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Time to connect Leadership, Strategy and Culture in your organisation

July 06, 2023
Time to connect Leadership, Strategy and Culture in your organisation

Once again, organizations are working diligently to create their new Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) for the upcoming five years.

Due to intensifying global competition, the requirement to rule industry, and the danger of slipping behind the competition, Executives today must lay out their strategic goals against the backdrop of challenging economic conditions.

The three elements of leadership, strategy, and culture must all be present for an organisation to successfully implement its strategic plan and ensure that it dominates its industry. To implement a strategic plan with the help of individuals from other departments, it is essential to be able to connect these three components, comprehend them well, and accept that leaders understand the culture they present. Combining these three components is critical for organizations to successfully implement their strategic plan from beginning to end. 

For example, let's say the organization’s CEO creates a highly effective Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) with specific goals. Still, he or she neglects to consult with stakeholders during the planning process properly. Who will deliver the strategic plan, and why is this a pertinent question? To guarantee that an organisation correctly executes its strategic plan, it is important to consider these three factors and how they relate to each other:

Leadership

A leader must cultivate and model the proper behaviors for people to observe and follow. This includes ensuring that there are open lines of communication within the business so that everyone feels heard and included when formulating strategic plans. The context (or culture) needed for people to implement the strategy will eventually be created by employees acting as role models for these behaviors.

Strategy

Employees are an organisation's most significant resource, but they are typically left out of the early stages of strategy formulation. As a result, instead of feeling empowered and supported, employees experience a sense of underappreciation and neglect. Employees are expected to eventually carry out the strategy's aims; yet, if they were not consulted, how can leaders expect them to carry out objectives that did not consider their perspectives? 

Culture

If employees are excluded from the beginning when executives are developing the strategic plan, they will imitate these actions and develop a culture of salary collectors.   Culture is referred to as "the way things are done around here." An exclusive culture emerges when people are excluded. People only show up to perform the very minimum tasks and refuse to accept responsibility or accountability for anything. However, when people are valued, heard, listened to, and included, it leads to a culture of listening, inclusion, and performance.

There are severe costs for long-term sustainability when organisations frequently fail to connect leadership, strategy, and culture. No matter how good an organization’s corporate strategy is, it will ultimately fail if those in leadership roles don't foster an environment where their employees can thrive, own, and carry out their share of the strategy. Over 80% of organisational strategic plans fall short of expectations, primarily due to a failure to involve staff members early in the development of the strategy and to communicate the need for change.

For employees to thrive and effectively implement the strategic plan, the organisation's culture and environment must be created and developed with the necessary leadership behaviours. Poor behaviour and the development of an incorrect culture can contaminate the environment and make it difficult or impossible for individuals to carry out the strategy. A high-performance culture can be developed, better recruitment and engagement can be achieved, and value can be added to the company, its employees, and the community. These are just a few benefits of integrating organisational culture with strategies and strong leadership.

At the nexus of leadership, strategy, and culture, change starts.   

 *Rosemary Tjombonde is reading for a Mphil in Corporate Strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). She is passionate about Procurement, leadership, strategy and culture. The views expressed in this article are entirely her own. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Last modified on Thursday, 06 July 2023 22:15
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