Strategy realization: Power your strategy and drive momentum in 100 days

Too many strategies fail. Partly because they do not become part of the organization's everyday life, and partly because the strategies are not strategies, but internal, abstract objectives without clear correlation with the perceived needs and desires for value creation by society and citizens. Fortunately, there are also strategies that are successful. These are the strategies that have the full focus of management and that come out and live throughout the organization. These are the strategies that create commitment and power of action in all corners of the organization, and that succeed in involving people outside your own organization as well.

As consultants in many Danish municipalities, in recent years we have seen examples of both successful and less successful strategies. Public sector strategies are based on policy visions and formulated by dedicated senior managers. Therefore, strategies are usually well formulated and meaningful in relation to the local context. What makes all the difference in our eyes, however, is whether the strategy comes from the website or the pdf documents on the intranet, and goes live. This is what we call strategy realization.

In this article we present six recommendations, and in an upcoming article we present a model with four stages for strategy realization. We dare to promise you that if you and the other directors, bosses and managers work in coordination and determination with the concepts we present and work with your own leadership along the way, you can create significant momentum on your strategy work in just 100 days.

Six Recommendations for Strategy Implementation

The recommendations are a combination of the methods, actions and management approaches that the top leaders themselves tell about, and which we have also seen work both in themselves and in other organizations.

Recommendation 1: Put the task at the forefront

“PUT THE TASK BEFORE EVERYTHING ELSE. ARTICULATE WHAT THE ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO ACHIEVE AND TALK ABOUT PROBLEMS AND POTENTIALS.” (THOMAS MOLIN, HR DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN)

‍Strategies can be grasped if they focus on the core task. Strategy realization starts with a common core narrative, which creates a language that crosses professional and organizational divides. A narrative that describes the connection between political ambitions, citizens' wishes and the daily activities and behaviour of each staff or welfare officer. This is a difficult task that requires you as a top manager to listen to the organization and listen to as many voices as possible. Initiate strategic dialogues, ask questions, and listen to learn more about what's going on before you describe what others need to do. In parallel with listening, you can, together with your closest colleagues, begin to formulate strategic landmarks and clearly argue the choices made. The strategy must make sense in all corners of the organization.

Recommendation 2: Bring out the potential of your organization

“STRATEGY WORK MUST ACCOMMODATE THE COMPLEXITY BETWEEN THE NEW AND THE FAMILIAR AND OTHER DILEMMAS. WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MOVE BETWEEN DOMAINS AND SWITCH POSITIONS.” (MORTEN VOLMER PEDERSEN, MUNICIPAL DIRECTOR, NORDFYNS MUNICIPALITY)

As a top manager, you see the whole and you see how the organization is always able to do more for the citizens and the surrounding community. You can communicate the strategy in a way that makes it clear that much is already going in the right direction and that much can continue to be done better. Strategy realization is both to strengthen what works and to change what does not work. Give it positive attention and highlight successes and progress. The realization is already underway! But also be honest and press on the sore toes. Tell honestly and clearly, but restrained and constructive, where you want to see results improved and culture and behavior changed.

Recommendation 3: Mobilize your organization

“THESE ARE PEOPLE I'M CONCERNED WITH. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAN ADVANCE ANYTHING, WHETHER THEY ARE POLITICIANS, EMPLOYEES OR MANAGERS.” (STINE JOHANSEN, MUNICIPAL DIRECTOR, HELSINGØR MUNICIPALITY)

As a top manager, don't become a bottleneck because you feel best about decisions about priorities and activities having to pass you by. Our third recommendation is to mobilise the energy, courage and will of the people who are essential to the realisation of the strategy. The role of middle managers is very special, as they are the link between top management and the rest of the organization. Their job is to create meaning by translating the strategy into local focus and behavior. At the same time, they must be mobilized to focus on transversal activities, because it is often in the transversal tracks that strategies create the greatest value. The hardest thing for many top executives is to relinquish power and mandate the organization to test ideas with the possibility of success and risk of failure. Only by freeing, you can get everyone to take responsibility for their local changes.

Recommendation 4: Let customers into the engine room

“IF WE AS A HEALTH SERVICE DO NOT CONSTANTLY SHARE OUR CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD, WE WILL NOT GET NEW IDEAS ON THE TABLE — AND SO WE NEED THAT.” (BENTE OURØ ØRTH, DIRECTOR, NORTH ZEALAND HOSPITAL)

In organizations where customers, citizens, users and other stakeholders are completely locked into strategy realization, it often creates such a meaningful disruption that it can elevate the willingness to change in the organization to a whole new level. The challenge can be an anxiety of touch and a sense of loss of control when customers are completely shut in and have an impact on how you formulate and implement the strategy. And it also requires a clear purpose, clear facilitation and courage to invite customers in. But the benefits are strengthened relationships and a lot of new angles on your value creation, which can lead to adjustments to your products, services and priorities. And in some cases, to surprising and innovative solutions. As a top leader, you can pave the way by taking the lead and putting yourself forward on the front line. Not to speak on the beer crate. But to listen to customers. Not through analysis, graphs and numbers. But through human contact and conversation.

Recommendation 5: Become stronger through partnerships

“IT IS THE CITIZENS, COMPANIES AND EMPLOYEES WHO MUST MAKE THE STRATEGY A REALITY.” (JETTE RUNCHEL, EX. MUNICIPAL DIRECTOR, ALBERTSLUND MUNICIPALITY)

The 17th. The World Goals are a prerequisite for all the other world goals to be realised. It is called “Partnerships for Action”. When visions and strategies are created and realized across sectors, it opens up solutions on a larger scale and with greater impact. Partnerships can address the really stubborn societal challenges and generate momentum and results for the benefit of both the target audience and the organisations involved. They can help add resources to lift the core task. But partnerships are demanding to enter into, and it often takes a large investment of focus and time before momentum comes into the work. Several must agree, and there may be conflicting interests at play. Therefore, as a top manager, you must be visible and participate in key dialogues and agreements. Here, too, you can show the way by showing sincere curiosity about the logics and ambitions of other organizations in participating in the partnership. There may be political, economic, value, human, and all sorts of other motivating factors that are not the same ones that you and your organization are preoccupied with. Partnerships make you stronger if you are also ready to give something to others.

Recommendation 6: Think Big — and Start Small

“WE USE DESIGN PROCESSES LIKE GRIPS TO MAKE PROTOTYPES AND ADJUST ALONG THE WAY. THOSE INVOLVED HAVE A SAY IN THE SOLUTIONS, AND THAT CREATES OWNERSHIP.” (RIKKE VESTERGAARD, MUNICIPAL DIRECTOR, ESBJERG MUNICIPALITY)

Action creates attitude -- not the other way around. You can only create change by taking action and testing in practice. As a top manager, it is your responsibility that the organization continuously develops and launches new test actions and builds solid bridges between the overall strategy and the concrete actions of everyday life, which are a prerequisite for the strategy to be realized. The challenge is to find the balance between keeping the focus on the broad lines, and making the individual activities so concrete that they make sense very close to those who are going to carry them out. This approach creates — and is supported by — an understanding of the overall strategic narrative and the link to the everyday lives of each manager and employee. Make it easy for employees to help realize and operationalize the strategy with small simple steps. Squeeze changed behavior into existing workflows, allow room for reinterpretation of professionalism and leave room for error. Give up the idea of hitting right every time; it slows down the power of action and the desire to experiment. Try to work intuitively and concretely, but above all, start.

Four Stages of Strategy Realization

The 6 recommendations can be applied at all stages of your strategy work. In the next article, we unfold the four phases that we have identified through our work on strategy realization, and which are supported by the descriptions of top managers. You can see the model at a glance here as an excerpt from our new book: Strategy Realization — Top Management's Guide to Progress at 100.

We hope that you have had good ideas by reading this article and that you feel like reading this article when we are ready with Part 2 in a few weeks in NB Kommune.

Read the article at nb-kommune.dk