In our work with business owners and senior leaders, we find that they are often stuck in the “Tyranny of the Urgent,” which is often the enemy of the important. As a result, leaders spend considerable time running from one “emergency” to another. Sound familiar? Some of you will recall Covey’s quadrant on Urgent vs. […]
Strategic Thinking
I interviewed a number of senior leaders in fast-growing organizations to see how they engaged in strategic thinking. Before I share some outcomes of those interviews, let’s define strategic thinking. Richard Hughes and Katherine Beatty in their book, Becoming a Strategic Leader, define strategic thinking as “the collection, interpretation, generation, and evaluation of information and […]
Part Three: Championing Execution – ‘Making the Vision a Reality’
This is the third in our three-part series of the Work of Leaders model. We have covered Crafting Vision by imaging a future state of the company and Building Alignment, which increases employee buy-in for the vision. All the building blocks are in place, and now it is time to ‘Make the Vision A Reality’ […]
Part Two: Increase Employee Buy-in by Building Alignment
Effective leaders understand the importance of building alignment. It’s a key component of making a business run smoothly and involves making sure everyone is up to speed on what they’re supposed to be doing and why they’re supposed to be doing it. It also creates a feeling of ownership or buy-in for the vision, and […]
Part One: Bringing People Together by Crafting a Vision
In this three-part series, we will cover vision, alignment, and execution. A well-crafted vision is an essential component for any organization or team. It’s aspirational and describes a future, desired state. It’s comprised of a broad statement, one in which the organization or team is, for example, the “world leader in X, while maintaining the […]