Does Your Team Match Your Strategy?
The only way to know whether there are serious gaps between your team and your new strategy is to step back and evaluate both – By: Paul Schoemaker & Steve Krupp
You just came out of your strategy review session with wind at your back. Your growth strategy was approved by the top bananas. They like your plan to move aggressively into emerging markets, and to target small acquisitions to expand into new product areas.
“Go for it,” they say– just make it happen! As you are celebrating with your team, you step back, look around the table and are hit by a jolt of cold reality. Can this team deliver on the promise? Is there anyone well suited to lead the emerging market strategy? Who can sniff out M&A targets, negotiate complex acquisitions, and manage the integration process?
Any team leader must periodically ask, “Does the current team match the strategy?“
This means evaluating your current talent against the demands of a new business plan. You need to see if any serious gaps exist and if so, systematically address them. Even in highly competitive business markets, few leaders handle this well. It isn’t always easy to align your talent and business strategy. Shaking up an existing team can be emotionally taxing and damaging to morale. The best you can do is to follow a disciplined approach when realigning your team. Read more.