The metaphor I am referring to in the title of this blog post is the Biblical story of how it should’ve only taken the Israelite’s about 2 weeks to reach the Promised Land, but instead it took them 40 years because they didn’t have the right mindset, attitude, and skills to successfully “arrive” on time.
Organizations can act in a similar way. The leadership will spend a great deal of time and money finalizing a strategic plan for long and short-term business goals, but neglect to include the “people factor” into the plan – which requires an emphasis on ensuring their staff at all levels have the right mindset, attitude and teamwork/leadership skills necessary to implement the plan – and effectively work though challenges as they appear.
I found an interesting statistic which supports my premise in an article from Forbes Magazine (link at end of this blog post): 65% of organizations have an agreed-upon strategy; 14% of employees understand the organization’s strategy; Less than 10% of all organizations successfully execute the strategy. The article then goes on to focus on the importance of alignment – especially staff alignment including goal/strategy buy-in, horizontal and vertical communication, and required behavioral changes.
As an ICF certified Executive & Leadership Coach, I’ll admit I’m completely biased when I say this (and yet my bias does not make it any less true): Investing in your staff’s professional development is the wisest tactical choice you can make when finalizing any business strategy...because even the most perfect plan in the world has a high chance of significant delays (remember the analogy of 40 years vs 2 weeks?) – or even outright failure if the people involved in its success are not capable of executing it properly and unprepared to maneuver through challenges that may appear along the way.
If you are currently working through a strategic plan for 2017, I would encourage you to get it out and read through it with the following question in mind for each KPI (key performance indicator) and progress benchmark listed: Do all my staff have the right mindset, attitude and teamwork/leadership skills needed to achieve this plan on time, and are they capable of performing effectively and maintaining progress despite challenges that may arise along the way?
If any staff came to mind that do not have the right mindset, attitude, or teamwork/leadership skills to support the success you desire in 2017, give me a call at 404-551-3601. I’d love the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how a coaching program can create deeper alignment between those staff and your 2017 strategic plan to lay a solid foundation for your success this year.
~Kris
Kris (Cavanaugh) Castro, PCC
The B.O.S.S. Coach
Helping Business Owners Set Bold Goals and Secure Amazing Results to Successfully Thrive at Work and Home!
404-551-3601
**Image by Renjith Krishnan on FreeDigitalPhotos.net**
Forbes Article: Strategy 101: It’s All About Alignment. https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymyler/2012/10/16/strategy-101-its-all-about-alignment/#7919ab2928cf.
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