To Win, Focus on Building New Strategies in a New Way

Winning Strategy.BizSavvyCoach.5

The new way is to use your team…

Recently, I worked with a leader that had taken on a new project. Her primary concern was to help her team avoid another project failure. As we talked, she shared her plan based on articles that focused on what “she should” do.

As I listened to her, it was clear she lacked a clear strategy and plan on how to get her team back on track. Her approach needed adjusting or she and her team would fail again.

Using my straight-talk approach, I shared with her several concerns.

Together, we created a new strategy and plan for her to guide her team to success, instead of doing it all on her own. We focused on guiding her team to build new strategies and tactical approaches for success from start to finish. She left the meeting feeling clear and energized. As a side note, they won!

Because of COVID19, many leaders today are becoming lone rangers and relying on, “This is what I’ve done in the past.”

Studies show that right now leaders have heightened levels of anxiety and stress. As a result, they have become more focused on the goals and are more task-oriented and less “people-oriented.”

Frankly, this is a lazy approach.

It’s not business as usual! As a leader, you must work with and through your team to build new strategies for success. Before working with your team, talk it out with your executive coach. It’s important you address your fears and gain a healthier perspective. This is the mark of a successful leader.

4 Foundations for Creating a Successful Team Experience

1.Stay engaged during ALL conversations. #1 Rule! Put away all electronic gadgets. If you pay 100% attention, you and your team will generate better ideas and solutions every time.

2. Learn the differences between facilitating remote and physical meetings. These skills and practicing will help you win success.

3. Conduct true brainstorming sessions. When generating strategic and tactical ideas, write them down each and every time so everyone can see them.

4. Talk out disagreements (aka conflict management). It’s critical all team members get a voice. To achieve this, you must manage meeting saboteurs (e.g., difficult team members, side conversations, people not listening, etc.). Otherwise, great ideas and solutions will be silenced. This can be even more difficult with remote meetings.

11 Tips to Win with Your Team to Create New Strategies and Tactics for Success

1.Know Your Team Members. While you may believe you know your team members, too often you don’t understand why they (and you) communicate, work, and interact in a way that impedes results. Use a qualified assessment to clarify why. Also, use this tool to manage them (and yourself) more effectively. Using an executive coach can accelerate this process.

2. Clean Up the Past. To effectively create “the new,” you must complete “the old” work efforts. Otherwise, team members will gravitate backwards if not acknowledged for their achievements or brags. Use the exercise, “What worked?/What didn’t work?

3. Visioning Exercise. Read carefully before proceeding with this exercise. This process moves the team out of relying on what they’ve always done and opens up something new and different.

Have team members:

  • -Write an outline of what should happen in the next 6 months (keep it to one hand-written page).
  • -Share a few of the ideas. These will sound like “should’s” and “what we’ve done in the past.”
  • -“Shred. What. They. Wrote.” This is a critical step to creating a true strategy.
  • -Now, write a one-page outline answering the question, “What would you really really really want to have happen?”
  • -Stay away from HOW (tactical) to make it happen…that discussion comes later. 

4. Be clear about the difference between your strategy and tactics. Your strategy (goal) acts as a guide for the tactics (actions) that your team will undertake. Tactics answer the question, “How are we going to accomplish the strategy?” Source: https://www.dummies.com/business/business-strategy/ 

5. To get started creating a new strategy, engage team members by asking these questions and listening to their responses.

Who are we?

-Where do we want to be in 6 months?

-Why is this important now?

6. Brainstorm. Write down all ideas, especially the off-the-wall ones. These usually prompt additional ideas and keeps the team engaged and listening. Remember to have fun.

7. Align on the strategy (without “how” you will achieve it). Write it down in 10 words or less. This keeps everyone engaged and on the same page, now and in the future.

8. Now, develop the tactics. Brainstorm and align on specific detailed focused-actions for your team to achieve the strategy.

9. Address current team skills, budgets, legalities, and resources. What’s missing and what’s needed? Don’t be afraid to encourage initiative and resourcefulness.

10. Build on current systems, procedures and policies. This will move you and your team forward faster and more effectively.

11. Measure results. Determine what you will measure so you can track the team’s progress and impact the results, now and in the future.

If you are still experiencing challenges and unable to create true strategies for success, contact your executive coach for answers NOW. Remember, waiting and hoping it will resolve itself is not a winning strategy.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker.  For more than 27 years, she has been an expert in guiding leaders to excel at achieving unprecedented results. The new world of work has started. Are you ready?  Contact Jeannette to improve your strategic hiring, coaching, training, and managing processes.  Don’t forget to listen to her podcasts on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

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