Leadership, Strategy & Culture. Oh My!

I hope you know by the title of this post there’s no way this can be covered in one sitting.

But it is a current consulting assignment I’m working on with a client, so I thought I’d share my findings so far.

When addressing the Big 3 at your company know each item will take a heavy investment of time and money.

If you think any of these 3 can be tackled overnight, you need to reset your expectations.

Although a challenging trio, the following equation will help simplify the process.

Leadership + Strategy = Culture.

There you go, free of charge.

Let me walk you through the steps using my current assignment as a case study.

1. Leadership

This is where you need to start.

Everything rises and falls according to leadership, so start at the top and work your way down.

Begin with your org chart.

How balanced is it?

Do you have ample support and accountability at the frontline, middle tier and executive level?

If so, great. If not, it’s time to fill in the gaps.

If you’re a startup and don’t have managers in place because your workforce isn’t big enough yet, think again.

Having managers ensures a bridge between the frontline workers and executives, plus it ensures your people have the resources they need.

Currently on assignment I’m coaching all the executives and managers because how they go, the company goes.

2. Strategy

Mission statement, vision statement, core values, long-term and short-term goals fit into this category.

The above list can be overwhelming, but here’s how I prioritize it.

Mission/vision statements tend to be static, but core values measure what behaviors actually matter.

Once again this starts at the top, since it’s the behaviors (not intentions) that are shown to the rest of the team.

When the core values are established (you have to put the work in), start working on long-term (6+ months out) and short-term (< 6 months) goals.

An easy way to get started is to project yearly and quarterly goals making sure you stay at least 3 months ahead of where you are currently.

Most of the time strategy revolves around finances, but you can also be creative with how you plan ahead.

3. Culture 

The result of the leadership and strategy combined.

Changing your company culture will take time.

But most businesses try to tackle this one first while pushing leadership and strategy to the side - big mistake!

Culture is a product of leadership’s core values (behaviors shown) plus communicated goals/objectives.

I highlight “communicated” because often executives expect their people to read their minds, but that’s unfair.

Share, re-share and evaluate values and goals over time with your team.

Don’t be so stubborn and stick with metrics that don’t work.

In fact, if you truly want buy-in from your employees involve them in the process.

There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re working to fulfill someone else’s dream versus being part of a collective one.

Of all the 3 this one will take the longest, so be realistic and patient with your timeline.

Don’t give up, it’s worth re-routing and fighting for.

I normally touch on management issues, but this is an approach I’ve been sharing with the managers I’m coaching at the moment.

You need to start caring about how the organization works: systems, profit, opportunities, etc.

If you choose to stay narrow-focused only on your role, you’re missing out.

In fact, part of being irreplaceable is always thinking about how to build a better mousetrap.

That means sharing your findings with your supervisors and thinking about your career in the future.

If you’ve made it this far know this is about 2x’s what I normally write, but it’s a loaded subject so I wanted to do it justice.

So if you’re reading this and believe your company can benefit from changes in these 3 areas reply to this email and let’s talk.

God Bless,

Scott 

P.S. Speaking is my main offering, but I also provide training, consulting and coaching!