Hitchhiker's Guide to Strategic Leadership
This morning I woke up stupidly early to be at Fraser's in Kings Park for 7am. I had the opportunity to attend an event instead of my director as she was unable to attend. No one else put their hand up to go, so I got to, despite this being my last day and thus they'll not get any benefit in me having attended. Also, it counts toward my work hours, so YAY! I can finish early!
The presentation was interesting, given by John Mitchell who used to be the CEO of the Rottnest Island Authority. Organisation behind it is Integral Development headed by up by Dr Ron Cacioppe.
These are the notes that I took, I found it a useful presentation that was emphasising points of view that I agree with strongly - this is unusual for one of these talks :P And it was put together in a way that I can see has more of a practical ability to implement and less meta.
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There's the idea that when strategic planning needs to occur, that we go to a place, for a day or two and design a new plan, hang out together and forget that we had a previous plan and forge ahead with the new ideas without considering what came before. This happens frequently enough that no one in the organisation is generally invested in it and there's no lasting power.
What does the Hitchhiker's reference mean in this context you may ask? Well it was about that understanding where, having the answer is sometimes meaningless if you haven't considered the question properly. What questions to ask at all.
These are a few of the points that came up around the idea of successful strategic planning and having that be a living investment for staff where everyone is moving in the same direction.
* People in leadership roles often get bogged down in the operational minutia, mistaking that for leadership. It's not intentional - there's so much of the operational stuff to go around, but it isn't itself, leadership.
* Organisations tend to be reactionary and deal with problems as they arise. This is cyclic and the operation of the business is then entirely reacting to solving problems when they happen instead of acting inside the vision with the intention of fulfilling on it.
* Lovely quote that boiled down to the essential fact that leadership is about inspiring others to follow you: Be clear then about where you're going, what you want to achieve and why it is something to believe in.
* We are a product of our perception. We see things the way we are, not how they actually are. This is about knowing your environment. Our environment is constantly moving and changing - the Worldometers site was an excellent demonstration of this. There is a critical need to be flexible and alert to shifting and updating the strategic plan as needed - it's not a static publication, but a living document.
* Focus on meaningful accountabilities as they invite personal investment rather than actions and measures out of strategic plans. Values should be the boundary in which the rest of the strategy should reside, and the aim is to have staff contribute to and be invested in upholding the vision.
* Busyness is not the end in itself, actions should be in line with the vision. Work should make sense, if busyness is due to outdated process or lack of efficient business mechanisms investment in streamlining this is warranted.
* With strategic planning, often there is too much focus on it at the senior level that isn't important or meaningful to all staff. In order for the vision to be successful, all staff must be invested in the overall outcome. This inclusion is vital for ownership and accountability.
* Also, inclusion is about trust, it is easy to forget that staff actually know stuff about the organisation, stuff that executive remain unaware about (stuff it's not executive's job to know in detail). This knowledge is relevant and useful for strategic planning, but it is different to the senior executive contribution.
* When implementing a new direction or vision, remember that the status quo always seeks to preserve itself. In order for change to be successful, the vision must be an everyday tool of staff in the organisation, it needs to be regularly revisited and updated as needed. This is all work that smooths change and enables it to occur and become part of the organisational landscape.
Well worth getting up early for, in my opinion :)
This entry was originally posted at http://transcendancing.dreamwidth.org/837909.html
The presentation was interesting, given by John Mitchell who used to be the CEO of the Rottnest Island Authority. Organisation behind it is Integral Development headed by up by Dr Ron Cacioppe.
These are the notes that I took, I found it a useful presentation that was emphasising points of view that I agree with strongly - this is unusual for one of these talks :P And it was put together in a way that I can see has more of a practical ability to implement and less meta.
---
There's the idea that when strategic planning needs to occur, that we go to a place, for a day or two and design a new plan, hang out together and forget that we had a previous plan and forge ahead with the new ideas without considering what came before. This happens frequently enough that no one in the organisation is generally invested in it and there's no lasting power.
What does the Hitchhiker's reference mean in this context you may ask? Well it was about that understanding where, having the answer is sometimes meaningless if you haven't considered the question properly. What questions to ask at all.
These are a few of the points that came up around the idea of successful strategic planning and having that be a living investment for staff where everyone is moving in the same direction.
* People in leadership roles often get bogged down in the operational minutia, mistaking that for leadership. It's not intentional - there's so much of the operational stuff to go around, but it isn't itself, leadership.
* Organisations tend to be reactionary and deal with problems as they arise. This is cyclic and the operation of the business is then entirely reacting to solving problems when they happen instead of acting inside the vision with the intention of fulfilling on it.
* Lovely quote that boiled down to the essential fact that leadership is about inspiring others to follow you: Be clear then about where you're going, what you want to achieve and why it is something to believe in.
* We are a product of our perception. We see things the way we are, not how they actually are. This is about knowing your environment. Our environment is constantly moving and changing - the Worldometers site was an excellent demonstration of this. There is a critical need to be flexible and alert to shifting and updating the strategic plan as needed - it's not a static publication, but a living document.
* Focus on meaningful accountabilities as they invite personal investment rather than actions and measures out of strategic plans. Values should be the boundary in which the rest of the strategy should reside, and the aim is to have staff contribute to and be invested in upholding the vision.
* Busyness is not the end in itself, actions should be in line with the vision. Work should make sense, if busyness is due to outdated process or lack of efficient business mechanisms investment in streamlining this is warranted.
* With strategic planning, often there is too much focus on it at the senior level that isn't important or meaningful to all staff. In order for the vision to be successful, all staff must be invested in the overall outcome. This inclusion is vital for ownership and accountability.
* Also, inclusion is about trust, it is easy to forget that staff actually know stuff about the organisation, stuff that executive remain unaware about (stuff it's not executive's job to know in detail). This knowledge is relevant and useful for strategic planning, but it is different to the senior executive contribution.
* When implementing a new direction or vision, remember that the status quo always seeks to preserve itself. In order for change to be successful, the vision must be an everyday tool of staff in the organisation, it needs to be regularly revisited and updated as needed. This is all work that smooths change and enables it to occur and become part of the organisational landscape.
Well worth getting up early for, in my opinion :)
This entry was originally posted at http://transcendancing.dreamwidth.org/837909.html