S1E16 - The Final Truths Behind Vision to Results

In this final episode of Leadership Matters, Glenn wraps the series by pulling together the hard-won truths behind why great strategies so often fail in execution. Leaders don’t usually fall short because the vision is wrong—they fail because the work between the vision and the result is overlooked, rushed or assumed.

Glenn unpacks the real reasons execution breaks down: unclear roles, weak alignment, a lack of emotional buy-in, and leaders mistaking communication for clarity. He also reveals the big truth—strategy succeeds or stalls based on the leader’s ability to inspire, engage and set the tone.

Bringing the 12-driver Vision to Results framework full circle, this episode reminds leaders that execution is both rational and emotional, and that sustained motivation is never a box to tick. If you want your strategy to land, stick and deliver, this is the episode to finish on.

Transcript

Welcome to Leadership Matters, a podcast series created by Leadership Consulting to help leaders take a vision and deliver a result. My name is Glenn Price, and in this final episode in the series, we just wanted to touch on the vision to results framework, which is all about the art of leadership and delivering the results you desire from the vision you set. Ask 100 chief executives for the key to effective leadership in business, and a high proportion will answer.

Hey, it's the ability to set a clear vision, translate that into a consistent strategy and deliver results. So why do so many leaders fail by the one yardstick that really matters? Results. Why are so many good strategies so poorly executed? What makes so many talented and intelligent leaders who passionately believed in the course that they are setting unable to mobilize their workforce effectively and get their teams to buy into the plan?

It's not as if leaders don't know what to do. They know they're expected to inspire their troops and bring them into battle confident of victory. But how do they do that? Inspiring and motivating people are one of the hardest tasks in life, let alone leadership. Business leaders are constantly bombarded with peers telling them what they should be doing. They are subjected to feedback reports, behavioral 360s, staff engagement surveys and advice from the board.

Yet the role of the leader is so complex with respect to the successful delivery of strategy that it needs to be demystified and reinforced with practical step-by-step reminders so none are overlooked, bypassed or assumed. So here's truth number one. Extraordinary leadership requires a relentless focus on what is most important, balanced with an ability to motivate and understand people.

In 2005, a human resources director of a large organization rang desperately seeking some advice over coffee. The chief exec was determined to turn his or her company into a more accountable organization. When we asked why the workforce wasn't already considered sufficiently accountable, the client replied, because they never do what we ask them to do. We recognize that the problem lay not with the workforce alone, but to a large degree with the leader.

Was the leader concentrating his or her energies sufficiently on all of the elements of leadership execution required to guarantee the success? The solution was a development of a step-by-step framework designed specifically to make the leader aware of the leadership responsibilities and activities required for success. Oftentimes, when a strategy is not executed successfully, the leader blames the workforce. The lack of results must mean individual members of the team haven't been working hard enough or have only half-heartedly grasped the strategy. But who is ultimately responsible for the failed execution? The leader. When we first presented the Vision 2 Results framework with its 12 key drivers on a single page to the CEO and his or her senior executives, something magical happened. The CEO realized that if the strategy was ever going to work, it wasn't only his or her team that would need to do things differently in the future, but that he or she would have the chance to change their focus and his focus as well. Truth number two. Most strategies fail not because of the strength of the strategy itself, but rather because the leader rushed too quickly from formulating the strategy to focusing on its implementation. Too little time and thought are put into the vital intermediate stages? Why is the strategy so important for the company? What are the consequences of it not being executed properly, both for the organisation and for the individual? What mechanisms can be put in place to ensure individual team members know exactly what their personal responsibilities are for implementing the strategy? How will their performance be monitored? What will the consequences be if they fail to deliver and how can we measure and celebrate success along the journey? Leaders often assume that because they've addressed a team meeting, held an in-depth briefing for senior executives, conducted an all-staff meeting or town hall, or explained the plan in an email, that the job of selling the strategy to the workforce has been done. Truth number three. Humans need to have both goal and role clarity connected to the strategy if a leader is to have any chance of gaining their energy and focus. How many times do people not enthusiastically at the end of a meeting when asked if they understand a new strategy and how it will require a substantial change in the way that they work, only to revert to their old work practices at the first sign of difficulty? The key to success is alignment in both thought and action. Ultimately, it's the leader's responsibility to insist that messages are cascaded accurately and appropriately down to each level involved in implementing the strategy. Each person in the team must be aware of how the strategy translates into specific actions for them and crucially how the strategy will benefit them individually. Never underestimate the driving power of what's in it for me. Truth number four, team performance is often a direct reflection of the leader's ability to inspire and engage.

Since 2009, Terry and I have been gathering data from the frontline, providing invaluable evidence of how people perceive vital issues in their businesses. One of the key findings in a global mindset index survey recently compiled from approximately 5,000 clients representing 40 companies across the globe was that 43 % of respondents felt their leader had failed to create a motivational environment. And that's a damning statistic.

Almost half felt that their leaders had not succeeded in motivating them. Further research shows that leaders consistently misled themselves, assuming that they have communicated their intentions to their staff and that the whole organisation is working effectively and wholeheartedly for the same objective. Our research reveals the sad truth. Where there should be clarity, there is confusion. Where there should be commitment, there is disillusionment. So where do we go from here?

And that's where we introduce the 12 powerful drivers of strategy execution. And we hope that you've got some value from these episodes and this podcast. The Vision to Results framework, consisting of those 12 drivers that clearly outline the baseline leadership activities, we believe are essential to position the leader, the team, and all the organization for executional success. VTR deconstructs the entire complex process from setting a vision to delivering the ultimate result required in one easily understood framework that ensures both the rational and the emotional aspects of the plan are properly addressed in the correct order with the sufficient weight and balance. The beauty of VTR lies in its simplicity. It can be used by any leader of an organization, no matter how big or small, to lead a team from the development of a strategy to its successful delivery. What it is not is a silver bullet, a panacea or the new big thing. Ultimately, leading any organization or team is hard work. Those leaders who have a clear vision, a logical strategy, understand what they want to achieve, are disciplined in executing the strategy whilst holding their teams and themselves to account are far more likely to deliver the results they desire. VTR ensures this happens by addressing both the rational and emotional criteria necessary for successful execution.

Understandably, most leaders tend to concentrate on the rational elements of implementing a strategy because they can be ticked off one by one and they can be assigned to the mission accomplished file. Does the vision clearly set out where we want to go? Does it include some stretch? Is the strategy grounded in reality? Are sufficient resources allocated at each level of the plan? Have we created a comprehensive accountability culture in do we have the right level of competence at each grade to deliver on the plan? But effective leadership execution requires far more than intellectual logic. Business leaders intent on rolling out their master plan often fail to address the equally important emotional criteria that must be fulfilled if a plan is to be successful. One of the most common failings we see is leaders who fail to realize that the people side of their job is never complete.

Motivation is not a box that can simply be ticked off. Just because someone has been told what the new strategy is and appears confident and engaged doesn't mean he or she will remain that way. So over the episodes in this podcast series, we have explored four stages in the VTR framework. To a rational, set direction and enable and execute. And to a more emotional, engage in exciting your people and sustaining momentum.

Six of the drivers lie in the create the context section above the dotted line, indicating that they're about setting the goal, the direction of the company or the new project or the product launch and engaging the people and resources to make it happen. The six elements in the drive for results section below the dotted line are concerned with getting the vision done and producing results. The rational elements are targets that can be achieved and completed. The emotional elements require constant attention and reinforcement.

If you would like any further resource, please reach out to LeaderShape Consulting and you can purchase our book, Vision to Results on amazon.com.au.