Business planning is critical for any organization. However, without internal structures that increase team awareness and commitment, even the best plans fail.
I regularly help my clients incorporate these types of structures, and two of the most effective are a communication strategy and an accountability framework. Put these two components to work for your organization as part of a new approach to business planning. They are, in fact, key to success.
One of the best ways to engage and motivate your team is to tell them what’s going on in a consistent, accurate and timely manner — and to encourage participation. During business planning, this means:
Additionally, the responsibility of communicating strategy should not belong solely to the CEO, executive director or business owner. Instead, use the scaffolding method to gradually reduce your team's reliance on you as their understanding deepens.
Leaders who take this approach have the pleasure (and relief) of witnessing their teams become increasingly adept at communicating the organization's strategy themselves.
Finally, a communication strategy isn’t an end in and of itself. It's purpose is to build a well-informed, agile team that can discuss and make suggestions in real-time for improving the strategy.
Accountability is often thought of as the last step in business planning. You stand back, look at the goals, determine which metrics matter, as well as how you'll track progress. And that’s not a bad approach.
However, an even better approach is to weave accountability throughout the process, not just at the end.
How do you do that? The type of accountability I’m talking about is more of an operating mindset rather than a scorecard. As you go through the business planning process ask if you and your team are:
If you’re not having no-holds-barred conversations centered around these questions with your team — and if you're not making adjustments based on what those conversations surface — you might be setting your plan up for failure.
This approach establishes an accountability framework that will serve your organization well once you and your team begin to execute the plan and measure progress.
Plus, there's a bonus: A team that takes real responsibility for a plan is proof that there's an effective leader at the helm. YOU.
So as you perform your business planning going forward, keep this in mind: Exceptional communication and accountability are truly the secret ingredients to a successful process and the return will be well worth the effort.
