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This is Dale Williams, strategy coach.
I work with CEOs and their teams.
You have explained the strategy.
Everyone nodded.
Then each of them went off
and did something slightly different.
Or they all went the same way,
but only because you led them there.
You would like them to lead
in their own areas,
collaborate and move forward
without waiting for you to direct them.
The 3am test
The 3am test is my mental check of whether your team is aligned.
Imagine waking anyone in your organisation at 3am and asking them to describe your strategy. If they reach for the strategy document, you fail. If their answer doesn't match yours, you fail. If they can't name the single priority driving it this year, you fail.
Why does it matter? Without alignment it is hard to move in the same direction, towards a more powerful position for your business. It is harder still to get the depth of commitment it takes to grow it.
You can run the test on your team this week. Snapshot, a tool I built, asks each of them to pick an image that shows your strategy and write three lines on why. In a few minutes, you and your team can work through the responses while talking about alignment.
Alignment
Sometimes teams fail despite a solid strategy. Each person is carrying a slightly different version of it, and you're not talking about the differences.
Most of my work is getting your team to one version of the strategy that guides everything you do, from your exec team to the front line. Once they share it, they can lead in their own areas.
When it works, your business looks more like a synchronised swimming team than the under-10 soccer team.
Some years ago I worked with a CEO and an executive team who went away every year to work on their strategy. They came back and spent a whole day presenting it to the business. Everyone listened intently. Asked whether they understood it and supported it, they said yes. And every year, not much changed.
They had all the right answers, and none of the right actions.
So together we changed the retreat. The leaders of every team in the business came, along with the executives. The executive team still shaped the strategy, but instead of presenting it, they asked each leader: if this is the strategy, what do you need to do in your area to support it, and what are your priorities?
By the end of the day, each leader had a plan for their own area that fitted the strategy, and they owned it. Wake any of them at 3am and they could tell you what the strategy was.
When two people are out of step
Sometimes the misalignment sits on top of a conflict. Two people on your team have fallen out of step, and your strategy doesn't get traction in their areas. A mediated process is a direct way of getting the two of them back in step.
The process starts with an agreed objective. Then a joint conversation with both of them in the room, private conversations as needed, and an outcome they write and agree themselves. Your team comes out of it stronger for the next disagreement.
Who I've worked with
My sweet spot is businesses up to about $75 million in revenue. Beyond that, the strategy meeting starts needing its own strategy meeting.
My clients page lists past clients only. The businesses I'm working with now aren't on it, and while we work together, yours won't be either.
If you'd like to see how I think first, start with The 3am Test, Strategy is about getting into a more powerful position, and Pick one priority.
People support what they create.
My next opening for a new team is a little way off. Until then, I'm always glad to have a first conversation.