Two Companies, same Strategy, only one gets Results! Why?
Two Companies, same Strategy, only one gets Results! Why?
Have you ever wondered why some organisations seem to be able to develop and deliver on their strategy and yet others struggle?
If we imagine for a moment that we have two companies in the same industry, with the same strategy, they are operating in the same context etc, yet the results they achieve are vastly different when it comes to the execution of the strategy, what’s that all about
What’s the difference?
The key difference in this hypothetical situation is the leadership in the organisation. The way a senior leadership team comes together will have a direct impact on how strategy is implemented, how it is executed, and the type of culture that is being created in the organisation.
What is fascinating from a team perspective, is we all bring two roles to a team. I know right, who knew!
The first role is our designated role, CEO, CFO, CHRO, etc. We all know these roles really well, we have a position description that describes this for us. Sometimes we think this is all we contribute to the team and organisation and to an extent that is so. But that is only half the story.
There is more that we bring to the team. We may also bring a psychological role. These are roles that will help a senior leadership team collectively deliver their results. The psychological roles individuals may hold include having an orientation toward:
Results
Relationships
Process
Pragmatism
Innovation
Now, not everyone will necessarily hold one of the psychological roles above. That doesn’t mean that individuals don’t or can’t contribute in some of these areas. When we look at these psychological roles across teams, it can provide us with some interesting insights around what the team has been noticing in the way they either develop or execute strategy. It’s also interesting to note how this team orientation is impacting the type of culture an organisation is wanting to create.
If there are some of these psychological roles missing, it’s really important for that senior leadership team to devise a plan or a process to make sure they have this role covered in some way. This often requires being a little more deliberate and intentional around how they will achieve the benefits of that role because it’s not something that is naturally going to be present within the team.
The Collective Inner Game of a Team
How a leadership team interacts with each other, and everyone is the business, is a key ingredient in the secret sauce of an organisation.
Patrick Lencioni in his book Five Dysfunctions of a Team states, “it’s not finance, not strategy, and not technology, but teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage for organisations.” This, I believe, is what makes the difference between the organisations that achieve their strategy with ease, and those that don’t.
If a senior leadership team pays attention to how they operate not only as individuals but also collectively to create a high-performance culture, we start to see a different result.
The top leaders in an organisation can benefit from taking an unbiased look at how they are contributing to the current culture and how they are showing up as leaders. What are they tolerating and what changes do they need to make to their own attitudes and behaviours to have more impact?
What can senior leaders do to ensure that their impact, both personally and collectively is assisting the rest of the organisation to get results?
Leaders need to gain clarity on their leadership habits and determine which ones are serving them and the organisation and which ones are not. Investing in a quality Leadership Assessment to help unpack this information is money well spent.
Next, we need to look at the messages we are sending out into the organisation – are these consistent with our behaviours, and are they contributing to the culture we want to create. Are our messages aligned to the strategy we are wanting to execute?
Our performance as a leader is constantly being evaluated by others in the organisation so we need to understand if we are behaving in a consistent way that supports the culture and the strategic direction we are heading. If we are saying one thing but doing another, this causes confusion and cynicism within the organisation.
We can often do our leadership on automatic pilot which means we are largely ‘unconscious’ about how we are doing what we do. We need to become more conscious and self-aware of the actual impact we are having, which might differ from what our intention is.When a senior leadership team has the clarity around how they are playing their collective inner game (their collective strengths, derailers, and blind spots, motives, values, and preferences) then they are in a stronger position to impact their outer game (teams, results, productivity, engagement etc.), in an intentional and meaningful way.
Need some help
Imagine if your entire team was focused on the things that really matter to your organisation and aligned with a common vision and purpose. This would be the team who:
Focuses on what matters and spends time doing the things that have the most impact
Makes sure that everyone in the organisation is aligned and accountable
Develops leaders who continue to move the organisation forward
Creates an intentional culture for the organisation
If you are ready to achieve your strategic results consistently by shifting the dial on the leadership in your organisation, then we should chat.
Something to think about …
Lead with impact!