The road to strategic planning doesn’t merely end when you’ve finished developing your plan. It’s only the beginning to the twisty, winding roadmap you created to guide your organization to success.
But, you’ll find your plan at a dead-end unless you create team accountability to strategic execution and follow-through on execution.
Here’s a fool-proof, 5-step process to ensure your team is engaged and accountable during the execution and performance management process:
- Discuss and set up expectations: Communicating and articulating the expectation that execution against your plan is not only mandatory, but pivotal in your organization’s success is foundational in building accountability. Engaging your team early with this expectation clearly communicates that this process is a priority, not just an additional lower-level task.
- Ask for input and agree on the measures of successful performance: Asking for input on what the measures of success include engages your team in the goal, allows them to contribute to what success looks like, and creates a clear understanding of how you’ll collect data. Clearly understanding the task and measures creates inherent accountability and engagement with the information.
- Articulate the opportunities, rewards, and consequences of strategic execution: Being explicit about the rewards and opportunities that your organization can see because of planning and execution allows your team to see the big picture as to why you’re embarking on this process. Also communicating the consequence of failed execution (not failed strategy) communicates why you’re making these changes.
- Be active in motivating, communicating, and coaching your team: Be engaged in the planning process. Communicate consistently, motivate your team to update their metrics, and proactively coach. Being proactive in strategy execution allows you to be aware of issues as they arise and keeps your team aware and accountable to the action they need to take.
- Hold consistent strategy reviews: Strategy reviews are one of the most important tools in your arsenal to keep your team accountable during the execution process. Strategy reviews cannot occur unless your team has been actively managing their progress, so simply scheduling these reviews keeps strategy top-of-mind among your organization.
Building a culture of accountability may seem daunting. But, simple changes can have a huge impact on how your organization values and embraces the planning and execution process. Be clear, communicate often, and, above all else, keep your team’s eye on the ball. Accountability for performance will follow.
