Strategy is a Behavior

I often read strategies that look great on paper. They’re polished and beautiful with full color brochures and infographics. Often a high-paid consultant has helped and they’ve designed complex market strategies and program strategies that are impressive. But there’s a problem… a big problem. If you ask staff about the strategy, they don’t have a clue what it is. Staff will say things like, “I’m not really sure what the strategy is.” or “We don’t have a strategy.” This has got to be frustrating for leaders who have invested so much time, effort, and money into that full color strategy brief.

So, what can we do to change this? First of all, we need to start thinking about strategy in behavioral terms. That is to say, strategy is not so much a proposition or a set of ideas, it is an ethic, a way of behaving. That means our strategies should be first and foremost memorable to the entire team. That’s best accomplished through facilitating a highly collaborative strategy process across the organization where everyone can contribute from their strengths. Instead of a highly polished consultant approach, strategy should look and sound like the people who made it and will ultimately use it. Secondly, staff need to be able to “see themselves” in the strategy and how they can practically contribute to making it happen. Whether your role is marketing, product development, programs, or support, the strategy should show how you can contribute as a team member in a relatable way. Designing strategy that is relatable is an act of empathy, similar to what adult learning theory calls “anchoring.”

Strategy should naturally result in action - action in a common direction. So we need to make our strategies simple, personal, and memorable. Because if your team can’t remember the strategy, you don’t have a strategy.