Leaders at all levels are responsible for executing strategy, as captured above in the Insight Experience Cycle of Strategy Execution™ model. The leader's job is to translate broad company strategies into plans, initiatives, and actions for the teams or groups they lead. The strategy translation process starts with a critical step that is much more difficult than it appears: ensuring that the leader understands and can articulate the strategies they are responsible for supporting and executing.
The Risk of Misalignment
Makes sense, doesn’t it? Strategy translation, which bridges the gap between developing and executing a strategy, is bound to fail if leaders lack a solid understanding of the wider company strategies they support and contribute to. If a company’s leaders can’t articulate strategy, then how can anyone else? And how can those making strategic decisions be certain that their plans and priorities align with company strategy? The unfortunate truth is: They can’t.
The Challenge of Understanding Strategy
It sounds simple, yet understanding corporate strategy can be a daunting task. Business strategies at all levels of an organization can range from being too complex, too detailed, too ambiguous, or incomplete. David J. Collis and Michael G. Rukstad (2008) provide a simple and straightforward framework in "Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?" The framework, which is simplified below, identifies three elements every strategy should identify and every leader should be able to communicate to others:
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Objective – Defines the goals of the enterprise, organization, team or project and should be “specific, measurable, and timebound.”
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Scope – Outlines the products and services the organization offers, who it offers them to, and where they are offered.
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Advantage – Describes the competitive advantage and value of the organization and how it will differentiate itself from others.
Communicating Strategy with Clarity
All three elements are equally essential for leaders to communicate strategy effectively. As we work with leaders in our business simulations, we see vivid examples of this core principle in action. Strong teams that consistently outline these three elements of their strategy consistently across individual members inevitably make better business decisions than teams who have an inconsistent or vague understanding of these three drivers. These cohesive teams work more effectively with each other in the time-constrained environment of the simulation and make more strategic decisions—because they can test their choices against a shared direction for the business. Those simulation dynamics parallel the dynamics of the real world.
A Practical Framework for Leaders
The Understand Strategy framework serves as a valuable guide and checkpoint for leaders. If you are not familiar with three components of your company’s strategy, it's an opportunity to deepen your understanding before translating strategy into plans and priorities for your team. Take the time to fully grasp your strategy first.
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References
Collis, D. J., & Rukstad, M. G. (2008). Can you say what your strategy is? Harvard Business Review, 86(4), 82–90. https://hbr.org/2008/04/can-you-say-what-your-strategy-is
