The Cover Story: Define You the Way You Want

In today’s dynamic business landscape, a well-articulated strategy serves as the compass guiding an organization’s trajectory. However, a recurring challenge faced by leaders is ensuring that their strategic vision resonates with and is comprehended by their workforce. Surveys consistently reveal that a significant proportion of employees struggle to recall or grasp their company’s strategic priorities, despite concerted efforts by top management to disseminate this information.

The root cause of this disconnect often lies in the lack of contextual clarity surrounding the communicated strategy. Just as the sleepy flight engineer in the anecdote misinterpreted his captain’s innocuous remark due to a lack of shared context, employees may misunderstand or fail to appreciate the rationale behind strategic decisions when the underlying context remains opaque.

Corporate leaders, armed with years of experience and a wealth of data, grapple with the inherent challenge of conveying the implicit knowledge and deliberations that shape their strategic choices. Consequently, they find themselves unable to fully explicate the context underpinning their decisions, leaving employees with an incomplete picture.

To bridge this gap and foster strategic alignment, leaders must adopt innovative approaches to elucidate the context surrounding their organization’s strategic direction. By presenting rejected alternatives, linking decisions to the company’s purpose, and involving employees in strategy development, leaders can empower their workforce with the contextual understanding necessary to embrace and execute the organizational strategy effectively.

Illuminating Rejected Alternatives: Unveiling the Strategic Rationale

One powerful technique for providing contextual clarity is to shed light on the alternatives considered and ultimately rejected during the strategy formulation process. By explicitly communicating the options that were evaluated and the reasons for their dismissal, leaders can offer invaluable insights into the thought process and rationale behind the chosen strategic path.

For instance, the late John Bachmann, former managing partner of Edward Jones, a prominent U.S. brokerage firm, articulated their strategy by contrasting it with the approaches taken by competitors. He highlighted their focus on individual investors in rural America, their commitment to transparent and safe products, their avoidance of manufacturing in-house mutual funds, and their preference for small, community-based offices staffed by single investment representatives – all in stark contrast to the practices of their industry peers.

Similarly, pharmaceutical giant Roche contextualizes its strategic decision to concentrate on prescription medicines and diagnostics by underscoring its conscious choice not to invest in sectors such as generics, biosimilars, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices.

By illuminating the rejected alternatives, leaders invite employees to understand not only the choices made but also the considerations that shaped those choices. This transparency fosters an environment conducive to seeking clarification, challenging assumptions, and engaging in constructive dialogue – ultimately leading to a deeper comprehension of the organizational strategy.

Anchoring Strategic Choices in Organizational Purpose

Another effective approach to enhancing contextual clarity is to explicitly link strategic decisions to the organization’s overarching purpose or goal. By demonstrating how each strategic choice aligns with and contributes to the realization of the company’s core mission, leaders can provide employees with a compelling rationale for understanding and embracing the chosen strategic direction.

Consider the example of DPG Media Group, a leading media company in Belgium and the Netherlands. In articulating their strategy, the Group Chairman, Christian Van Thillo, consistently anchored their decisions in the foundational assumption that people would continue to rely on professional media rather than citizen journalism, blogs, and influencers in the digital era. This assumption underpinned their strategic goal of delivering high-quality, professional journalism through digital channels.

By tying strategic choices, such as acquisitions and market focus, to this overarching goal, Van Thillo enabled employees to grasp the logic behind each decision without necessitating an exhaustive understanding of the deliberations involved. For instance, the decision to engage in acquisitions was framed as a means to compete effectively with digital giants like Google and Facebook for advertisers, while their geographic focus on Belgium and the Netherlands was justified by the need to maintain journalistic quality without overstretching resources.

Linking strategic choices to organizational purpose not only fosters contextual understanding but also reinforces the alignment between the company’s actions and its core values, further strengthening employee buy-in and commitment.

Inclusive Strategy Development: Fostering Shared Understanding

Involving employees in the strategy development process can be a powerful catalyst for fostering shared contextual understanding. By actively participating in strategic dialogues, workshops, and testing initiatives, employees gain first-hand exposure to the considerations, challenges, and trade-offs inherent in shaping the organization’s strategic direction.

Companies like Premium-Kollektiv, a German drinks producer, embrace an inclusive approach to strategy development, allowing any interested employee to initiate strategic dialogues through transparent, consensus-driven processes. As these dialogues deepen, more employees become engaged, collectively building a shared familiarity with the context surrounding the emerging strategy.

Similarly, at gaming company Valve, employees proposing strategic initiatives must persuade at least two colleagues to form a team, fostering collaboration and shared understanding from the outset. As the initiative progresses, more team members join, further broadening the contextual awareness.

Leveraging technology can also facilitate employee participation at scale. Bridgestone, a global tire manufacturer, is experimenting with AI-powered surveying to engage employees in interactive dialogues, efficiently gathering insights and perspectives to inform strategic planning.

By involving employees in the strategy development process, organizations not only tap into a diverse pool of ideas and perspectives but also cultivate a shared understanding of the context that shapes the eventual strategic choices. This collective comprehension enhances employee commitment and increases the likelihood of successful strategy execution.

Comprehensive Communication: Addressing Multiple Facets and Stakeholders

Effective strategy communication necessitates a comprehensive approach that addresses the multifaceted nature of strategic initiatives and engages a diverse range of stakeholders. Often, communication efforts narrowly focus on specific aspects of the strategy, such as competitive positioning or customer service, while overlooking other crucial elements like operational implications or regulatory considerations.

To counteract this fragmented approach, leaders should strive to develop a centralized repository of frequently asked questions and key messages tailored to different stakeholder groups. By collaborating with colleagues from various departments, leaders can ensure consistency in messaging while enhancing the breadth and depth of the information shared.

For instance, a chief of staff developed a central repository of strategic FAQs, highlighting the most pertinent points for each stakeholder group, ranging from employees and investors to regulators and community members. This comprehensive approach not only facilitated customized communication but also fostered a sense of ownership among contributors, further amplifying the consistency and efficacy of the strategic messaging.

Comprehensive communication should encompass elements such as visualizing the organizational ambition, describing the desired impact on customers and society, challenging the status quo, instilling belief in the organization’s capabilities, outlining anticipated changes, and establishing relevant metrics for success. By addressing these multifaceted aspects, leaders can paint a holistic picture of the strategy, enabling stakeholders to grasp the rationale, implications, and expected outcomes comprehensively.

Personalizing the Strategic Narrative: Fostering Individual Relevance

While corporate-level strategy communication is essential, it often fails to resonate on a personal level, leaving employees uncertain about the specific implications and expectations for their roles. To counter this disconnect, leaders must tailor their messaging to highlight the personal relevance of the strategy for individual employees.

One effective approach is for leaders to model the implementation of the strategy through their own actions and decision-making processes. By prioritizing activities that enable the strategic direction and openly addressing areas of confusion or disagreement within their teams, leaders demonstrate their commitment to the strategy and foster alignment.

Additionally, leaders should articulate the new activities, capabilities, and behaviors required to execute the strategy successfully. Establishing pilot programs to roll out these changes can provide tangible examples and facilitate skill development through training, coaching, or mentoring initiatives.

Addressing nostalgia, fears, or resistance to change is also crucial when personalizing the strategic narrative. By proactively acknowledging and addressing concerns such as “We’ve tried this before, and it didn’t work” or “Our bureaucracy hinders our agility,” leaders can alleviate apprehensions and pave the way for smoother strategy adoption.

By making the strategy personal and relatable, leaders empower employees to understand their individual roles and contributions within the broader strategic context, fostering a sense of ownership and increasing the likelihood of successful execution.

Dynamic Communication: Tailoring the Message to the Moment

Effective strategy communication extends beyond static presentations or bland online statements. To truly engage and inspire stakeholders, leaders must embrace dynamic, situationally tailored communication approaches that capture attention and foster lasting recall.

One powerful technique is to map out the critical “imprintable” moments where strategy communication holds the greatest potential impact. These moments could include recruitment interviews, investor pitches, board meetings, town hall presentations, team huddles, or performance appraisals. By identifying these pivotal touchpoints, leaders can strategically emphasize specific messaging tailored to the audience and context.

For instance, when engaging with potential partner organizations, leaders may choose to highlight the organizational ambition and emerging opportunities, while in manager meetings, the focus could shift to outlining the strategic choices made and encouraging managers to make their own aligned decisions.

Selecting the appropriate communication tool or asset is equally crucial. In one-on-one conversations, a concise elevator pitch or a compelling anecdote can effectively convey the organization’s strategic advantage. For larger group settings, visualizations depicting strategic elements or stories illustrating how challenges will be overcome can resonate powerfully. In email communications, a succinct strategy summary, accompanied by frequently asked questions and personal reflections, can effectively disseminate the strategic narrative.

By tailoring the message and delivery method to the specific moment and audience, leaders can foster engagement, clarity, and lasting impact, ensuring that the strategy resonates across diverse stakeholder groups.

Empowering through Transparency: Fostering Collective Ownership

Traditionally, the responsibility for communicating strategy has been confined to a select few, often under the misguided belief that strategy is too complex for broader dissemination or that sharing detailed information could provide competitors with an advantage. However, this approach limits the opportunity for employees, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders to contribute to, advocate for, and deliver on the organizational strategy.

To foster collective ownership and amplify strategy execution, leaders must embrace transparency and empower stakeholders with comprehensive strategic information. This can be achieved by sharing as much of the strategy as possible, including critical decisions, underlying assumptions, and acknowledged uncertainties. By providing a centralized repository of strategic assets and information, leaders enable stakeholders to self-select the aspects most relevant to their interests and roles.

Transparency should extend to communicating progress honestly, sharing updates on successes, challenges, and inviting stakeholders to contribute ideas and solutions. This open dialogue not only enhances understanding but also cultivates a sense of shared responsibility for the strategy’s success.

While it may be tempting to restrict certain details to avoid overwhelming stakeholders or protecting commercial interests, leaders should exercise discretion judiciously. By creating open channels for feedback, questions, and idea-sharing, organizations can harness the collective intelligence and commitment of their stakeholders, enhancing the strategy’s resilience and adaptability.

Systematic and Flexible Communication: Embedding Strategic Alignment

Effective strategy communication is not a one-time event but rather an ongoing, systematic process that must adapt to evolving circumstances and stakeholder needs. To embed strategic alignment and foster sustained commitment, leaders must adopt a systematic yet flexible approach to communication.

This involves mapping out clear sequences of communications tailored to different stakeholder groups and pivotal moments, ensuring consistency and clarity of messaging over time. Research suggests that it takes approximately two months to embed a new habit, even with optimal communication and incentives. Consequently, a sustained effort with strategic repetition is essential for lasting impact.

Actively soliciting participation and feedback through thoughtful questioning can help identify and overcome obstacles to strategy execution. Posing questions such as “What can we do to accelerate the desired changes?” or “What barriers can we remove to make our lives easier?” can yield valuable insights and foster a sense of collective ownership.

Monitoring weak signals of change, both within and external to the organization, is crucial for adapting communication content and approaches. For instance, shifts in consumer sentiment or aggressive competitor activity may necessitate adjustments to the strategic narrative, reinforcing its resilience or highlighting the rationale for pivots.

Surfacing and highlighting success stories that exemplify the strategy in action can reinforce key messages, maintain stakeholder interest, and build commitment to the strategic direction. By celebrating and sharing these successes, leaders can create a virtuous cycle of alignment and motivation.

Elevating Strategy Communication for Collective Success

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, effective strategy communication has emerged as a critical differentiator, enabling organizations to harness the collective power of their stakeholders in pursuit of shared goals. By embracing contextual clarity, personal relevance, dynamic delivery, and transparent engagement, leaders can foster a deep understanding and collective ownership of the organizational strategy.

Whether by illuminating rejected alternatives, anchoring choices in organizational purpose, involving employees in strategy development, or tailoring communication to pivotal moments, the approaches outlined in this article provide a roadmap for leaders seeking to elevate their strategy communication efforts.

Ultimately, by fostering a shared understanding of the strategic context, leaders can unlock the full potential of their workforce, empowering employees to make informed decisions, contribute innovative ideas, and collectively drive the organization’s success in an ever-changing business environment.