In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland the Cheshire Cat tells Alice that if she doesn’t know where she wants to “get to”, then it really doesn’t matter which way she goes. Yes, it’s overused, but it illustrates the relationship between leadership and planning. There are so many people in leadership positions who don’t know or aren’t sure where they are supposed to be going which makes it very hard to lead anyone else there.
Leadership and planning are inextricably linked. Without a good plan, leaders don’t know where to lead — but without good leaders, even a great plan will fail. There are many levels of leadership in any organization but there is always a senior leader who has the highest level of responsibility. One of his or her prime responsibilities is subordinate leader development. Often, subordinate leaders are sent off to lead with training in management relations, human relations, group dynamics, and other things, and perhaps a mandate to “fix that,” or “raise the numbers.” What is often missing is a clear set of directions on what the organization does, where it’s going as an organization, and how it intends to get there.
One of the basic responsibilities of leaders at all levels of the organization is to keep their subordinates informed. Many organizations don’t do this very well. Leaders have a tendency to keep things to themselves thinking, “They don’t need to know that,” or “They wouldn’t understand that, it’s too complicated.” It’s a highly competitive world and sometimes it’s important to keep information to a select few people. But the strategic plan isn’t in that category. A good plan helps leaders at all levels keep subordinates informed of where the organization is going and what progress it’s making to get there.
Of course, a leader is usually pulled from many directions, and often it seems like everything is priority one except the basic task of keeping the train on the track. This is where a good leader will shine because he or she has already written the strategic plan and has started the team toward meeting the goals in that plan. Senior leaders will be more able to react to the emergencies while the rest of the organization implements the plan and accomplishes the objectives toward meeting the goals.
Inevitably, something will happen to completely derail the organization, such as natural catastrophe, fire, or theft. In that case, the entire organization may become completely focused on rebuilding, or dealing with whatever the emergency is. When that happens, the plan is often tabled until the emergency is handled. The beauty of a great strategic plan is that when things are ready to get back to normal, the roadmap is still there and everyone knows what it is. Though you may need to change your goal completion dates, the organization can revert back to the plan. Be careful about shelving the plan, though. Sometimes, when adverse times hit, it’s better to use the plan as the basis for recovery. This is especially true during economic hard times. You may end up having to scale back your efforts, but the plan gives you a solid point to deviate from. If that sounds a little odd, let me explain.
It is unfortunately true that when troubles hit the economy, organizations tend to quickly default to a strategy of shedding employees or even parts of the company. Then when conditions improve, they have to hire people back, if they’re still available, and compensate for the effects of losing parts of itself. An organization with a good strategic plan can slow down goal accomplishment or maybe delay some objectives. They have determined what is basic to the organization and are much less likely to start slashing just to cut costs. Then when recovery starts, they are ready to pick up where they left off and charge ahead while their competitors are trying to figure out what to do.
This isn’t to say that the strategic plan will protect you from pain during recessionary times. It won’t. But it will make the recovery quicker and easier.
The strategic plan is the roadmap for everyone to follow and provides a well-though-out course when the going gets rough. If your organization doesn’t have a strategic plan, sit down right now and start making one. You won’t regret it.
Bob Mason is dedicated to leadership development. He works with companies to solve problems by helping supervisors and managers become more effective leaders leading more productive teams. He is a professional speaker and author of Don’t Worry, You Can Do This: What New Supervisors and Managers Need to Know About Leadership; The Art of Not Motivating: How Leaders Can Succeed by Understanding the True Nature of Motivation; Balancing the Generations: A Leader’s Guide to the Complex, Multi-Generational, 21st Century Workplace; and Planning to Excel: Strategic Planning That Works.
A 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force exposed him to great leaders and leadership opportunities such as command of four squadrons, including the Air Force’s largest munitions squadron. He has studied leadership extensively, but more importantly has been there, working with real people, making hard decisions, and experiencing the results.
Contact Bob at Bob@BobMasonSpeaker.com or 505-453-5266
