Many leaders have the folly of thinking that their companies are run well only to be met with shock once they discover that there are other organizations being run far much better than theirs. Interacting with some top organizational leaders make such leaders who are mediocre appreciate that they have a long way to go before perfecting execution. The main problem is that some leaders think of execution as the tactical side of a business, forgetting that it is a discipline and a system on the organization’s goals, culture and strategy. Organizations that master the art of execution have a better competitive advantage over the others.
The Chief Executive Officer of any company tends to take the blame should there be any failure on the strategies that he had applied. However, wrong application and execution of strategies usually makes the CEO to fail. The leaders of such big organizations miscalculate the challenges and end up falling deep into the challenges thus crippling the operations of the business. Asset velocity should be high to ensure that that productivity is high with minimal working capital.
The leader of a company may promise to deliver certain results without a clear strategy of how he will get to the anticipated level. Every leader in every organization wants change, but the way to get the expected change is the bone of contention. An organization may remain on the same position if big thoughts do not translate into action points. Execution is vital for any organization to progress. Execution is a core issue to an organization’s culture, and internal strategy which is the major job of a leader. Execution will not work if people, strategy, and operations crash.
Leaders fail in execution because of lack of persistence and inquiring constructively. The nitty-gritty of execution has to be well understood so as to avoid the loopholes of failure. A leader has to be sure that he has entrusted the right people for the job. A leader has to be careful so as to avoid pitfalls in his quest to have execution work well from him in the organization. He needs to know his people and the business, and live his business. A leader who does not understand his staffs is most likely to entrust important tasks to the wrong people for execution.
A competent leader should be as real as possible. He ought not to live in denial. He needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the organization he is leading. The organization should have clear and concise goals that are understood by the leader perfectly well. The goals should not be too complex so as not to complicate the execution. Staffs doing well in executing the goals and targets for the leader should be rewarded to ensure that they keep doing the same till the organization is on top of the rest in the market.
Leaders need to understand that the professional world frequently evolves. Thus, they should embark on training their staffs well so as to ease the task of executing whatever goals they set for the organization. a leader should not fear to hire qualified people to execute his policies. Some organizational leaders lack emotional fortitude to hire qualified people fearing that they might take up their positions in the organization, and undercut his power. Such emotional weakness works against the leader and the organization.
Execution should start from accountability of all staffs involved in the day to day running of the organization. Such culture change in the organization needs to trickle down the organizational ladder so as to ensure that everyone knows that he stands to be held accountable for his or her actions. Leaders should be the role models of accountability to ensure that the rest of the employees follow suit.
Competent execution requires wide and consultative dialogue that is all inclusive to ensure that all loopholes that hinder execution do not appear. Leaders should engage in dialogue with open minds with no hidden agenda or predetermined agendas. It is necessary to note that some employees will give some information that could implicate some leaders, and hence the leaders of the organizations should not incriminate such staffs for being open.
Leaders have to show leadership in the organization in every sense of that word. A leader sets the culture of the company he leads. He should be prepared to tolerate and put up with the kind of leadership that he has set for the organization (Lehmann, 2012). a leader will not expect optimal performance if at all he is absent from the workplace frequently. Some leaders get busy spend too much time trying to make their organizations global than their competitors while forgetting that their competitors are busy trying to be the best globally.
Execution is about having the right people for the right job. A leader cannot achieve the expected standards if staffs have negative attitude towards the job at hand. It is necessary for leaders to spend time trying to create energy in the employees to ensure that policy execution works well. Leaders should be able to make firm and effective decisions even in hard times in the organization. He should have the capability to act on the decisions that he makes to ensure that he is not a procrastinator. Whatever decisions a leader makes, he gets them done through the efforts of others in the organization.
Leaders should also follow the implementations of the decisions he has made. Follow up is vital in execution. A leader should not launch an initiative that he will not personally follow to ensure efficient and effective implementation. Getting right people in the right jobs is a challenging task as this ensures that the execution will be done with ease. Interviewing should have a panel that can select the best suited candidates who are trustworthy to bear the execution of important policies of the organization.
Performance appraisals are conducted on all employees regardless of the relationship with the top leaders. Rewards succeed appraisals, and hardworking employees should get rewards for working well. Appraisals should be clear, concise and straight to the point. They have to be in the context of a person’s job. A leader should ensure that the organization retains the employees who are committed to moving the organization to the top.
A complete strategic plan should be developed to counter the other organizations in the market. The strategy should address the competitors as well as the potential customers. Leaders tend to focus more on making profits as opposed to the buying behavior and needs of their customers. The leader himself should have confidence that the strategy will be implemented to the letter leaving nothing to chance. The strength of the organization to execute the strategy should be checked and enhanced. The implementation budget should be clearly designed fitting in all the needs for the plan to succeed.
Execution needs to be frequently reviewed to ensure that the organization does not waver in its quest to match above the rest. A leader who does not review his strategy is bound to fail because execution requires frequent examination to ensure that the organization is on track in execution of its performance strategy.
References
Lehmann, C. F. (2012). Strategy and Business Process Management: Techniques for Improving Execution, Adaptability, and Consistency. Florida: CRC Press.
