Structures within your organization will influence behavior at all levels of the org. To ensure that the changes associated with your strategic plan are successful, you have to align your org structures with the plan.
Because structures influence behavior, then a bad structure can stop employees from implementing the strategic plan.
Consider these structures; the more they fit with the strategic plan, the more successful your org will be:
Prepare to Begin to prepare for strategic planning by having the right people involved, with clear roles and available resources.
Parallel Involvement Process throughout the planning and execution processes involving key stakeholders. This ensures buy in and stay in, and builds critical mass for change throughout your org (especially with middle management).
Strategic Management System to run your organization throughout the year using a The Systems Thinking Approach®.
Vision, mission and values with shared understanding at a behavioral level.
Cultural values audit to create the culture you desire.
Core values and core strategies woven into Performance Management system.
Board of Directors/ownership involvement in the Strategic Management process.
Key Success Measures linked to accountability.
Clear positioning statement.
Leader's personal commitment to institutionalizing positioning and values within org.
Support for Key Success Measures reporting.
Key Success Measures matrix completed with targets and measurements.
Benchmarking vs. highly successful organizations.
Environmental Scanning System with accountability and feedback mechanisms.
Staff involvement in current state assessment (SWOT).
Paradigm changes associated with strategies listed (from-to).
A focused number of core strategies.
Strategic Sponsorship Teams set up for each core strategy.
Annual department planning using core strategies as organizing framework.
Three-year business planing for all larger units in the organization.
Strategic Change Project Teams for large, cross-functional projects/programs.
Contingency or scenario planning for key events.
Annual planning driving the budgeting process.
Prepare to Implement to prepare for the execution of the strategic plan with a clear understanding of the impact of change on people and of the associated processes and structures.
Strategic Change Leadership Team and support to guide the execution of the strategic plan throughout the year.
Yearly Comprehensive Map of the next twelve months' change management processes and structures.
A communications plan for the entirety of the Strategic Management process.
HR processes aligned with the vision, mission, values and execution of the strategic plan including rewards and recognition, promotions, hiring, succession, onboarding, development and training.
Monthly/quarterly meetings of the Strategic Change Leadership Team.
An organization structure that supports the achievement of the strategic plan.
Annual Strategic Review and Update to keep the strategic plan relevant and focused.
