To Implement, Communicate.
In a recent survey, Harvard Business Review found that he biggest challenge to execution and implementation is making strategy meaningful to frontline workers. People look for meaning and purpose. If an organization fails to articulate a mission, and clearly state and communicate a strategy for accomplishing that mission, often silos and miscommunication result. As one of the survey respondents stated, “Failure to communicate strategy causes frontline workers to invent their own strategy.” Or as Will Mancini wrote in a recent blog post, “If leaders are vague, Silos breed and people ‘do what’s right in their own eyes’.” Compounding this fact are two additional findings. First, many people in an organization do not know what the strategy is. Second, people involved in strategy development are most likely to buy in.
What’s the remedy?
Clear communication, according to the survey, is the primary factor affecting implementation.
These finding resonate with what we evangelize at Auxano. We encourage each client to develop communication tools to help them integrate and implement their vision. Most of our clients work with us to develop a strategy icon to reinforce and communicate their vision-based strategy throughout the organization. Some examples can be seen below.
If you feel you may have some obstacles preventing implementation, or perhaps you are challenged by “silo mentalities,” ask yourself these questions:
1. Have we a clearly stated a vision-based strategy?
2. Was it developed in a collaborative process?
3. Is our strategy clearly communicated consistently throughout the organization?
4. Have we developed communication tools that help you integrate your vision and make the organization’s direction meaningful to people?
To see more strategy icon examples with explanations, view Auxano’s Symbols and Icons flash booklet.