Empowering People and Teams Using Strategic Action Planning

This is a problem that can easily derail the organization or the project. For whatever reason a team has been brought together, the ultimate result is to unify forces to accomplish the goal at hand. If that doesn’t happens, everyone loses. Team dynamics are certainly tricky. Overtly strong personalities can result in major conflicts. Poor team dynamics and a lack of team spirit can sometimes cause havoc. But bringing a team together without taking the opportunity to get everyone on the same page can completely negate progress. Out of all of the productivity obstructions, a general lack of clarity and direction is often the most prevalent of underlying issues minimizing team effectiveness and is the one thing managers can effectively control.

In order for a team to work there must be good solidarity and planning. This happens when the group comes together and can clearly see the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the program, project, or organization. In a nutshell, individuals must clearly understand the why, how, what and where. And that’s exactly what strategic action planning accomplishes.

The problem is that many organizations are operating without strategic action plans, those clear-cut strategies and actions guiding the ongoing and daily work of those involved. The result: Misunderstanding, miscommunication, frustration and failed expectations from the team and the managers.

Think about this:
Your organization is embarking on a new program or project. New members are brought in with varying expertise and experience, fresh and innovative ideas are bounced around, and everyone seems to have an eagerness to move forward. Yet, after a few months of meeting, collaborating and implementing, you find outcomes to be minimal.

What’s happening?

Your first thought: Murphy’s Law. That will do it every time.
Your next thought: Perhaps the group was overly ambitious, maybe we have the wrong group or the wrong individuals for the task at hand.

And yet another thought: Maybe they’re just not committed enough.

Now ask yourself this question and answer honestly please:

 Have I empowered the team?

There are tons of ideas, thoughts and strategies around empowering people. The use of motivational seminars, training workshops, and autonomy to list a few. But there’s more to empowering people than the influx of information and independence in the workplace; there’s the culmination of giving individuals and groups the right tools and resources needed to be successful and to do their job well, and this comes in the form of good strategy. 

Strategic action planning is the next step beyond motivation, arming the right talent with the foundation and base from which to do their best work, individually and collectively. The action plan clarifies the goal, reveals strengths and weaknesses and helps to determine capacity. It outlines the steps, tasks and timeframes and when done correctly sets the stage for a successful undertaking.

And that becomes the crux of empowerment.

People have always been empowered by vision. It’s the simplest, most effective form of buy-in. Can you see where we’re going? Can you see yourself on board? If the answer is yes, you have the makings of something tangible. And you have taken the first step towards empowering your people and the teams they comprise. The vision is then backed by your strategies and tactics. 

Utilizing strategic action planning effectively within your organization is a jumpstart for managing and empowering your team. 

Here are a few tips to get you started: 

 1. Make Sure the Team Understands the Organization: One person’s understanding of your organization may be slightly different from someone else’s depending on their level of involvement with the agency. Teams might consist of seasoned staff, consultants and new hires and each of their experiences will be different. To bring clarity and “oneness”, share the company’s mission to help the group understand the purpose of the agency. It’s also a good idea to share the company’s organizational structure (via an organization chart) so that everyone can see how each individual fits into the overall scheme of the agency. This is a very simple and useful opportunity to provide a comprehensive view of the agency and how it works, that is often overlooked. 

 2. Conduct a Situational Analysis: Even those that are the most invested and aware of the project may not have a good understanding of the current situation. Thus it is always helpful for your team to understand where the organization stands. How you conduct and/or review your situational analysis depends on the project at hand. One very effective approach is to conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. A SWOT analysis will help the team to understand both the internal and external factors impacting the new project/venture. Completing a SWOT analysis with the group is a great way to see additional strengths and weaknesses as well as potential opportunities and threats. 

 3. Look to the Future: What is the big vision? Where are you trying to go? How will you get there? Allow the team to see the future through both your eyes and there’s. If you haven’t taken the time to really spell out the future, it will be a difficult task to determine what specifically needs to be done now. Don’t shortchange your team. Make it visual and make it real so that everyone really comprehends where you are going. Visions are often big and may even seem unreachable. This can be overwhelming and intimidating for some so its imperative that you help them really visualize the future -- be it 5, 10 or 20 years from now. 

 4. Clarify Your Strategies and Goals - If you continue to get up, you will get to the future. Whether you end up where you wanted to be when it arrives depends on the strategies and goals you put in place. This is the same for your organization or company. 

 5. Create Your Action Plans - The only way to getting closer to your goal is to put things into motion and the way to do that is to take action. If your team is continually taking action then things will happen. However, action without a solid vision and goals can make for busy work. Sure, everyone’s doing something, but are they doing the right things? Do the tasks align with the vision and goals? Are people working within their areas of expertise? Are they contributing effectively to the team? Establishing short-term (30, 60 and my favorite 90 day) action plans allow teams to maintain momentum, move forward and stay productive. 

Sheronde is the Lead Practitioner/Trainer at The Business Practitioner, Inc. (www.thebusinesspractitioner.com). She provides practical strategies for healthy business through her business consulting and skills-based training programs. She can be reached at 770-210-0726.