Get Everyone On Board the Change Train

Implementation, or putting into action the decisions that were made, is the most challenging part in the strategic planning process. An effective strategic plan should be a roadmap to success not a document that languishes on someone's shelf or in someone's drawer soon to be forgotten.

So, if you want everyone working together to achieve the key goals of the strategic plan, then leaders at all levels must cascades the strategy down through the organization. This is not a one-time" here's where we're going" speech, email or video conference. Leaders need to communicate the plan at every opportunity. Here are three techniques to get everyone on board the strategy train as it is pulling out of the station.

Create a clear picture.
It's always easier to hit a target you can see. Are you using simple language and relevant examples to convey the overall strategic focus and its individual components? Do your people know why your business or agency or firm is changing, how the change is going to be done and what it will look like at the end of the day?
Make it everyone's business.
Strategy translation requires dialogue, not one-way communication. Employees need to know the answers to these critical questions: What does this mean to me and for me? Why should I personally care? How can I be a force for the future? Which of the 10 things I have on my plate today is most important?
Keep it at the top of everyone's mind.
For example at every staff meeting, ask these questions: How can we make our strategic plan easier to understand? How can we more effectively carry out our key objectives? What is getting in the way of our department's success? The ultimate goal for any strategy should be that it is as easy as possible to implement.

Sure you could yell, demand, or even threaten employees until they provide the compliance you desire. However, if you want lasting results, then learn how to convey strategic objectives in a way that motivates your entire workforce at every level. Only when everyone is working towards a specific goal, can an organization begin to achieve the outcomes of its strategic plan.

Here are resources to help you build powerful leaders and powerful organizations / have powerful leaders at all levels: Coaching 4 Results, Planning 4 Change, Speaking 4 Impact, W.O.W.W. Tools.

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Copyright 2006-2008, Marcia Zidle. Will you have a bright future? Are you ready to make your organization stand out in the crowd in competing for customers, clients, funders or community awareness? Contact us and let us show you how to make that happen.

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