The strategy song-and-dance trap

❌ This is the fifth trap in a series of eight. It’s when the development of strategy is a novelty sideshow, not an essential process. Focus is placed on something like a leadership strategy retreat but, in this case, the retreat lacks preparation. Worse still is when it’s booked with limited notice, like a knee-jerk ‘we need a strategy’ session. Whatever is developed is considered good enough, without a follow-up review process. Output is king – the plan-on-a-page. Attention quickly turns to the launch, featuring videos, posters, town halls and more. And then it fades away. Leaders hardly know who is responsible for what. Cascading is unclear. Tracking and reporting are afterthoughts.

✅ When strategy is an essential process, time is given to reviewing the progress and impact made under the last strategy and owning performance gaps. Leaders reflect on past achievements before creating new intentions. The development process is planned well in advance. Leaders appreciate that if they aren’t convinced about their theory of impact – their strategy – they need to give the process more time. And they do. Once set, the strategy influences day-to-day choices, responses to new problems and investment in new opportunities. Progress is deeply integrated with the rhythms of the organisation. Reporting and feedback are intrinsic to the process.

💡To avoid the song-and-dance trap, first map out your strategy process – from the start of one, to the beginning of the next round. Be clear on what needs to happen, with whom, when, why and how. Define lead times to ensure each phase has adequate time and preparation to succeed. Share that with your leaders so they are aligned on the process and the importance of each phase. Even before you have a documented strategy, have conversations about who needs to be across the strategy and why. Consider practices like cascading and name what accountability looks like. While ‘strategy’ is definitely not the same as ‘planning’, this planning before strategising is stealth fuel.