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It is in recognition and response to a complicated and ever-changing business
environment, where independent action is necessary to achieve results.
– Bungay, Stephen The Art of Action (p. 110)
“An intent is the decision to do something now (a task) in order to achieve an outcome (a purpose).”
Intent
We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the success of liberty.
John F. Kennedy
Too little will leave the audience confused and poorly aligned. The result will be
inefficient action, or worse, paralysis.
• Define a Strategy, not a plan
• Develop the Values & Competence of your team
• Align Organizational Structure with action
• Craft Communication that is clear and precise
• Be Disciplined to give enough direction, not more
Keys to Leading with Intent
First, you need to answer the question:
“How are we going to Compete?”
Strategy is at the Heart of Leading with Intent
– Bungay, Stephen The Art of Action (p. 110)
“An intent is the decision to do something now (a task) in order to achieve an outcome (a purpose).”
This strategy forms the intent
– Bungay, Stephen The Art of Action (p. 95)
“It is not a path, but a direction. A direction could be set by giving a destination or simply a compass
heading.”
The Decision
–Richard P. RumeltGood Strategy Bad Strategy
“Good strategy works by focusing energy and resources on one, or a very few, pivotal objectives whose accomplishment will lead to a cascade of
favorable outcomes.”
Strategy is the input. People drive activity.
Measurable results are the output.
In an organization led with Intent
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 90)
“Strategy is a framework for decision making, a guide to thoughtful, purposive action.”
So, good Strategy is all about
helping people make good decisions
Good Strategy
• Provides direction (destination +/or compass heading) which inform decisions (particularly in trade-off situations)
• Includes “just enough” information as necessary so as not to confuse the intent or inhibit independent action
• Drives measurable results, reflecting that the strategy is informing important decisions (the most important to the organization)
• Define a Strategy, not a plan
• Align Organizational Structure with action
• Craft Communication that is clear and precise
• Be Disciplined to give enough direction, not more
Keys to Leading with Intent
• Develop the Values & Competence of your team
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 88)
“Such a model will only work if people are competent and share basic values.”
Competence
• Context Specific
• Often a function of Knowledge & Experience
• Quantitative, it can be measured to some extent
Values
• Underlying Principles
• May not always exist (particularly in weaker orgs)
• Often a function of organizational culture
• Qualitative, it is difficult to measure
Assessing Competence
• Start with Standard Industry Guidelines
• Accept less based on organization’s ability and willingness to invest in training
Assessing Values
• Observe, identify leaders
• Risk takers• Influencers
• Observe, identify followers
• Risk avoiders• Upward delegators
We want to cultivate these
(Some) Good leadership Characteristics
• Courageous
• “Independent thinking”
• Clear reasoning
• Decisive
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 185)
“Authoritarians micro-manage under all circumstances because it is the only approach they are comfortable with. An autocrat only does so if the circumstances
render such behavior appropriate.”
Watch out for Authoritarians
(i.e. bullies)
Take Action: Deploy Your Team
• Remove Authoritarians (bullies, g-bye)
• Hire New Team Members (if needed)
• Start Training, if a lot of training is needed dig in (this is the longest part of the road and a topic that deserves a presentation in itself)
• Define a Strategy, not a plan
• Develop the Values & Competence of your team
• Craft Communication that is clear and precise
• Be Disciplined to give enough direction, not more
Keys to Leading with Intent
• Align Organizational Structure with action
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 143)
“unless the structure of the organization broadly reflects the structure of the tasks implied by executing
the strategy, the strategy will not be executed.”
Extrapolate the “implied tasks” from the Strategy
The discrete “main effort”(s)
required to achieve a strategy
Take Action: Remove Conflicts in Structure
• Structure “implied tasks” so that they have no gaps and no overlaps (if possible)
• Remove Gaps (clarify authority and accountability)
• Remove Overlaps • (1) redraw lines of authority and accountability or • (2) promote a new leader with specific command over a strategic
task that places him or her above the overlapping leaders. The express purpose is to aligning and coordinating action.
• Be Disciplined to give enough direction, not more
• Define a Strategy, not a plan
• Develop the Values & Competence of your team
• Align Organizational Structure with action
Keys to Leading with Intent
• Craft Communication that is clear and precise
People don’t just know the strategy. You have to tell them. And they need to
understand it. In other words, communication unites strategy and
people
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 167)
“What matters about creating alignment around a strategy is not the volume of communication, but its
quality and precision.”
Strategy
Strategy Brief
Back Brief
Reflect and Revise
There are many ways to look at this cycle. Important point is it is a cycle.
1
2
3
4
Repeat
What & Why
(Intent)
How
(Confirms
understanding)
– Bungay, Stephen The Art of Action (p. 164)
The Strategy Briefing “is a way of structuring thought so as to concentrate the mind on what matters now,
and leave out what does not matter.”
Deconstructing the brief• Context (what is the situation?)• Higher Intent
• 1 level up (my boss’s intent)
• 2 levels up (my boss’s boss intent)• My Intent (what are we trying to achieve and why?) most important
• What
• Why
• Measures• Implied Tasks
• Main Tasks
• Responsibility
• Timing• Freedoms & Constraints
– Bungay, Stephen The Art of Action (p. 62)
“Understanding the context and the overall intention is what enables junior officers to take independent
decisions if the specific orders issued to them become invalid because of a change in the situation.”
Deconstructing the brief• Higher Intent
• 1 level up (my boss’s intent)
• 2 levels up (my boss’s boss intent)
• Context (what is the situation?)• Context (what is the situation?)
Expressing the higher intent unifies action across the
organization. It also resolves issues that arise in a matrix environment.
Deconstructing the brief• Context (what is the situation?)• Higher Intent
• 1 level up (my boss’s intent)
• 2 levels up (my boss’s boss intent)• My Intent (what are we trying to achieve and why?) most important
• What
• Why
• Measures
Deconstructing the brief• Context (what is the situation?)• Higher Intent
• 1 level up (my boss’s intent)
• 2 levels up (my boss’s boss intent)• My Intent (what are we trying to achieve and why?) most important
• What
• Why
• Measures• Implied Tasks
• Main Tasks
• Responsibility
• Timing
Deconstructing the brief• Context (what is the situation?)• Higher Intent
• 1 level up (my boss’s intent)
• 2 levels up (my boss’s boss intent)• My Intent (what are we trying to achieve and why?) most important
• What
• Why
• Measures• Implied Tasks
• Main Tasks
• Responsibility
• Timing• Freedoms & Constraints
If it is not already clear, state the bounds of their autonomy (e.g.
what situations they should escalate)
• Be Disciplined to give enough direction, not more
• Define a Strategy, not a plan
• Develop the Values & Competence of your team
• Align Organizational Structure with action
• Craft Communication that is clear and precise
Keys to Leading with Intent
When Leading with Intent you’re attempting to guide Independent Action by diagnosing and communicating the
key to competitive advantage
–General Feldmarshall Graf von Moltke
“The rule to follow is that an order should contain all, but also only, what subordinates cannot
determine for themselves to achieve a particular purpose.”
Be disciplined, or else you erode the culture of
independent thinking, and condition upward delegation
– Bungay, StephenThe Art of Action (p. 182)
“People only show independent thinking obedience if they have the means to do so, and are operating
within a network of trust.”
Avoid These Traps
• Avoid unclear ownership of a task (especially when its you). Make it clear to everyone who owns responsibility for a task. When its you, make it clear its is their job to assist you in achieving, but that you will be dictating specifics in this case. The worst thing you can do is appear to delegate then take it back.
• Avoid criticizing mistakes of commission: “a failure to act or a delay is a more serious fault than making a mistake in the choice of means.” - The Art of Action (p. 71)