force
meetings, executive retreats, and “town hall” meetings? Why is it so hard for an organization to follow through on its plan? Was there something flawed in the vision to start with? A failure of alignment in the organization’s hierarchy? A misreading of the strategic environment? Insufficient commitment? Diagnosing strategy failures, most leaders want to go right back to the beginning, and revise the strategy itself. Call in a new
consultant, start up a new process, plan another planning retreat. What they fail to realize is that drafting the plan is the easy part. Implementing the plan – strategy execution – is where things fall apart. By some reports, less than ten percent of strategic plans are successfully implemented. No matter how brilliant the “what” of your strategy, without a well-thought-out “how” to go with it, not much will actually happen.
There are probably as many reasons for the failure to execute as there are failed strategic plans. The ones I hear most often are “not enough top-level support” and “not enough employee buy-in.” These cover a multitude of sins, and are vague enough to be emotionally satisfying to just about everybody involved. What they don’t provide is a blueprint for producing a better outcome the next time. One approach that makes a lot of sense to me is the designation
right up front of a “champion” for strategy execution – someone who is charged with the responsibility for follow-through across the entire organization. Ideally, the champion is an experienced and senior-level executive with a solid record of performance in both operations and cross-functional roles. The job of champion has to be distinct from, and not simply added to, an already-existing line management position; too many strategy initiatives fade away
because they’re headed up by people who already have too many things to do in their “real jobs.” What else makes for a good executive champion? Here are a few key things to consider: - The champion should be in on the strategy process from the beginning, providing the link from planning to implementation, and always being there to ask the right questions and advocate for the implementers.
- The champion should have a broad and deep background in
the organization, bringing an understanding of the corporate culture necessary to win support and overcome resistance, and a network of informal contacts to act as both sounding board and “eyes and ears.”
- The champion should have the credibility that comes from visible top-level backing and entrée, and the trust of peers and colleagues.
- The champion should have exceptional communications and relationship skills.
- The champion should be adept at influencing and
persuading others who may be in key positions vital to the strategy’s success, but over whom the champion has no formal authority.
- The champion should be accountable for getting sustainable results, and should hold others accountable through the use of measurement and learning (feedback loops.)
As organizations evolve from traditional hierarchies into more organic forms that rely on networks and matrixes for
communications and building relationships, executive champions will become more familiar figures in the corporate landscape. The concept of champion has already migrated from project management to change management, and now to strategy execution. And in a sense, the role of champion is implicit in the emerging role of senior executives no matter where they are in the organization. Leadership today is not the exclusive province of the
CEO’s office suite; it is increasingly defined in terms of the capacity to get things done across bureaucratic boundaries and despite organizational obstacles. 
Breaking down barriers in organizations requires that you exercise some muscle that may have atrophied while you were focusing on your own functional group. Make it your practice to have lunch one day each week with a different person from someplace else in the organization, or from outside. Think of this as a learning event, where your job is to get to know this
person and what they can bring to a project or initiative you are or will be working on. Be sure to keep notes and follow up on these conversations; this will become the basis for your informal network to get things done. |
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Bill Gates was quoted recently as saying that developing the next
version of Windows "costs as much as putting a man on the moon." Under the Privacy Act, government agencies are required to tell individuals whether providing a social security number is mandatory or voluntary, cite the statutory authority under which the request is made, and state how the government plans to use it. According to a recent Government Accounting Office report, however, many do not. Of federal agencies surveyed, 32% did not inform individuals of
the statutory authority for requesting the SSN, while 21% provided no information about how it would be used. Of state agencies, only 50% gave individuals the required information. Reported identity theft is up nearly 80 percent from last year -- and the average time spent by victims to clear their records is around 600 hours per person, an increase of more than 300 percent over previous studies. Two recent studies indicate that up to 10 million
Americans were victims of ID theft in the last year alone. 
Lateral Leadership Jay Conger, professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School and former executive director of the University of Southern California’s Leadership Institute, uses this term to
describe a set of leadership skills necessary to get things done through peers inside and outside a leader’s organization. Conger points out that the challenge of leading by influence, persuasion, consultation, and coalition building is becoming the norm in a business world dominated by complexity and unpredictable change. 
 Inner Peace for Busy People, by Joan Borysenko. What I like about it: Well, the title alone drew me to it…and I have been rewarded
with a wonderful little collection of “simple strategies” that really do work. Each one comes with a practice that will help you put strategy into action. The author, a clinical psychologist and leading expert in mind-body studies, is a master at distilling complex material into its very essence. If you are struggling with your own “pausing” practice, check this book out.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates  Finding Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. What I like about it: This book is filled with insights about what really drives high performers and what makes human beings ‘tick.’ The author is professor of psychology
at the University of Chicago and has returned to the themes of his original classic Flow after ten years. Finding Flow is a must read for any leader. A brilliant mind.
Doug Bolton
Coaching & Organizational Development
Monterey Coaching Network |
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we’ll not only quote you, we’ll provide a link to you or your website. |
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“Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient
premises.”
— Samuel Butler | |
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Last year, I offered, on a very limited basis, a teleclinic for leadership coaches who wanted to start their own practices. I got a lot of good feedback, and continue to get inquiries about when I’ll be running it again. So…ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL OFFER for A Different Optic subscribers! Beth Bloomfield will lead a new running of “Build Your Executive Coaching Practice”, a six-session teleclinic (conducted by
phone over a bridge line), beginning in January 2004. If you are thinking about starting a coaching practice, or are in the midst of starting it, or simply want to boost the practice you already have going, this might be just the ticket for you. And, if you register by December 23, you’ll get a break on the cost! For more information, click here. |
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