There’s another way strategic planning is like sailing: You have to inspire your crew for the journey ahead. For tactical purposes, you tell your people where they’re going so they can take the right actions to get to the destination. But that’s not the only reason. When you help the team envision the end result, it keeps their energy and morale high, so they can tap into higher levels of effort and performance.
One of the first steps in getting a company aligned is sharing the company’s vision and strategy. Schedule an all-hands call to provide background and context on the company’s priorities. The most motivating leaders spend as much time talking about why the priorities have been chosen as what they are.
By fully explaining what the future looks like, your teammates will feel a deep responsibility for achieving it. What’s more, you’ll have a whole team of people independently channeling their creative thinking and unique expertise to achieve the end result as successfully as possible.
Imagine the difference between your employees simply focusing on the task that’s been assigned to them versus feeling a shared responsibility for creating the future. When your team understands the bigger picture, they can anticipate and troubleshoot things you never knew to think about. On top of that, their discretionary effort will shave off unproductivity and errors that affect your timeline and your bottom line.
Incidentally, all of this further amplifies the quality of your strategic planning, as well as how your team performs. As CEO, you typically decide the vision with input from your leadership team and trusted advisors. But now your strategy can be informed by the insights and experience of your whole team. (Skip-level 1:1s are great for learning from your employees and testing ideas for your strategy).
In fast-growth companies, this virtuous cycle becomes essential to how the team operates. Leading to better results and a team that is emotionally connected to the company.