When lead is a verb
Merriam-Webster uses active words to define “lead:” to guide on a way, to direct on a course, to serve as a channel. Leadership implies action to accomplish shared and strategic outcomes that represent the mission, vision, and strategy of an organization. Leadership is about getting things done with and through a team of people.
Strategy + Execution = Outcomes
A well thought out plan without execution is only thinking out loud.
Strategy implies the right things will be completed in the right way by the right people at the right time to accomplish strategic outcomes.
Execution is the “who, what, when, and where” of action. It implies clarity of communication, clarity of expectations, and consistency of accountability.
If Leadership Does…What Do Leaders Do?
- Assignments. Delegate the right assignments to the right people. Off load everything someone else on your team can do in order to free up your attention to see around the corner what others do not yet see as you analyze and synthesize the strategic data.
- Action Steps. Clarify what each department is responsible to complete in order to achieve the company’s goals.
- Within each department specify what each team is accountable to accomplish in order to contribute to the department’s goals.
- Within each team identify what individual team members are assigned to do in order for the team to meet it goals.
- Resources. Make sure every department, team, and team member has the necessary resources to achieve each assignment.
- Benchmarks. Establish and redundantly communicate a timeline with completion benchmarks as check-in points throughout the implementation.
- Communication. Build a communication rhythm across departmental boundaries to provide updates and align cross-functional collaboration. Create a communication process where every team member reports to the team, every team reports to the department, and each department reports to senior leadership regarding the progress at each benchmark check-in.
- Recognition. When the entire project is completed recognize the contribution made by every team in every department, and the collaborative work by all departments in the company. Recognition and celebration contribute to employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention in light of the next milestone project just ahead.
Leadership Debrief
The performance gap between strategy and outcome is execution. High performing teams beg for an implementation plan with accountabilities to initiate and complete each action step.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Dick Daniels is Vice President, Consulting Services and an ICF Certified Executive Coach with Right Management’s Florida/Caribbean Region. Dr. Daniels offers Right Management’s clients more than 17 years of leadership development consulting and executive coaching with C-Suite leaders. As a leadership architect he designs customized leadership development frameworks and systems to align emerging, mid-level and senior level leaders with strategic business objectives. As business strategist, coach, adjunct professor, and awarded author, he is a proven resource for shaping a results-focused leadership culture within the unique priorities of each organization.