OPERATIONALIZING STRATEGY DEMANDS GREAT LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT
The incorporation of the Ports of Jersey
[from being a government department to a limited company] was a large-scale
transformational change of people, process and technology with an emphasis on
business-as-usual for airlines, shipping, boat owners and travelling
public. It was a complex change which
was as much about stability and continuity as it was about opportunity, growth
and agility.
Communicating change is often as much about
what isn’t going to change as it is about what will change, because all change
needs solid foundations to build upon. Without this sense of foundation there
is consternation and chaos.
These foundations are often about the
fundamentals of the people, product and customers and answer the question “Why
are we here?”. If consensus can be achieved on values, service and purpose then
the necessary changes have meaning and resolution.
Kotter’s 8 steps provide a useful guide to operationalize
strategy
1.
Establishing a Sense of Urgency
2.
Creating the Guiding Coalition
3.
Developing a Vision and
Strategy
4.
Communicating the Change Vision
5.
Empowering Employees for
Broad-Based Action
6.
Generating Short-Term Wins
7.
Consolidating Gains and
Producing More Change
8.
Anchoring New Approaches in the
Culture
Below are some practical examples of operationalizing
strategy and, perhaps more useful, some examples of how to progress through Kotter’s
8 steps.
KEY ELEMENTS OF GREAT LEADERSHIP
Here are five simple ideas which can help
Operationalizing Strategy
Be clear on what must change
A leader must understand and articulate the
Factors Critical to Success (what must we do) and Key Performance Indicators
(how will be measure and manage progress). This must be done in a way that
everyone understand what this means for them.
Communicate and Engage
Build trust by being clear and consistent
on key messages about things that are important to the audience. For Ports
Incorporation the CEO repeated clear, consistent assurances (about job-security, pay and opportunity) throughout
the 36 month programme.
Listen and Act
Engage all stakeholders to contribute to the change and shape what
that change means for them. For Ports of Jersey staff were invited to
contribute their ideas, as well as being empowered through HITs (High Impact
Teams) to deliver quick-wins in support of the necessary changes. The Ports
also undertook an annual staff survey and took the results seriously with clear
action plans for any adverse feedback.
Educate and Empower
Provide the tools, techniques and training
to allow people to improve themselves, the environment around them, and the
products and services that result. Lane 4 said “We create the environment where
success is inevitable”. For Ports of Jersey key staff were invited a “leadership group” (a series of workshops
and forums which might best be described as a mini-MBA programme) and broader
“Acceleration Programme” has been rolled out for all staff to learn LEAN and
use that knowledge to make effective change.
Restructure
Changes to organizational structure whether
real (by recruitment or dismissals) or perceived (by changes in title and
invitation to meetings) can send a clear signal of who’s hot and who’s not.
What behaviors and opinions are valued and which are mute when it comes to
making decisions. For Ports Incorporation there were two modest restructures:
one before the project started with the merger of harbour and airport; and the
second one year after Incorporation as the business gears-up to realize more of
its commercial opportunities. What was more
significant but less turbulent was who got invited to SMT meetings or the
“Leadership Group” discussions.
KEY ELEMENTS OF GREAT MANAGEMENT
The ideas above are not the exclusive
domain of leaders. Manages perhaps have greater day-to-day influence and impact
by virtue of how they behave and what tasks they prioritize. The reality is
that culture is nothing to do with written vision and values and everything to
do with “the way things are done around here”.
Here are two powerful ideas by which
managers can help Operationalize Strategy
Identify your customer and detail your service
Start thinking entrepreneurially about the input, process and output of your team or
department. Work with your team to
better understand your customer/consumer/user (which may be an
internal-customer or external-customer) and the match (or mis-match) between
what they want, need and value and what your provide. Many Ports of Jersey managers
spent a lot of time reflecting on this, which was useful to becoming more
efficient and effective and also helped embrace the broader objective of the organization
becoming more commercially focused on delivering value to the customer.
Understand that as a manager your staff are your customers
There is an adage that “People join good
businesses and leave bad bosses”. This makes clear that people have an
expectation of their bosses and bosses who fail to recognize their obligations
to staff will lose their support. The
aforementioned annual staff survey identified the need for change and the leadership
made clear that action was expected to address adverse feedback. In many cases this
encouraged a dialogue, sometimes through meetings and workshops to negotiate
change where previously issues or concerns were not addressed.
These are perhaps the most significant
actions which will help Operationalize Strategy
If you aren’t sure where to start check
yourself with these 6 questions. If your team cannot answer these positivity, then
you have a task to do.
1.
I know what is expected of me
at work
2.
I have the materials and equipment
I need to do my job right
3.
I have the opportunity to do
what I do best every-day
4.
In the last 7 days I have had recognition
for doing good work
5.
Someone at work encourages my
development
6.
At work, my opinions count
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Rogers is an AMPG Qualified Change
Practitioner, a PRINCE2 Project Manager, with an MBA in Management Consultancy.
Past projects have included the incorporation of Ports of Jersey and Operations
Change and Sales Support for RBSI and NatWest. He is a tutor/lecturer for the
Chartered Management Institute and a
past curator for TEDx (TEDTalks)
Web: http://www. AdaptConsultingCompany.com
Twitter: @AdaptCCompany
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