Delivering Results

How can I ensure that we deliver on our plans? What role can leadership play in bridging the strategy-to-performance gap?

Having a great strategy isn't enough. Lots of organizations can develop winning strategies – on paper. To succeed, they must be able to turn great strategy into great performance. In short, they must be able to execute. Realizing the full potential of any strategy requires discipline and focus. High-performing organizations, and those who lead them, establish a tight linkage between their strategies, their plans, their execution priorities and ultimately their performance.

The role of leadership in executing successfully and delivering results is about generating critical mass. Specifically, effective leaders must:

• Clearly communicate priorities and get alignment around what the strategy is – and is not – to keep the organization headed in the same direction
• Insist on a disciplined planning process that shows what future performance looks like and how it can be achieved
• Develop a culture of accountability that makes clear who is responsible for decision-making, rewards action and has real consequences for performance delivery