Execution = Vision and Action
“Dave, tell me how you would facilitate our off-site senior management meeting?” Kurt was a no-nonsense CEO of a west coast commercial bank, with an MBA from Harvard.
“What happens at the meeting depends on what you want to happen after the meeting,” I replied.“I need our leaders to come up with creative ideas that they would then implement to achieve our difficult growth goals.”“So, what you’re really talking about is execution — the steps needed to accomplish your strategic goals,” I asserted.He agreed and we proceeded to map out an effective off-site for his executives…
The Three Fundamental Phases of Execution
The ideas outlined below (which I conveyed to Kurt) describe how to apply the “science of execution” to strategic goals. However, any meeting that demands cross-functional action after the meeting should follow these three fundamental phases:
I. Gain organizational commitment before the meeting.
II. Use systems thinking action teams (S.T.A.T.) during the meeting.
III. Apply feedback to stay on track after the meeting.
I. Gain organizational commitment before the meeting.
Successful execution requires buy-in from those who’ll be executing (i.e., doing the work). To increase employee commitment to action after the meeting, I recommend involving them before the meeting. For example, I told Kurt to encourage his executives to meet with their bank employees. The leaders need to share the strategic goals and why the goals are important to everyone at the bank. Then, they ought to solicit creative ideas from their employees to accomplish the goals. This will “unleash the creative energy of their people in a given direction” (the very heart of leadership). From this avalanche of ideas, each executive would select the four best ideas from their employees.
II. Use systems thinking action teams (S.T.A.T.) during the meeting.
Your ready second phase of the team meeting (offsite or otherwise) should begin by discussing, refining, selecting, and prioritizing the best ideas. Jumpstart the implementation of the ideas by using the Systems Thinking Action Team (S.T.A.T.). The S.T.A.T. approach integrates systems thinking principles with project management tools to help cross-functional teams find highly leveraged action steps. This process is outlined below:
· Create teams to take responsibility for each initiative.
· Write a SMART goal for their respective initiative.
· Discuss the benefits for implementing the initiative.
· Share assumptions team members have about the initiative.
· Brainstorm possible action steps needed to execute each initiative.
· Find leverage by reviewing major tasks and identifying unique combinations of actions that bring the parts of the system together.
· Create a team charter with individual assignments.
· Report individual team results to the entire group.
III. Apply feedback to stay on track after the meeting.
Research by professor Pritchard and his colleagues at the University of Tennessee reported a 76% increase in productivity after five months of goal setting and feedback. (1) These results, and many others, remind us how critical it is to use feedback to stay on track after the meeting. Your feedback can take on many forms, such as rewards, one-on-one meetings, project status updates, management reviews, increased project visibility, stories, cultural norms…
Unfortunately, after submitting a comprehensive proposal, Kurt informed me that he had decided not to use an outside facilitator for that year’s meeting. But at least I found other uses for my proposal. That’s right; the essence of this issue blog is that proposal! Give me a call (310 397-6686) to discuss how we can help you adapt these ideas to achieve your strategic goals.
Keep stretching when you feel pulled,
Dave
1. Pritchard, R.D., Jones, S.D., Roth, P.L., Stuebing, K.K., & Ekeberg, S.E. (1988). The effects of feedback, goal setting, and incentives on organizational productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 337–358.
P.S. Dave Jensen and his team transform proven leadership tools into your success stories. Dave is an executive coach and an engaging speaker at conferences, meetings, and retreats. He can be reached in Los Angeles, CA at (310) 397-6686. Click here for more info about the research-based, online 360-leadership assessment (XLM): http://xlmassessment.com/ )
P.S.S. You are welcome to republish these leadership articles, forward them to your contacts, or use my blog in your corporate newsletter or websites. Simply include my contact info at the bottom.
oops, i hope you got paid something for being a consultant who gave him the information on how to run his own offsite meeting!
Hi Dave,
This is the right blog for anybody who would like to find out about leadership. It’s hard to argue with your strategic insights (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You also put a fresh spin on strategic thinking that’s been discussed for many years. Great stuff, just great!
Ray
Thanks Ray,
Glad you found the ideas helpful.
Keeping stretching when you’re pulled by oppsing demands,
Dave
This information is worthy of everyone’s attention.
How can I find out more?
Earl
Thank you Earl,
Dave
Click on my website if you want to learn more.