Blog: The Strategy and Engagement Connection

It’s no secret that MSBC is on a mission to create engaged workforces. And we know you are just as concerned about the lack of truly engaged employees and leaders that are working together to grow the businesses or move forward the missions of your organizations as we are.

No matter what your mission is, it is critical that your employees understand how they contribute to the overall goals as well as vision. Most leaders (and team members) want to feel part of something bigger than yourself and that your contribution is valuable. The best way for everyone to understand the vision is through strategic planning.

 

You may have seen sparkling examples of organizations aligned toward a common goal and creating engaged employees that are moving mountains! Unfortunately, this is the exception, not the rule. The worst part is, most of the organizations we work with have pretty good plans. But HOW they created and implemented them is where team members get overwhelmed and the lack of engagement begins.

It’s a common business tale: Every few years a new strategic plan emerges, and we are now tasked with figuring out how to support the new goals and objectives. There are times when even, our performance ratings are tied to it. Immediately a few questions might arise…

• Wow, I didn’t realize the plan was being updated. Who was a part of the conversation?
• Why are these the most important things we should be doing?
• How exactly am I supposed to support that really lofty, non-specific goal?
• What about what I was doing last week? Is that no longer a priority?
• What additional (or re-designated) resources will be available to make that happen?
• Well… that is an interesting tactic to accomplish that goal. If I had known, I might have suggested we attack that problem another way, based on the success or failures we had in the past.

In short, you (and your team members) are not bought in, and depending on your personality, we may not be feeling very excited or engaged about carrying out the mission.

The fact is, it really doesn’t matter what “rung" on the ladder you are on; it’s challenging to follow a plan that you question, even though it may not even be a “bad” plan.

For many leaders, you simply do the best you can. You may reason with yourself, “I am not going against the plan…” However, the question is, are you really working to transform our organization in to the future envisioned in that plan? Gallup’s research says, not even close; 63% of us aren’t particularly engaged in making that happen, and 13% actively acting against it.

Unfortunately, great opportunities are missed! Think of what amazing things could happen if you have a collective talented and energetic workforce engaged and aligned to one mission, acting in coordination to deliver measurable results! Isn’t this why we write these plans in the first place?

I would like to suggest that you want more than strategic planning, you want Strategic Transformation!

I invite you to join me in the next few Monday’s to dive deeper into “Strategic Transformation” and what can happen for your organization when we pay as much attention to HOW we create and implement the strategic plan as to what is in it.

MSBC brings an innovative approach and a team with extensive experience to guide your leadership through this Strategic Transformation process. Let us know if you like to learn more at .