13/01/2020
THE PEOPLE-CENTRIC STRATEGY
Behind every great company or team is a great organizational structure – an amazing set of unique people willing to help the organization achieve peak performance, productivity, growth, sustainability and even profitability.
If you are ever going to build anything great, perhaps you want to grow that startup into a large company, you want to grow your nonprofit into a global organization, or you simply want to take the team, unit or department you lead to greater heights, then you have to understand the importance and strategy of working with people.
Here are five important principles you must adhere to
1. Develop an Inclusive Vision
As a leader, you must develop a vision that is beyond you. You may be the founder, the CEO, the departmental leader, the unit head whatever… The vision of that organization, department, unit or group has to go beyond you! The vision has to be one that helps employees or team members understand how they fit into the bigger picture. Everyone person born into this world have their own personal vision. But in life vision swallows vision (Selah). Through visionary and inclusive leadership, those working with you would fit in their personal vision into the organizational vision.
At the point of this intersection, they become the most loyal people you can find within the organization. They are no longer driven by just their personal ambitions but they have become compelled and driven by a corporate goal, something beyond themselves. But it all begins with the leader designing an organization with inclusive vision. As a leader, you must help the people you lead see that there is a place for them to thrive, grow and fulfill their hopes, dreams, and aspirations within the organization.
2. Develop a Strategic Planning Team
One of the best ways to bring out the best in your team is to involve them in the strategic planning. Let your team be involved in designing and mapping out the process. It will be easier for them to execute the vision if they are involved in the strategic planning. Ask questions like ‘How can we become the number one organization in this industry or sector? ‘What does success looks like for us?
If team members feel they are involved, they will take be excited about achieving the set organizational goals.
3. Encourage Innovation
Develop an organizational culture that appreciates innovation. Our world is constantly changing. Watch out for social, economical, political and technological changes. Doing things the same way they have always been done could become the glass ceiling hindering the organization you are leading from scaling. It could also lead to the sudden death of the organization.
How often do you brainstorm with your team to come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things? If you are not constantly reinventing your organizational brand, if you are not bringing on better new designs for your products, if you are not innovative in improving your service delivery, chances are you would be left behind sooner than you realize.
From time to time new entrants into the marketplace are coming on board, they are coming up with new designs, new features, new methods and improved packaging and they will surely become a threat to your organization. So if you want to build a sustainable organization, encourage innovation!
4. Empower People
Whether it has to do with strategic planning, customer relationship management, human resource management, project management, marketing and sales etc, an organization can only scale and grow if it has the right people. If you are leading any organization or team, one smart thing to do is to look out for ways to empower and invest in your team. When you empower your team, it translates to peak performance and higher productivity.
5. Celebrate the Wins with the Team
As a leader, learn to celebrate the wins with your team. Never take the glory for a team win. When you celebrate with your team, you build up momentum for greater victories. At every level of progress, be lavish with praise and pop the champagne. Let your team know that they made it happen! Let them take ownership of the victory.
