Managers keep strategy alive

Eighteen months ago, my Executive Team asked employees for ideas on how to improve customer service. There were set criteria for submitting ideas, so that they aligned with the business strategy. As you can imagine there were all sorts of ideas flying about.

As a customer of the business, as well as an employee, I felt qualified to make a simple, low cost suggestion that could help customers every day. So, after some thought I sent my idea to the special IDEAS@ email address and waited. And I waited. And then I got it: nothing.

I tried to follow up on my idea. I was told by a leader that my idea was “in a spreadsheet, being triaged”.

I was worried that my bright idea was in some dark place getting chest compressions.

After multiple attempts to revive my suggestion, I eventually gave up and lost interest. I had gone out of my way to develop an actionable idea and ensure it aligned with the business strategy. I had ticked all the boxes (aka engaged). Now I was being ignored.

My attempt to engage with the business strategy had flat-lined into nothing. Or had it?

Senior leaders develop business strategies that typically ask employees to be safer, focus more on customers, save money and improve. But when the ideas or questions come back to middle and front line managers they often fail to respond, or are not able to. This leaves customers or employees alienated. The media, gossip and negativity can fill the “nothing” created when managers fail to respond. This drives down discretionary effort and in turn can impact your bottom line.

Surely manager involvement in strategy execution (to enable response or action in these situations) should be our first step towards effective strategy execution in the form of manager-employee engagement?

Putting the right effort and resources in place to enable managers to communicate your business strategy is critical. If managers can’t respond or explain the direction you are going in, then employees or customers will stop innovating and lose interest. Just as I did.

Enabling managers to respond in an informed way is a critical step first step in strategy execution. Prioritising two-way dialogue with employees and customers is a key way to drive up engagement and deliver on your strategy. But it is often neglected. When it’s done well it truly does drive positive engagement and outcomes.

I am asking leaders to consider these key questions:

How are you empowering every level of leadership to listen and respond? Do you know that your leaders are responding? How are you ensuring front line and middle managers bring your strategy to life with two-way dialogue that drives results?