The room was silent. They hadn\u2019t taken the time to think it through. They had no answers, and the idea was dropped just as soon as it was picked up.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not looking at new ideas through the intentional lens of your vision, it\u2019s easy to get pulled off track. Leaders and their team members should know this vision lens well enough to filter ideas for ones that fit and ones that are a distraction.<\/p>\n
Theme over numbers<\/h3>\n
To avoid the same story happening at your organization, try implementing an annual or bi-annual theme. While setting goals and hard numbers is a great way to hold yourself and your team accountable, that shouldn\u2019t be the first place you go when you develop your organizational strategy.<\/p>\n
A theme is an idea you intentionally want to take hold in the behaviors of your team. The most powerful themes are often the most simple, such as \u201cbe intentional\u201d or \u201csimplify\u201d or \u201cprogress over perfection.\u201d And a theme has a longer lifespan than numbers-driven goals, and the newly developed behaviors won\u2019t disappear if you fail to meet any specific goal.<\/p>\n
A theme will work as a guide and a reference for all the major (and minor) activities within your organization and can help weed out initiatives that sound great but aren\u2019t aligned with your vision. Pick an idea for your theme that reinforces your company vision and acts as a reference point to keeping your ideas and intentions in alignment with your vision.<\/p>\n
Proactive planning<\/h3>\n
Creating a theme can help you think ahead in a logical, intentional way. One way that organizations get sidetracked or find themselves stumped by a complicated, poorly planned initiative is reactive planning. As your business grows, it will inevitably hit roadblocks. Problems aren\u2019t avoidable. But often, leadership gets stuck in a loop of reactive planning, responding to each problem as it arises, only thinking one step ahead or one step behind each challenge.<\/p>\n
Reactive leadership doesn\u2019t allow for intentional growth and can suck an entire organization\u2019s energy down the drain. So the next time your organization comes up against a roadblock, step back and consider your options. Don\u2019t run with the first idea that comes to you without thinking things through:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Does the plan align with your theme?<\/li>\n
- Does it make sense long-term?<\/span><\/li>\n
- Does your team have the capacity to execute the plan? <\/span><\/li>\n
- Why are you choosing this plan over others, how will it help, and what does your team need to do to make it happen? <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Change your mind (set)<\/h3>\n
If your team tends to complain when asked to do the hard work associated with getting a new initiative up and going, it\u2019s likely that leadership hasn\u2019t explained the initiative in proper context. It\u2019s difficult to accept tactical chores when there is no obvious and immediate benefit.<\/p>\n
If you want your business to win and your vision to be realized, you must take time to allow your team see how new initiatives help fulfill the vision. Once understood, the detailed, often frustrating work of laying down the pavement toward functionality and success, can be met with much more acceptance.<\/p>\n
For example, if you\u2019re paying for a robust tech platform to track sales, marketing efforts, and prospecting, but you\u2019re frustrated by the results, ask yourself if you\u2019ve equipped your staff with the right training. Do they know why they\u2019re going to use it? Do they know how to use it?<\/p>\n
If they don\u2019t have a clear understanding, you haven\u2019t implemented the technology with a solid strategy, and you need to reverse your steps and start over. If they do have a clear understanding, ask yourself why they aren\u2019t using it correctly (or at all).<\/p>\n
Organizations waste massive amounts of money on tech they hardly use, not because they don\u2019t see its value, but because they don\u2019t make the time commitment to 1) train their employees, or 2) take accountability for its success. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Your job as a leader isn\u2019t just to hold people accountable or set the direction of your organizational growth\u2014it\u2019s to take responsibility for the details, the strategy, and the planning. Your vision = your responsibility. Sure, you get to ask for help, but the ultimate success or failure falls on you.<\/p>\n
Where to start<\/h3>\n
To get your organization, or even your brain, back on track, retreat to your vision. Start there and move forward. Always ask:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u201cDoes this idea align with our vision?\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cAm I willing to put in the work to develop a strategy?\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cHow will I communicate this to my team?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In the end, businesses get off and on track repeatedly as they grow and change. Remember to recenter your focus on your vision, even as it evolves, and resolve never to be above the \u201cbusy work\u201d of strategy. After all, any idea looks like a good idea without a plan.<\/p>\n
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Photo by Ian Iankovskii<\/a><\/p>\n
Content provided by\u00a0<\/em>Q4iNetwork<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and partners<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Does your team have the capacity to execute the plan? <\/span><\/li>\n