If you have read the preceding articles in
this section on strategic planning, YOU will
have a sense that strategic planning
involves more than getting together for one
day a year to develop a strategic planning
document. Strategic planning is both a
logical, rational process, and a process
that involves people. It takes more than
developing a plan for that plan to be
implemented. In this article, we consider
that the critical link between planning and
doing is leadership.
Traditional
Planning Methods
The traditional way for
government organizations to plan is for a
group of people, usually
executives/management, but sometimes
including employees, to get together for
some period of time each year. Generally,
inadequate time is allocated to the
exercise, but if it is completed, it results
in a document that contains a mission
statement, broad organizational goals, and
other elements as is deemed appropriate.
Then, the plan is usually hidden away
somewhere, never to be seen again.
Traditional methods yield traditional
results. As a wise man once said "If you
keep doing what you have been doing, you
will get what you have always got".
It needn't be this way.
Reconceptualizing Strategic Planning
Planning should be
considered as a blueprint for change. The
plan should be the basis for introducing
controlled change into an organization so it
can adapt to changing times. By anticipating
shifting demands, the plan serves the
purpose of allowing the organization to
control its own direction, rather than
waiting until political forces demand change
(and demand change NOW). In addition, the
plan allows for consistent monitoring of
success, and re-examination of the degree to
which organizational resources should be
structured and allocated to achieve future
goals.
But, if we look at
strategic planning in this light, as a
blueprint for change, we also need to
consider that any organization has built-in
inertia. The tendency to keep on doing what
one has been doing. On its own, the
strategic planning process, as traditionally
undertaken, is insufficient to overcome this
inertia. Other forces need to come into play
if the plan and proposed changes get
implemented.
Leadership -
The Key Force
In the context of
strategic planning, leadership means a
number of things. We can outline the role of
leadership in the following ways, keeping in
mind that leadership may come from appointed
leaders (management and executive) and from
the ranks.
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Those in leadership
roles ensure that as many members of the
organization as possible buy into the
values, mission, and broad
organizational goals. There are two
components to this function. First,
leaders manage the perceptions of staff
with respect to the planning process.
Remember that most people have
experienced the "plan-in-the-drawer"
syndrome, where effort expended in
planning is seen as wasted when the plan
is ignored. Prior to the planning
process, leaders must emphasize that
THIS TIME, things will be different.
Second, leaders manage the planning
process so that staff feels that they
have adequate input into the process,
that they are heard, and their values
and visions are incorporated into the
final plan and its implementation.
Specifically, leaders arrange things so
that the process is open, and conforms
to accepted rules of communication. That
may mean hiring an external consultant
to orchestrate the planning sessions. It
will certainly mean that rules get
established to guide participation.
Everyone who wants to participate should
have the opportunity, and even reticent
staff should be gently encouraged to
involve themselves.
-
While managing
perceptions of the planning process is
important, the critical role of
leadership occurs after the plan has
been completed. Leaders must treat the
planning results as the "organizational
signposts that guide behavior and
decision making". After all, nobody is
going to take a plan seriously if the
formal leaders ignore it, or never refer
to it again.
If you are serious about using strategic
planning as a tool for organizational
success, consider some of the following
actions.
A. When working with staff to set
individual objectives, be sure to
mention how the individual objectives
will contribute to the achievement of
the mission and organizational goals as
outlined in the strategic plan. Make
sure that the employee is familiar with
the plan when individual objectives are
set.
In addition, at each meeting with each
employee, work with the employee to help
him/her determine how the values
outlined in the strategic plan apply to
them. In other words, given the
particular values, strategic goals and
mission statement how is the employee to
behave or make decisions.
B. Once the strategic plan has been
completed; the formal leader of the
organization (and perhaps others) should
present and discuss the plan with the
up-line manager or executive. It is NOT
sufficient to send a copy. Because you
will need up-line support to implement
the plan, you will need their
commitment, and commitment will only
come from discussion and explanation of
the plan.
C. At staff meetings, when decisions are
required, explain how the strategic plan
is used, or is to be used to make
decisions. If you are the manager
communicating a decision you have made,
explain your rationale in light of the
mission, values and goals expressed in
the plan. If you are using a
participative decision making process,
help staff refocus on these components
of the plan, so that they can be used to
guide decision making
D. When doing performance reviews with
staff, ask the individual to explain how
his or her actions are consistent with
the elements of the plan. How has their
action contributed to organizational
goals? Has their behavior been
consistent with organizational values?
What needs to change so that the
individual can further contribute to
implementing the plan? Consider
recognizing contributions to achievement
of the plan, even if the individual did
not have specific responsibility as
outlined in their individual objectives.
And, when setting future objectives,
consider writing an objective that
refers to the values expressed in the
plan. For example: "Will act in
accordance with the organizational
values expressed in the strategic plan".
If you go this route, make sure -that
the implications of these values are
clear to the employee in terms of his or
her behavior.
-
A final role of
leadership is to create more leaders.
One goal that formal leaders
(executives, managers) can set for
themselves is to encourage down-line
employees to take on some of the
leadership roles outlined above. This
can be particularly effective in
decision making. The ideal situation is
for staff to internalize the plan to the
extent that some take on the role of
reminding people of the plan, and its
relevance to any given decision-making
process. Cultivate leaders in your
organization by giving increased
responsibility, and encouraging this
kind of leadership behavior.
Conclusion
Leadership, regardless of
when it comes from formally appointed
leaders, or Informal leaders, provides the
link between planning and doing. Leadership,
regardless of when it comes from formally
appointed leaders, or informal leaders,
provides the link between planning and
doing. Effective leadership helps alter
perceptions about strategic planning, and
the organization itself, helping to overcome
inertia, the tendency to keep things the
same.
Without leadership, most
strategic plans will end up as dead pieces
of paper. Most importantly, when planning
occurs without leadership, cynicism
increases when staff sees that the plan is
being ignored, or even violated. The outcome
of this is that formal leaders suffer a loss
of credibility.
Post your comments at
amin@aiminlines.co.th
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