1000 Managers Turned Their Plans Into Energy!

I bet you can't tell me how leadership training andstrategic planning work together to boost business resultsand energize performance improvements.

A recent survey of 1000 managers conducted by the UK-basedChartered Management Institute, revealed that organizationsexperienced, "improved business performance when [theirleadership] development [programs were] linked to [their]business [strategic planning process]."

Why aren't the energies generated by corporate leaders beingused in developing, managing and adding value to strategicplans?

Put another way, how can organizational managers train,advise and encourage their people using the strategic planas a guideline for making performance improvements?

Usually we separate planning from training, however, wiseleaders see their plans as a blueprint for enriching,growing and nurturing the skills, attitudes and maturity oftheir people.

Guideline-1 - Enrich Their Experiences!

Inertia is defined as the tendency for things to remain thesame. When we get trapped by the draining energies ofinertia, our efforts begin to fail or our plans become staleand lifeless pieces of paper.

If you hope to break out of inertia's grip and your feelingsof frustration or futility, you must turn your plans intoopportunities to develop and train your people to becomeleaders.

Show your people why the plan has been created the way itis. Tell them that the plan is a general indicator fordirection and level of achievement - let them know that theywill be responsible for making it successful.

Once your people begin implementing the plan, you can assesstheir ability to meet the challenges of its activities andobjectives.

By supervising their performance on a biweekly basis, youcould help them develop plans for self-directed andinstructor-led learning exercises.

Self-directed learning could include reading, keeping ajournal and taking low cost self-paced courses.

Instructor-led training might take the form of courses atyour local or community college, web-based seminars, emailcourses or training conducted by in-house personnel.

Enrich their experiences by increasing their confidence andpositive self-image!

Guideline-2 - Grow Their Domain!

We can use the planning process itself as an opportunity togenerate energy and distribute those energies throughout theorganization.

Those energies produced during the planning process shouldbe identified, evaluated, captured and directed towards therefinement and execution of the plan.

When we speak of energy we mean a factor, force or influencewhich may be classified or fitted into one of the followingcategories or domains:

=> Creative - the acts of perceiving something new or oflooking at something in different or radically new ways;

=> Innovative - the acts of trying out something new or indoing something in different ways;

=> Entrepreneurial - the acts of approaching or offering anidea or object in new or different ways

=> Social - acts involving teamwork, collaborative efforts,forming or arranging networks, partner ships/alliances;

=> Systems-related - where a system's design, analysis,operation or support process facilitates advancement, etc.;

=> Educational - the acts of training, development, self- directed learning, and leveraging human capital assets.

In a nutshell, you can transform your strategic planningprocess and its improvement or implementation into a seriesof leadership skills training and development exercises forany of the above categories.

If you first grow the domains of your people you can holdthem accountable for refining and supervising the plan!

Guideline-3 - Nurture Their Maturity!

Leadership development is an essential ingredient innurturing or realizing a state of maturity and credibility.

You can never reach that stage of development without havingthe ability to:

=> Take responsibility for your actions,

=> Commit to staying the course through good times and bad;

=> Accept the authority of others without rancor or back- biting [when they act honestly, ethically and responsibly];

=> Admit a need for help, support or guidance;

=> Act in congruence with your values, ethics and morals.

Use the objectives of your strategic plans as your guidelineand blueprint for coaching, counseling, mentoring andconsulting your people.

Provide your people with a safety net by giving themauthority to implement the plan but be sure to nurture themtowards developing into mature, seasoned leaders.

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Over 90% of those executives surveyed by the Institute sawthe connection between strategic performance improvementsand their leadership development efforts - you can too!

Those managers agree that the "skills acquired at work areheld in higher esteem than natural [leadership] talent" -they overwhelmingly believe "that on-the-job experience ismore valuable than natural [leadership] ability".

Using your strategic plans as the blueprint for yourleadership development efforts is a wise course of actionthat's sure to deliver real performance improvements.

"Everything depends upon execution; having just a vision isno solution." - Stephen Sondheim, composer

Your plan expresses your vision, your leadership trainingprogram energizes the execution of your plans.

Remember, enrich people, grow their domains and nurture theminto maturity - do those things and you'll have a successfulstrategic plan.

Copyright © 2005, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,All rights reserved.

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About the Author:

Bill Thomas teaches leadership techniques using strategic, innovative, evolutionary-focused concepts - his 2-Volume, how-to Manual, "Strategic Organizational Leadership: Create & Deliver Fail-Proof, Breakthrough Plans", uses an energizing process of group development to produce value empowered results! "See it, Plan it, Lead it, Improve it!"

http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/planning.html

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