In episode 3 of our podcast, ‘Impactful Conversations’, we explore the topic of this article in more detail, looking at how leaders and managers can make strategy work for their team. We give you actionable takeaways you can implement to enhance your leadership skills. You can listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Dr Dieter Veldsman joins us in this podcast episode, and we thank him for his valuable insights that are reflected in this article too.
Understanding Strategy vs. Vision and Plans
Strategy often gets confused with vision, mission, and plans. While these elements are interconnected, understanding their distinct roles is crucial for organisational success. Vision represents the ‘why’ – why an organisation exists and what difference it aims to make. Strategy, on the other hand, is the bridge between vision and action, translating the ‘why’ into the ‘what.’
Unlike a tactical plan, which connects the ‘what’ with the ‘how,’ strategy focuses on critical decisions about resource allocation and organisational focus. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong strategy; rather, it’s about the intentional process of making choices that create clarity throughout the organisation.
The Strategic Process: Ownership and Execution
While the executive team plays a crucial role in setting strategic direction, successful strategy requires dedicated ownership of the strategic process itself. Many organisations now employ Chief Strategy Officers to maintain strategic focus and adapt to rapid market changes. This shift reflects the evolution of strategy from five-to-eight-year plans to rolling two-to-three-year frameworks that require continuous evaluation and adjustment.
The strategic process demands clear ownership and accountability, with intentional separation from day-to-day operations. Organisations that excel at strategy create protected time for strategic thinking and discussion, establishing regular rhythms and routines for strategy review.
This structured approach prevents the common pitfall of blending strategic and operational discussions, which often results in strategy being overshadowed by the ‘urgency trap’.
The involvement of multiple organisational levels is essential, as strategy should be seen as circular rather than purely top-down. Without this circular flow, strategy risks becoming merely a set of instructions rather than a living framework that guides organisational decision-making.
Strategic Storytelling: The Key to Organisational Alignment
Strategy is fundamentally a story about where an organisation is headed, why it’s going there, and what it will do when it gets there.
Effective strategic communication follows the CPPC framework:
- Context
- Purpose
- Process
- Call to Action
This framework helps ensure that strategic messages resonate with different audiences while maintaining consistency in core themes.
When communicating strategy, organisations must recognise that different audiences require different versions of the story.
Board-level discussions focus on future-proofing and long-term value creation.
Leadership-level communications emphasise outcomes and performance metrics.
Employee-level messaging connects strategy to customers, products, and personal impact.
The key is maintaining consistent core messages while adapting the depth and focus of the story to each audience’s needs and interests.
Organisations often make the mistake of trying to communicate their entire strategic document to everyone. Instead, leaders should focus on distilling the strategy into clear, memorable messages that capture its essence and intent. This approach helps maintain strategic clarity as messages cascade through the organisation.
Culture and Strategy Integration
Strategy and organisational culture must work in harmony for successful execution. Like an iceberg, strategy sits above the waterline while organisational identity lies beneath, with culture acting as the connecting layer between them. Understanding this relationship is crucial for strategic success.
Leaders must develop a deep understanding of their existing culture’s strengths and limitations before implementing strategic initiatives. This understanding allows them to anticipate and address potential cultural barriers to strategic execution. When misalignment occurs, it often manifests as ‘corridor terrorism’ – where people express agreement in meetings but voice doubts and concerns privately.
Successful strategy execution requires more than just communication and planning. Organisations must invest in necessary systemic changes that signal and support new strategic directions. This includes both structural changes and targeted change management efforts to engage key influencers throughout the organisation.
The Role of HR in Strategic Success
Modern Chief People Officers serve as crucial strategic partners, playing multiple vital roles in the strategy process. As facilitators of clarity, they provide feedback about where strategic messages are landing and where confusion exists. They contribute to business strategy by providing people-focused insights and highlighting potential unintended consequences of strategic decisions.
HR leaders also play a critical role in enabling other leaders to execute strategy effectively. Many business leaders step into strategic roles with limited experience in strategic thinking and execution. Chief People Officers help bridge this gap by supporting leadership development and providing tools for strategic implementation.
Finally, HR leaders own significant portions of organisational strategy, particularly around talent and culture initiatives. The most effective HR leaders seamlessly transition between these different roles, knowing when to act as facilitators, advisors, enablers, or owners of strategic initiatives.
Looking Forward: Making Strategy Work
The ultimate test of strategic success is whether every employee can answer two fundamental questions: “What is expected of me?” and “Why does my work matter?” Achieving this level of clarity requires intentional effort in aligning strategy, culture, and execution.
Organisations must invest time in developing and maintaining their strategic process, recognising that strategy means different things to different people. Success comes from aligning the content of strategy with the process of strategic planning and the culture of the organisation.
When these elements work in harmony, organisations create the conditions for successful strategy execution and sustainable growth.
The most successful organisations treat strategy as an ongoing journey rather than a destination. They maintain regular strategic rhythms, invest in clear communication, and ensure alignment between their strategic aspirations and cultural reality. By taking this comprehensive approach to strategy, organisations can better navigate change and achieve their long-term objectives.
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