Acting Strategically and Taking Strategic Actions
In this series of articles on Strategic Leadership, I have discussed strategic leadership in general and have also explored the nature of strategic thinking. It is time, now to consider strategic acting and what that might mean in the life of the strategic leader.
Strategic acting is really about the execution of strategic priorities – and is a critically important part of the strategic learning process. In essence, strategic acting is not only about simply getting on with it – it is also about how we learn from the efforts or attempts we make in the execution of strategy. This highlights for us the “experimental nature” of strategic acting – it really is a process of learning how to get to where we want to be from where we are. And of course, there is no guarantee that the selected actions are the right ones or the best ones. This means being able to be decisive in the face of uncertainty. This is in addition to some other critical competencies that make up strategic acting:
Since these are the critical competencies, rate yourself out of 5 on the following questions (5 being excellent performance and 1 being below the required level):
Now that you have rated yourself out of 5, I challenge you to give examples that corroborate your rating. Now be especially courageous and ask some trusted colleagues to rate you and give you their own examples.
All of these factors are equally important, but some merit special attention because they are so challenging. In my work as a coach, one of the challenges I frequently address with my clients is the issue of rewarding appropriate risk-taking. There is a pervasive tendency in many organisations to make punishments for mistakes more significant than rewards for success – hence a tendency to play it safe in setting strategic targets. If you set the bar sufficiently low, you risk little. Consequently the person who just missed a significantly challenging target is valued less highly than the person who exceeded a relatively low target.
It is important not only to reward appropriate risk-taking behaviour, but also to deliberately avoid punishing or discouraging reasonable risk-taking. To assess how your business is doing on this you might consider the following questions:
Reflect on these questions and see if you can’t find some ways to encourage more appropriate risk-taking in the interests of strategic success. And whether they work or not – what might you learn?
In the next article, we will continue looking at acting strategically and taking strategic action.
Recommended Reads
If you are interested in reading more about strategic leadership we recommend:
“Becoming a Strategic Leader” by Richard L. Hughes and Katherine Colarelli Beatty (ISBN 0-7879-6867-6).
“Leading Strategic Change – Breaking Through the Brain Barrier” by J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen (ISBN 0-13-046108-3)
“The New Strategic Thinking” by Michael Robert (ISBN 0-07-146224-4)
“Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan (ISBN 0609610570)
- Setting clear priorities
- Creating conditions in which others can be effective
- Making strategy a learning process
- Acting with both the long and the short-term in mind
- Being willing to stick your neck out for what you believe
Since these are the critical competencies, rate yourself out of 5 on the following questions (5 being excellent performance and 1 being below the required level):
- How decisive are you in the face of uncertainty?
- Are you able to manage the tension between the short-term measurables and the long-term success of the business?
- Are you able to implement new tactics or actions that are consistent with the strategy?
- Do you typically make decisions that are strategically consistent with each other?
- Do you empower action by providing others with a helpful balance of direction and autonomy?
- Have you found ways to reward appropriate risk-taking?
- Do you adapt existing plans to changing conditions?
- Have you developed the habit of reflecting on the consequences of action taken so that the learning might be used to inform future decisions and actions?
- Do you explore mistakes in order to learn from them (rather than finding someone to blame)?
Now that you have rated yourself out of 5, I challenge you to give examples that corroborate your rating. Now be especially courageous and ask some trusted colleagues to rate you and give you their own examples.
All of these factors are equally important, but some merit special attention because they are so challenging. In my work as a coach, one of the challenges I frequently address with my clients is the issue of rewarding appropriate risk-taking. There is a pervasive tendency in many organisations to make punishments for mistakes more significant than rewards for success – hence a tendency to play it safe in setting strategic targets. If you set the bar sufficiently low, you risk little. Consequently the person who just missed a significantly challenging target is valued less highly than the person who exceeded a relatively low target.
It is important not only to reward appropriate risk-taking behaviour, but also to deliberately avoid punishing or discouraging reasonable risk-taking. To assess how your business is doing on this you might consider the following questions:
- Are we encouraging an appropriate level of risk-taking to enhance our chances of success?
- What examples do we have of appropriate risks that have been taken?
- What examples do we have of appropriate risks that we did not take?
- Do the previous 2 answers show up any patterns?
- What kinds of risks do we need to be more prepared to take?
- What criteria would be useful in enabling us to assess whether a risk is worth taking?
- How do we handle mistakes? Is this likely to stifle even moderate amounts of risk-taking?
- How much risk-taking occurs “under the radar”? Would it be better to bring that risk-taking into the open, and what would it take to do so?
- When we achieve success, do we know what risks were taken to achieve it?
- How effectively do we use examples of risk-taking with both positive and negative outcomes as opportunities to learn and teach?
- How certain are our people that they won’t be punished for taking what appeared to be a reasonable risk, even if it doesn’t work out?
- What barriers have we imposed on ourselves that inhibit appropriate risk-taking?
- What can I (as the leader) do more of to encourage appropriate risk-taking behaviour?
Reflect on these questions and see if you can’t find some ways to encourage more appropriate risk-taking in the interests of strategic success. And whether they work or not – what might you learn?
In the next article, we will continue looking at acting strategically and taking strategic action.
Recommended Reads
If you are interested in reading more about strategic leadership we recommend:
“Becoming a Strategic Leader” by Richard L. Hughes and Katherine Colarelli Beatty (ISBN 0-7879-6867-6).
“Leading Strategic Change – Breaking Through the Brain Barrier” by J. Stewart Black and Hal B. Gregersen (ISBN 0-13-046108-3)
“The New Strategic Thinking” by Michael Robert (ISBN 0-07-146224-4)
“Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan (ISBN 0609610570)
