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The #1 Mistake Managers Make

There’s a multitude of articles telling managers to share business information openly with their

workforces. Transparency is what we’re seeking in the workplace, so we share business results,

performance against targets, financial spreadsheets and balanced scorecards.

But, even organizations who talk about the business regularly find that only 13% of employees

actually take in the information. Many of us have read, with some dismay, the article in Forbes,

written by John Kotter on July 19, 2013, called “When CEOs Talk Strategy, 70% Of The Company

Doesn’t Get It”. And in June, 2013, an article in Harvard Business Review, “When CEOs Talk

Strategy, Is Anyone Listening?” cited research recently completed by Timothy Devinney and

associates at the University of Technology in Sydney that found the following: even in companies

who take the time to communicate about the strategy throughout the organization, including all

levels and functions, only a small percentage of employees actually take in the information. Per

the article, “…the researchers asked employees of 20 major Australian corporations with clearly

articulated public strategies to identify their employer’s strategy from among six choices. Just

29% answered correctly.”

Managers know that organizational success can only be accomplished through their people.

Organization performance is in the hands of the workforce. So, what’s missing in management

communication that is holding back organization performance?

My work experience -- at the intersection of H.R. and Operations, has taught me many things,

but one thing as a cornerstone: It’s not goals and financial metrics that motivate people. It’s

emotions that drive behavior. So, while we’ve learned we must focus our people on goals and

metrics and we tell ourselves that goals should inspire people, it’s how they feel about the goals

and the numbers and the work they do that makes the difference between high performance

and ‘good enough’. The goals and metrics are tools that come alive once we engage people’s

hearts and minds.

So, let’s think about this: How can managers create a work environment that sparks emotional

connections between their people and the work? How can we create an environment that makes

it easy for people to motivate themselves and to achieve the high performance today’s

organizations need in order to succeed?

My experience tells me that the most effective foundation for high performance is Strategic

Understanding. Without a true personal understanding about the company and its strategy,

especially about the company’s competitive differentiation, it’s difficult for people to find a sense

of purpose and meaning in what they do day in and day out. And, in order for strategy to guide

priorities, actions and decisions, people must have high certainty and confidence in what they

know about the strategy.

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Often, in my own experience, the strategic understanding and confidence in that understanding

are often left by the side of the road as people walk through data, metrics and numbers. And the

impact of that lost connection between people and the business shows up in the organization’s

strategic performance.

I have found that authentic and frequent communication can help managers to build a motivating

environment. Three important aspects of this communication are:

1. Educating their workforce about the company’s strategy, to help them to fully understand

the unique value that sets the company apart from the competition to attract, delight and

retain customers. Employees need to have the confidence to tell others what their

company does, why customers buy from their company, who the competitors are, and

how they as individuals and as members of the team, deliver the company’s unique

difference to customers.

Develop a systematic approach to providing interesting, varied and interactive

communication about the strategy, centered on competitive differentiation and

related balanced metrics. This can include leveraging existing opportunities such

as company newsletters, group meetings, metrics and goal development and

progress updates and one-on-ones.

Share stories from sales, customer service and others to build everyone’s

knowledge about customers, competitors and what makes your business different

and special to customers

Equip supervisor to help employees to envision the opportunities their roles

provide for them to impact delivery of our company’s unique differentiation to

customers.

2. Getting to know their people.

Make sure employees have the opportunity to use their preferred skills and

abilities.

Provide an effective degree of autonomy and create opportunities for creativity

for everyone. Leverage forums, special projects, and procedures that enable

creative solutions and improvement ideas to be discussed and piloted.

Tailor training and development to build each employee’s capabilities to perform

strategically, short and long term.

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3. Involving people in aligning work procedures with the strategy.

Ask employees for their input to identify and resolve internal obstacles to

delivering on our competitive differentiation.

For instance, Southwest Airlines focused people on creating great customer

experiences. They recognized that there were times flights were late and caused

customers to miss connecting flights. Instead of working focusing solely on

improving on-time flight service, Southwest, with strategy as their guide, set up a

system to provide boarding passes to new connecting flights to customers as they

de-boarded late arriving planes. I bet many of us travel and can readily imagine

the relief of customers in these circumstances. Instead of experiencing the stress

and anxiety of rushing to find new connecting flights, customers were freed up to

make calls and proceed to their new gates.

Celebrating progress and successes, as well as goal achievement, so that delivering

the company’s differentiation remains central to what people do every day, rather

than incremental. In addition to helping people to sustain their enthusiasm, this

helps to build peer pressure to continue to make progress, to perform.

I’m convinced that Strategic Understanding is the foundation for executing the strategy daily. It’s

a springboard for performance, powered by the emotional connection of engagement that we as

managers can create between each individual and the business, the tie that builds meaning and

purpose for people at work.

As managers build this foundation, we share business information openly and form close working

relationships with their people, supporting them in achieving success and in finding meaning and

purpose in their work. These are actions that build management credibility and trust. Trust and

strategic understanding build engagement. And, engagement within the context of Strategic

Understanding builds performance.

What are your suggestions for building a Strategic Understanding throughout organizations?

What are some of the benefits you’ve observed a strategic understanding can bring to the

business? What are the implications for an organization whose people are unable to connect

themselves to the strategy?

By: Rosanna Nadeau, Prism Perspectives Group