December 10, 2007, 12:03 PM — Companies frequently develop vision and mission statements about being number one in their industry, the great service they provide to customers, and their rewarding work environment. Yet more often than not, these statements are so far from reality that they become joke fodder for customers and employees alike. It doesn't have to be this way, says Richard Lepsinger. Your company really can keep the promises you make -- but first you must create a culture of execution.
"Creating a culture of execution begins with the knowledge that developing plans and strategic initiatives is just the starting point," says Lepsinger, president of OnPoint Consulting and coauthor (along with Dr. Gary Yukl) of Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by Balancing Multiple Challenges and Choices. "It also requires adopting the mindset that a highly skilled and engaged work force—while important—will not ensure effective execution.
"Many leaders have a blind spot in this area," he adds. "Either they believe that their job is setting the direction, and execution is the responsibility of lower-level managers, or they assume that if they clearly communicate an exciting vision of the future to an engaged work force, everything else will fall into place."
A survey conducted by OnPoint Consulting shows how widespread the problem of ineffective execution is. Results show that almost half of those surveyed believe there is a gap between their organization's ability to develop a vision and strategy and its ability to execute that strategy, and even more—64 percent to be exact -- lack confidence that the gap can be closed.
But Lepsinger insists that companies can make a conscious effort to close the execution gap. You simply have to take some tried and true steps to creating a "get it done" culture. For example:
Recognize that execution starts with a plan. "A solid plan can immensely improve the efficiency with which a project is carried out," says Lepsinger. "It facilitates the organization and coordination of related work activities, prevents operational delays and bottlenecks in work processes, helps people avoid duplication of effort, and helps employees set priorities and meet deadlines. It also helps you prepare for potential problems before they happen so that one snag in the system doesn't throw everyone completely off course. Remember that the best and most useful plans are flexible starting points that can be easily changed to address new needs or challenges as you encounter them."
Ensure plans are aligned and coordinated across the organization.
A common snafu at many organizations is that the head of one department will implement a new initiative without considering how it will affect the overall company or specific departments. When a New York-based mutual insurance and financial services company realized it wasn't going to meet certain financial goals, division heads focused on cutting expenses in their individual departments. Unfortunately, they did not develop operational plans that were compatible across the organization or that helped coordinate the day-to-day activities required to achieve overall business objectives. In fact, these individual cuts made it difficult to maintain support and service to internal customers.
"When the CEO became aware of the problem, he worked with his executive team to clarify cross-organizational initiatives that were priorities for the entire company," says Lepsinger. "Then each divisional leader identified the specific cost reduction targets for his or her division that would support the achievement of the corporate objectives and initiatives while not inhibiting the ability of other departments to achieve their goals."
Clarify, clarify, clarify. It's often difficult to get things done because people don't understand their role, responsibilities, or what exactly is expected of them. One reason employees aren't always clear on what they should be doing and when is because their manager assumed that they would understand what needs to be done. Another common problem is that managers fear they might insult an employee's intelligence by stating what seems obvious to them. Finally, some leaders may simply believe they are too busy to spell things out, not realizing the possible consequences of failing to do so.
"Don't underestimate the importance of taking time to make certain that everyone is on the same page and understands what needs to be done," says Lepsinger. "Clearly communicating roles and responsibilities and checking for understanding is never a wasted effort."
