Companies frequently develop vision and mission statements about being number one in their industry, the great service they provide to customers, and their rewarding work environment. Yet more often than not, these statements are so far from reality that they become joke fodder for customers and employees alike.
Creating a culture of execution begins with the knowledge that developing plans and strategic initiatives is just the starting point.. It also requires adopting the mindset that a highly skilled and engaged work force – while important – will not ensure effective execution.
Many leaders have a blind spot in this area. Either they believe that their job is setting the direction, and execution is the responsibility of lower-level managers, or they assume that if they clearly communicate an exciting vision of the future to an engaged work force, everything else will fall into place.
Companies can make a conscious effort to close the execution gap. You simply have to take some tried and true steps to creating a “get it done” culture. For example:
Execution Starts with a Plan
A solid plan can immensely improve the efficiency with which a project is carried out. It facilitates the organization and coordination of related work activities, prevents operational delays and bottlenecks in work processes, helps people avoid duplication of effort, and helps employees set priorities and meet deadlines.
Ensure plans are aligned and coordinated across the organization. A common snafu at many organizations is that the head of one department will implement a new initiative without considering how it will affect the overall company or specific departments. When a New York-based mutual insurance and financial services company realized it wasn’t going to meet certain financial goals, division heads focused on cutting expenses in their individual departments. Unfortunately, they did not develop operational plans that were compatible across the organization or that helped coordinate the day-to-day activities required to achieve overall business objectives. In fact, these individual cuts made it difficult to maintain support and service to internal customers.
Clarify, Clarify, Clarify
It’s often difficult to get things done because people don’t understand their roles, responsibilities, or what exactly is expected of them. One reason employees aren’t always clear on what they should be doing and when is because their manager assumed that they would understand what needs to be done. Another common problem is that managers fear they might insult an employee’s intelligence by stating what seems obvious to them. Finally, some leaders may simply believe they are too busy to spell things out, not realizing the possible consequences of failing to do so.
Establish Clear Expectations
Goals help everyone focus on important activities and responsibilities. They encourage people to find more efficient ways to do the work. And they facilitate constructive performance feedback by ensuring that managers and direct reports or team members have a shared picture of expected outcomes. Setting specific performance goals or task objectives is also an important form of clarifying. Performance improves because specific objectives guide effort toward the most productive activities, and challenging objectives tend to energize a higher level of effort.
Don’t Micromanage
Done micromanage your entrepreneurial-minded employees. But do monitor them. Your entrepreneurial-minded employees – those who take individual initiative and do an effective job without much direction from you – are the gems that make your company special. But just because you feel like you can let them loose with a project or client doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t follow up with them periodically. In fact, when you empower employees in this way, monitoring becomes even more important.
Share Bad News
Encourage employees to openly share bad news. Getting information from employees can be easier said than done. If there is a problem, mistake, or delay, they may be hesitant to inform you because they fear your reaction or think it will make them look incompetent. Even an employee who is not responsible for a problem may be reluctant to report it if he or she is concerned about being on the receiving end of an angry outburst. It’s essential to be careful about how you react to information concerning problems. (Said another way, don’t shoot the messenger!)
Balance
Balance careful analysis of a problem and decisive action to solve it. Effective leaders move quickly to deal with a threat or problem. Nevertheless, they know they must make an accurate diagnosis of the problem and identify relevant remedies before taking action. Otherwise, they may end up implementing ineffective solutions or solving the wrong problem – both of which can make things worse instead of better.
Make Decisions at the Lowest Possible Level
Make decisions as close to the action as possible. The key here is ensuring that decisions are being made where the best information is in order to increase speed and quality of responsiveness. It’s not uncommon for organizations to swing back and forth from centralizing work and processes to decentralizing as they try to deal with a strategic issue or competitive threat.
Facilitate
Facilitate informal and spontaneous interaction among employees. Your employees’ informal relationships are key in getting things done. The ability to connect with a colleague “in the moment” when you have a problem or new information is essential for effective execution. In today’s fast-paced global businesses, it can be difficult to make these connections.
Create a Business Tool
Turn your performance management system into a business tool. This system is one of the most important tools leaders have to ensure effective execution. It ensures goals are aligned across levels and work units, helps people know what they need to do and how they need to do it, and allows leaders to monitor progress toward goals.
When you put these elements in place at your organization, you’ll see a general improvement in individual, team, and overall organizational ability to execute plans and initiatives,” says Lepsinger. “Your employees will start getting things done more easily and consistently, and these regular wins will encourage them and inspire them to redouble their efforts. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
“They’ll get focused on being more efficient, retaining customers, responding and acting on customer feedback, and monitoring the quality of their work,” he adds. “One day you’ll look around and realize your mission statement actually rings true – and that’s one of the best feelings you’ll ever have as a leader.”
Richard Lepsinger is the President of Onpoint Consulting. For more information, please visit onpointconsultingllc.com.
