Cutting Through The Grey

How To Plan Strategic Change

The turbulent business environment which most organizations inhabit, has impacted the degree to which it is possible to plan strategic change. The pattern of external factors impacting organisations, has become more complex. A more responsive and adaptive approach is required in order to identify these factors and take early advantage of the opportunites to innovate or mitigate threats.

Planning strategic change is most effective when it recognizes and builds on the operational pulse of the organization.

Creating strategic change is about getting fit for an uncertain future, while also ensuring operational stability. Most analysts agree that strategic change derails as a result of inappropriate timing and lack of engagement.

While there is no blueprint for success, there are some tried and tested guidelines for increasing the likelihood of achieving the desired results.

Deciding when to launch new initiatives relies on the ability of business leaders to think strategically:

Scanning the wider world, their market places and their operating environment

Identifying the pattern of external and internal factors driving their strategic change

Assessing their stakeholders’ attitudes and expectations

High performing organizations are adopting a participative approach to strategic planning, which surfaces all existing and proposed change initiatives and allows them to be evaluated in the light of strategic imperatives.

Change overload and fatigue are common complaints from Directors. At the same time, new initiatives are championed and obsolete ones are seldom ‘killed.’

Mapping all change initiatives against the business planning cycle, highlights conflicts and interdependencies, while providing an holistic view of the agenda the organization is being asked to embrace. Pinch points become apparent and Director time can be focused on steering multiple initiatives concurrently.

A participative approach to planning, ensures that constructive challenge becomes part of an effective process to determine which initiatives are Mission critical and when they should be launched. A common agenda is created and Directors can begin the process of engaging their stakeholders in the journey.

Leaders Create Their Organisational Drum Beat

Leaders are primarily responsible for creating the culture which they inhabit - The organisational drum beat.

While any organisation will have developed habits based on historical behaviour, it is the words and actions of the current leaders which is primarily responsible for promoting what is acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour.

Where leadership behaviour is concurrent with espoused principles and values and strategic decision making is guided by those same principles and values, trust and respect will grow and enhance business performance.

The author collaborates with Dr Laurence Lyons, editor of Coaching for Leadership, "The single best collection of first rate articles on executive coaching - Warren Bennnis." Together they research Principled Leadership, a philosophy which explores how the leader creates their organisational drum beat. Principled Leadership is based on the following concepts:

Truth - Principled leaders are authentic and true to themselves, recognising personal purpose, ethics and appropriateness of response. Their reputation for authentic behaviour is earned, respected and valued.

Politics - Principled leaders enable others to lead. They recognise that this is the style of choice for the advanced organisation paradigm, given that power relationships have altered, career paths are mobile and personal branding is essential.

Dialogue - Principled leaders create dialogue, founded on mutual respect and shared expectation of behaviour and outcome. They recognise the importance of both the journey and the destination.

Collective Success - Principled leaders enable collective success by inspiring and being inspired. They engage with others, sharing ideas and building common purpose. Their decisions and actions are informed by their principles.

Audit Questions:

What are your organisation's principles and values?

How is your community encouraged to live those espoused principles and values?

are those espoused principles and values promulgated?

How does your strategic decision making link with those espoused principles and values?

How is dialogue created and sustained?

How is the baton of leadership shared beyond those at the apex of the organisation?

What value is placed on being authentic?

What inspires your community?

What role do you play in inspiring those around you?

So are you a Principled Leader?

ADEPT Leaders

The challenge:

To lead your business effectively in the 21st century, depends on developing self awareness and situational intelligence. Real leadership capability is built by developing insights across both these areas. This allows you to judge the most appropriate way to intervene in a given situation.

The psychological focus on addressing just the former, assumes individuals are disfunctional and 'fixes' them. The new, improved business leader may conform to a common view of 'good' but be ineffective in the real World they inhabit.

The response:

Situational intelligence develops a line of sight which encompasses the immediate operating environment, the business environment and the wider World. While perfect vision and foresight are hard to achieve, each business leader can develop their acuity (keeness of thought) and see more of the situation.

In the 21st century, we recognise that leadership is a relationship which can exist to address situations at any level, rather than a role to be performed by the few at the apex of the hierarchy. Those few, who direct, are tasked with creating a climate in which other leaders thrive.

ADEPT is a noun and adjective describing one who is thoroughly proficient; a skilled alchemist (Oxford English Dictionary.)

ADEPT leaders develop self awareness and situational intelligence. They develop acuity and have the personal humility to seek and analyse advice and feedback on their own performance. They deliver enhanced business performance because they are willing to learn from other's experience and not just their own.

Article from The Institute of Directors Effective Leadership Conference - 8th November 2007

Download the_adept_leader_article.pdf 

Growth strategies which realise value

Download value_realisation_masterclass.pdf

There is a significant growth in the number of organisations expressing a desire to develop their acquisitive capability and realise the value post deal. Despite more attention being paid to the due diligence process and deal making activity, a significant proportion of business integrations fail to realise the intended value. The reasons are complex and many are avoidable. Combining their expertise in the leadership of strategic change and the creation of technology enabled businesses, Anna Bateson of Cutting Through The Grey and Clive Taylor of Sesai collaborate to bring business leaders a highly practical masterclass.

Developing Leadership Capability

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Organisations play changing roles in 21st century society and this impacts  the expectations placed on their leaders. Complexity and continuous change provide significant challenges and opportunities. Growing and nurturing leadership talent has become a Board preoccupation. Global business coaches, Anna Bateson of Cutting Through The Grey and Dr Laurence Lyons of Metacorp, collaborate to bring business leaders a highly interactive masterclass designed to build real capability.