Almost every business I spend time with says they have communication issues. Usually their communication concerns are for many different reasons. There could be internal competition between divisions and leaders marking their territory, no connection between staff and management, exclusiveness and secrecy, bad leadership or bad employees, and maybe just an overall lack of a communication approach.  That got me thinking about communications in business and the execution of a new plan.

Gilbert Amelio said, “Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can’t get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn’t even matter.”

So what does this have to do with the strategic planning and your organization? At some point you are going to need to implement and make change in your organization. The very nature of planning is to realize a new strategic vision through effective implementation (transformation) and operationalization.  Therefore, you need to communicate to create.

I decided for this blog to take a page right from my book S.E.T. for Success, Chapter 16 on Communication Plan and Map mostly to provide some insight and definition around communications planning.

Here are 5 points, taken from my book, to consider in communication planning.  

Communication Planning

Communication planning is an important part of ensuring that the correct message is delivered and that your people are fully engaged. It’s an integral part of having work done through people. How can you expect your people to act on the strategic and tactical plans unless they know what is on the strategic agenda? If your people don’t know, they can’t act on the plans. As a result, your business will be less likely to succeed in the execution of its strategic initiatives and tactical plans. To be successful, make sure you create, and implement a communication plan.

Give the People what they Want

Interestingly, what management thinks motivates people and what employees say is rarely the same thing. Management tends to think wages and job security are the most important factors for people, but many employees prefer inclusion, involvement, and to be appreciated for their work.  This sentiment might vary depending on the working generation being reviewed, but in general people want communication. They want you to have a conversation with them, not to merely tell them what’s going on and what to do. Given a lack of communication, people will invent their own ideas. As a business leader, it’s important that you take the lead and make sure you’re providing the right amount and right level of communication for your people.

Create a Communication Map

As part of the strategic planning process, the planning team needs to discuss communications from both an internal and external perspective. They need to also make sure the message is consistent.  In today’s world of click-of-a-button information and communication dissemination, there’s no leeway for inconsistent messaging. We no longer have the luxury of writing complex communication plans. Nowadays a communication map must have the message and all channels of communication represented in a single view. This could be a 11 x 17 inch sheet of paper.

Focus on the Audience

Today it’s especially important to know your audience, especially considering all the possible communication channels and mediums available and the specific needs of each target audience and sub-audience. Your strategic plan’s communication map should make the distinction between the internal and external stakeholders, as well as establish a connection with your stakeholders based on their communication needs.

Items to Consider

There are many items to be considered when you’re looking at your communication plan and the development of a communication map. Identifying and finding the best way to communicate with your audience will be the key to your successful implementation of your plans. The communication planning process is similar to the overall planning approach—you’ll still need to consider your stakeholders’ wants and needs. You’ll also need to find the appropriate vehicle to communicate the overall goals and objectives, the plans features, benefits and values, and find a way to address your stakeholders’ questions.

A Final Thought

We all need a communication plan in our business. It’s the last piece of the planning puzzle. It is part of the planning and analysis cycle from the beginning to the end. More importantly, it’s part of the implementation and transition process that ensures your plans get successfully implemented. Not only that, with a proper communication plan you can address the question of your preferred business culture and start making moves towards people engagement and getting the results you desire. But it starts with outlining a communication approach.

Some time ago I wrote a blog about the five terms in the planning process that every business leader and professional should know. It was part of filling in the strategic blank and getting to know the strategic planning process. With the word strategic, and by adding the word analysis, planning, leadership, x management and implementation you get the perfect adjective-adverb combination. The terms are defined in my other article (5 Terms in the Planning Process).

That got me thinking about taking a deep dive into each term separately to see what can be revealed. In this feature I will tackle strategic analysis. I suspect it might be a book in and of itself.

I defined strategic analysis as having a simple definition. It is the process of developing strategy for a business by researching the business and the environment in which it operates. Often it requires the knowledge and use of various tools to prepare business strategies by evaluating the opportunities and challenges faced by the company as it moves forward. It takes into consideration internal and external factors that would be impacting the organization.

The key part of strategic analysis is having a good tool belt and know how and when to use the tools. This can be the role of the business analyst.

Often strategic analysis has four fundamental parts: present state, future state, risk, and transitional analysis.

Present State Analysis

Also referred to as current state analysis and is part of situational analysis. Present state analysis is used to understand the internal and external current affairs of a business.

Often when doing a present state you use a combination of high-level environmental scan and tools to dig deeper into your initial assessment. An environmental scan could include:

• A review of current mission, vision, values, and guiding principles, stakeholder analysis to understand key relationships
• A review existing organizational structure and mandate
• A review of past strategic plans, reports, and other relevant materials, interviews with key stakeholders
• A review of pre-analysis questionnaires
• Profiling people and their impact
• Preparing for planning sessions
• A SWOT, PEST or SOAR analysis

or using other tools or techniques that are more appropriate. This is all done to grasp an understanding on the NOW of the business and becomes the benchmark for future comparison.

Future State Analysis

It is great to get the current state but even more fun to create a future state situation taking into consideration all the factored revealed in your present state analysis.

Future state comes from your discussion with team members from imagining the vision of success and future of the organization, the key strategic agenda items, the strategic initiatives that will help you achieve the desired future state and the work elements that will get you to where you need to go.

Future state is often forged through dialogue and decisions made about key business impact zones and the solutions needed to leverage opportunity and solve challenges. Often you need to ensure your goals and objectives are set that will satisfy the business needs.

Future state analysis helps create a bridge from the existing situation to the future situations with consideration for strategic, tactical and operational commitments and reality.

Risk Analysis

In risk analysis, I have always likened it to predict the outcome of a game and whether you are dealing with positive risk (opportunity) or negative risk (challenge). There are always the known-known, the known-unknown and the unknown-unknown (look it up). Either way, you need to understand the levels of risks and what is acceptable. Every organization has its own risk culture that will need to be satisfied.

During your initial analysis, risk should have been identified in your initial situational analysis with consideration for economic factors, market factors, competition, technology, suppliers, process, labour markets and business rules to name a few. If you are going from a present situation to a future state of change and transition, then the gap would need to be analyzed to understand the uncertainties around the change and the actions to take to overcome the risk. Always fun.

Transitional Analysis

Also referred to as change analysis, this is where the rubber meets the road. A full gap analysis would be performed to ensure that the recommended solutions can be done and what needs to happen to make sure the change can be implemented. I consider transition, change, and implementation analysis all part of the transformation requirements process.

Things to consider are the context of the change, alternatives, justification, investment, resources, solution value, stakeholder reviews, and decision points and the business state on the road ahead.

In transitional analysis, key business artifacts would be used or created that could include a strategy map and/or a roadmap, work-plans and communication plans. The key is to go the distance.

Strategic analysis is a great adjective/adverb combination. It is the umbrella of a powerhouse of professional work requirements, approaches, and tools and techniques that must be completed to fully understand the business problem or opportunity, the potential solutions, the implementation requirements and the measurements of success from the present state to a new future state. Strategic analysis is an important overarching part and component of the strategic process. All good plans and change start with great strategic analysis and a little imagination (just needed to throw that in).

I was chatting with a CEO I know about his company. He had to make some adjustments due to changes in his business from an economic down turn in the resource industry. The CEO asked if I might profile a few people in the organization for a business impact assessment. Sometimes it’s good to know the natural abilities of people and the impact they have on the business. In this case the CEO stated, I want insight into strategic leadership capabilities of my team. An interesting request indeed!

As I dusted off my people assessment tools I started to think further about the strategic leadership qualities of people. What it means and why it is so important. Strategic leadership is considered an individual’s or team’s ability to envision a future and influence others to improve the organization for long-term success and financial viability (also see Wizards, Anchors, & Pathfinders). As leaders, management and professionals engage in approaches that align with the vision and growth direction of the organization.

From what I gather there are six strategic leader styles. All are important and should be leveraged to create business impact at the appropriate time in the organization.

Pace Setter: These people have high standards and tend to focus on performance. Better and faster is what they ask of people. Great if you are getting innovation out of the starting gate to beat the competition and be first in class. The challenge, sometimes these people create unrealistic goals and objectives. A warning label should be attached to these people as they can negatively impact morale. Making people feel like losers. Upside, stuff gets done quickly.

General Authority: Also known as the dictator. Policies and procedures are the rule. Goals and objectives are decided for everyone. There are tight controls and people don’t get to have a lot of input or say. There are times when General Authority is needed. Look at history and any major significant event. The point, there are times when authority leadership is a good thing. And this is being written by a Gen X’er. I hope you know what I mean. If not, contact me and I will send you some Gen X’er information. 

Harmony Seeker: This leader is a great conflict resolver as they connect people and are in tune with their feelings and the feelings of others. People will receive a lot of positive vibes and praise from this person. Wait, I can feel a big hug-in about to take place. The downside, poor performers may go unchecked. On the upside, a lot of organizations can use the Harmony seeker as they bring a little bit more morale (love) to the work environment. This person is great for the team culture.

Coach in the Corner: This style of leadership is very popular in organizations today. It is a great skill to learn at all levels. This style is best to build people’s strengths to make everyone more successful. The downside, defiant and unwilling teammates who don’t like change or want to learn. Recently I delivered a program called Coaching and Delegation for the Professional Who Leads (see bottom of page). In that program we focused on three key skills, coaching, delegation and productivity. We worked through everyday models that the leader and professional could use to build the skills of others. Using a practical and hands-on coaching playbook approaches for the leader and professionals who is on the go. The point, leaders who coach need to be trained on the skills needed to build people.

The Demander: This person expects you to comply immediately with their orders. If you don’t do what they tell you there is an “or else” attached to it. Jump and do what I want and you are to say how high. Let’s be clear in today’s business world we call them the bully. They get things done by bullying people into submission. These people can create a lot of fear in the workplace going undetected and unsolved. Fear for your job, your livelihood, standing in the community or any number of other reasons. These people have been known to create situations where people engage in illegal activities. They simply complied and acted appropriately to opportunities that are presented. Everyone is doing it so it must be all right. Justifying actions taken. Over time there is a negative impact on the business environment. (Watch the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guy in the Room for a lesson on the power of compliance)

Engaging Leader: This person is best known for getting people to participate. Team members including leaders, managers and professionals are more involved in the decision and consensus making process. This creates inclusiveness. Everyone feels they have a voice as ideas are shared. Conversations and discussion is encouraged creating a more democratic culture. The reality is that you can’t please everyone. At some point an adult must take over (see the Deep Dive – innovation) and make some decisions. The engaging leader is capable of taking charge at the right time. They are aware that they can create a successful business culture by providing the opportunity for people engagement. Real engaging leaders and cultures are a blast to work for as people feel heard.

This was a fun blog to write as it dealt with strategic leadership styles. I do not believe a person is just one style. We have a primary style coupled with others. An organization needs a combination of each one of these leadership styles to succeed. The exact recipe may be a matter of where your organization is at this present time and where it is you need to go. Ultimately you need a balance and getting the right people connecting and relating on the bus for the journey ahead.

The choice is yours. Make it a great journey.

Other Articles You Might be Interested In

Also see Wizards, Anchors, & Pathfinders

Also see What CEOs Want 8 Essential Management Team Attributes

Recently I was asked to do a keynote on strategic thinking for a large audience in the retail sector. The audience was mostly business owners who needed to improve their strategic thinking abilities.

As I used my business analysis skills in gathering and documenting requirements to create the presentation and to understand the challenges and opportunities, I realized maybe there is a lack of understanding around what strategic thinking means and the common skills required.

Most strategic experts would agree that strategic thinking is a process that incorporates innovation, creativity, planning, leadership, management and implementation. To think and act strategically means you need to answer the ‘what and the why’ questions within the strategic planning process. It incorporates the way people see their world, analyze their surroundings, and create their preferred future.

Often strategic thinking includes the insights of internal and external stakeholders (like the voice of the customer or employee, financial institution and CFO or accountant, vendor feedback) to ensure a complete understanding of the business. Strategic planning brings you from strategic thinking (what and why) into tactical thinking (who, how, when, how much) but at a higher level. That is why you build strategic roadmaps.

There are common skills that need to be present for strategic thinking to grab hold. They include:

LEFT BRAIN/RIGHT BRAIN THINKING

Years ago I worked with a company that embraced left/right brain thinking, and I became part of their creative teams. Left brain thinking is considered logical and right brain thinking is considered creative.

When engaging in strategic thinking, it is a good idea to have a team that is well balanced. Some people are far more logical, and others are far more creative. The creative people are great at future envisioning and seeing the importance of future think. At the right moment left brain people are great at the logic of the business. If brought together and facilitated correctly the combination becomes a powerful strategic force.

Avoid the mistake of having all the same people doing strategic thinking. It does not work well.

ENVISIONING THE FUTURE

Strategic thinking requires that you see the future and what you need and want to create. It also requires the ability to take the vision and put it into definable goals and objectives. These goals and objectives need to be further divided into strategic initiatives, elements of work, and timelines with assigned resources. But it all starts with answering a simple question. If you were to receive an invitation to your preferred future, what would that invitation be and what would it look like? Then you need to answer, why is that future so important? If you can answer those questions, then it is a matter of accepting the RSVP.

CALLING A TIME OUT

Calling and taking a time out is something a lot of business leaders and professionals miss the opportunity to do in their business or career. I understand why, we are too busy, we have no time. That thinking is a mistake. The great strategic thinkers of the world take time out to think. When Richard Branson made the decision between his music empire and the airlines he took time out to think. When President Clinton left the Whitehouse, he was asked what he was going to do next. He said he was going to take time off to decompress and think. Strategic thinkers do the same thing. Teams need to leave their surroundings, turn off their distractions (that means smart devices) and connections to their outside world to think. As part of the time out to think, create a perfect brainstorm in your mind and with the minds of others without over analyzing thoughts or ideas. You move your thinking away from the operational to the creative space of innovation and idealized thoughts for the future. You may have a big idea that can radically change your world. Or maybe you make the critical decision on that item that has been in the back of your mind. You just never know.

COMING BACK TO REALITY

Everything needs to land back into reality. This is where you need to balance creativity with reality. Often business leaders and professionals over plan and front load what it is they want to achieve. I have advised countless client organizations to shift their plan timelines or reshuffle their planning deck so they can achieve what it is they are out to achieve.
Don’t make the big mistake of thinking you can achieve everything at once. You can’t. No company I know has endless amounts of resources, time or money. So avoid making the mistake of trying to do everything at once. Listen to the left brain people. This could be analytic type people in your business.

Strategic thinking is about the long game. Unfortunately, many business leaders and professionals engage in short-term thinking either due to the pressure cooker of their lives, thinking of their bonus or present investment return, their jobs and not getting fired, or plugging holes to keep their projects on track and their department or business afloat. We all know that there are times when that is the reality you have to contend with. But to truly have a strategic thinking organization, teams or individuals you need to embrace and support the development of skills that step outside the norm of the everyday business world to create a preferred tomorrow. That means strategic thinkers. Good luck with that.

Some years ago I was asked to develop a program called Creating Partnership ‘Like’ Relationships for an information technology company’s business environment. It was an interesting request. You see they had the perfect stakeholder triangle storm. Well that is what I called it.

Stakeholder triangles are used to understand one-to-one relationships that exist among stakeholder groups (See SET for Success by Richard Lannon Page 44). A simple triangle might include the client-employees, the recruiter and independent contractor. There are three one-to-one relationships; client-employee to recruiter, recruiter to independent contractor, independent contractor to client-employee. The challenge is that all these people need to partner to get things done for the company, the ultimate client. However, sometimes it becomes a bit of a mixed bag of challenges as you get independent-contractors leading or managing client-employees or as recruiters try to influence independent contractors inappropriately. Not saying it happens, but what if.

The idea behind creating partnership like relationships is to get everyone going in the same direction, playing by the same rules and recognizing that the work that needed to be done is not about who is in charge and where they came from but about team work and partnership for the success of everyone.

So here are 5 steps to create partnership like relationships in complex business environments that have mixed stakeholder needs and responsibilities.

You must have a shared vision. I know I write about vision a lot. You would be amazed how many people in business have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. Even further, the number of people who think having a vision of success is stupid. But ask those same people what they will be doing when they retire 10 or 15 years from now and they will tell you a mouth full. In order for complex teams to work there has to be a shared vision of success. People need to understand what and why of the doing and the clear outcome, the visual. That means employee, recruiter and contractor need to be in the same car, on the same road, driving in the same direction and heading for the same destination.

Making sure things are mutually beneficial. I know it sounds like common sense. In my experience all sides need to gain something from the relationships being fostered. I like to think of it as the 3Ws or the Triple Play. That is win, win, win for all stakeholders. We can’t afford to exist any longer in a win/lose scenario. Business is way too complicated. In our example we would need to create wins for the client-employees, the recruiter and independent contractor. Those wins need to be discussed and agreed to.

Know when to walk away. When I first started my career my mentor told me that to make a deal you need to be willing to walk. That was a hard lesson to learn as a young man. It took years to learn. Even in partnership ‘like’ relationships you need to be willing to walk away if things are not working out. I am not talking about quitting or as a tactical negotiation maneuver. I believe there are times in life that you need to walk away and accept it is time to walk away. It could be you are going down the wrong road and you need to take a detour or maybe the relationship situation is just not right, can’t be fixed and it is time to move on. Some of the best respect and partnerships are forged by knowing when to walk away.

Listen to what people need and give it to them. Some of the best leaders in the world, Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, have an innate ability to listen to people and then break down barriers so that they are successful. If you can help people be successful you will more likely be able to create stronger bonds and partnerships. It is a skill that can be learned, practiced and auctioned. When working with your teams see if you heard their needs. Ask, out loud, what we can do to solve this issue. Let the person tell you. Discuss the possible actions that can be taken. See if there is a create barrier crusting response. Move forward.

Write things down. I know simple right. Well a lot of people do not write down what they agree to do or not do. Unfortunately people remember things their way. Writing things down and distributing notes or understanding helps ensure that you are on track and that people have come to agreement as to what the partnership obligation looks like whether it is a tactical or operational obligation or something a bit deeper legally. The point is to go past what you think you heard and capture what you agreed to do. If that means that it was agreed that an independent contractor is leading client employees, then it needs to be in writing and agreed to.

Creating partnership like relationships is very important in the business and leadership world. I think at times we can become limited by perceived circumstances or beliefs. When working with complex teams it is important that we find ways to travel a road together, one where we can help one another. Not one about that is mine and get out of my turf.

Recently I was reminded of this by a young entrepreneur who openly shared his idea with his competition only to find that the competition helped him more in the right direction. They created a partnership like relationship where it was mutually beneficial for both parties. I think the same premise applies internally in organizations. You need to find ways to work together. Good luck.