The Importance of Leadership
Excellent execution starts at the top. The leadership team sets a foundation for execution by formulating a clear marketing positioning. It is then their responsibility to communicate this to all employees with credibility. Leadership must be deliberate and thoughtful in managing the changes required to maintain operational excellence, and each individual must be self-aware enough to understand their own strengths and gaps in order to deliver their strategic goals.
Is your leadership enabling execution?
Answer the questions below to find out. If you answer “no” at least once, you need to closely assess how well your executive team is leading efforts to both communicate and execute the company strategy:
Does the leadership team have full credibility with employees to lead the execution of strategy?
Is the leadership team managing change effectively?
Is the leadership team clearly communicating the strategy across the company?
Are the leadership team’s behaviors aligned with their strategic objectives?
“Your frontline represents your bottom line.” -Walt Disney
Walt Disney was known for wandering his parks and asking frontline employees to share Disney’s top strategic priorities with him. Disney knew execution excellence was impossible without leadership clearly communicating the strategy to every single employee.
A primary requirement of high-performing leadership teams is the ability to effectively think and work strategically. However, the organization’s Strategic Intent should not be a secret known only to the C-suite. In fact, quite the opposite. Strategic Intent must be known and embraced by all employees, this enables them to own tasks and activities which support the company’s goals. Aligning these to the single purpose of the organization is the secret to execution excellence.
To achieve this alignment the communication must be coming from a credible source. Credibility comes from expertise, but also from consistency. Consistency is expressed through intent, by showing persistence and resilience in the face of adversity. Messaging must also remain consistent, leaders must become evangelists preaching their strategic intent. Leadership must possess self-awareness ensuring their behavior remains consistent, specifically when it comes to communication and action-taking. Communication becomes especially important for companies going through significant changes, in those situations the employee base must be kept exceptionally well-informed in order to execute successfully.
During a crisis, leaders are required to step up. However, the economic recovery and greater stability we will see post-pandemic should not be an excuse to slacken the effort. Now more than ever, achieving excellent execution will require leadership to articulate their vision and goals, ensuring it is understood and accepted by all.
How well is your business executing? To find out, please contact us and we will initiate an assessment of your execution capabilities.
In our next blog, we will consider the importance of Balanced Metrics.