How To Communicate Strategy Execution Plans Effectively

You don’t lead strategy by presenting slides. You lead it by making it real. In conversations, decisions, priorities, and actions. If presenting the strategy were enough, execution efforts wouldn’t fail so often. Because if your team doesn’t understand and internalize your strategy with a shared understanding they won’t be able to execute it. I see this happen too often. Here are 5 practices that show what it really takes to lead beyond the slide deck: 1. 🗣️ Alignment is about the conversation, not a presentation. Strategy comes alive when people talk about it, connect it to their role and get clear about what it means for their daily decisions. As a leader, your job is to create the form and forum-where people can ask, “What does this mean for me?” and “How do I connect this in my role?” 2. 🎯 Align every meeting to the strategy. Every meeting you attend should tie directly to advancing your strategy. Stretching to make the connection? Maybe you shouldn’t be in that meeting. Or maybe the meeting shouldn’t be happening at all. As David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard once said, “More companies die of indigestion than starvation.” Strategy requires focus. 3. 🛑 Ruthlessly cut or minimize non-strategic work. This one’s personally hard. Smart, creative people are great at justifying why their project or idea is critical to the company success. But clever doesn’t  equal strategic. Pet projects, zombie initiatives, legacy efforts? If it doesn’t clearly move the strategy forward, cut it. Edinger’s rule: 5 (±2). Big initiatives. That’s your strategic load limit. Focus your resources on advancing the efforts that make the greatest impact. 4. 🗓️ Do a weekly strategy audit for your calendar. Tom Peters said it best: “The calendar never lies.” Look at how you actually spent your time this week. Was the majority of your focused attention on moving strategic priorities forward? Or did you spend too much energy and time on tactical or less valuable activities? Be honest. Where does your time go? Evaluate and adjust. 5. 🤝 Contact one prospect or customer each day. Some may want to start with one per week. No matter your role, stay close to the market. Strategy is useless if you can’t connect it to your prospects and customers. One of the most strategic leaders I ever worked with, Bob Dutkowsky started nearly every day with a customer call. During his time as a CEO of Tech Data, the business grew from $20B to $37B. Pro tip: Don’t just talk to customers who already like you, make sure you engage with prospects who have made the choice to work with competitors. Even one conversation per week can surface insights no dashboard will. Which of these 5 shifts will you focus on this month? Drop your pick in the comments or share how you’re already putting it into practice. 👇 #LIPostingDayJune #TheGrowthLeader #Leadership #StrategyExecution

A newly formed strategy always seems to hold the promise of driving organizational change, moving us someplace better, and delivering more significant results.   Unfortunately, the reality is that most strategies still fall short of their expectations, with critical missteps occurring before any actual work gets done. And it happens in the strategy rollout process.   What gets missed at this process stage is irreplaceable because it forms the foundation for the entire execution management process. Understanding the role execution plays in alleviating the missteps involved in these failures is crucial for leadership teams.   A lack of alignment and clarity within organizations is a major reason strategies fail. This is both an issue of communication and active involvement. George Bernard Shaw captured it best when he stated, "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."    Here's how the miscommunication typically begins:   The organization holds a "strategy rollout meeting" with one-way communication and PowerPoint slide decks. Some make it fun with a theatrical-like presentation. The way the strategy gets presented is not the issue.   The issue is where the strategy process for most of the organization stops.   A presentation was made, questions answered, and company leaders walked away, thinking they had effectively communicated it. While they did "tell" the strategy, they completely failed to connect it to their people.    Team members attending these rollout sessions sit and listen attentively; most are curious and interested in the points they can understand. At its conclusion, they clap and think, "That's wonderful. Let us know when we get there."   Not surprisingly, they return to work and continue doing exactly what they’ve always done.   This is where the strategy comes to a screeching halt.   It's what happens next, after the rollout meeting, that lays the groundwork for effectively managing execution. Let's add that critical step.   Each manager and supervisor must meet with their immediate direct reports. These meetings are collaborative, creating an active dialogue about the strategy. Five important steps are accomplished:   1) The strategic initiatives presented by leadership are openly discussed and redefined so their intent is fully understood 2) The team identifies the initiatives they believe they can impact, and they discuss how to do that 3) The initiatives are then rewritten as a team in a common language 4) Goals and metrics are identified  5) Results are documented, and the team's commitment to leadership is made in writing   Ultimately, clarity in communication is achieved. The strategy and plan become known, and everyone is actively engaged.   This is where execution management begins and why leaders must rethink the strategy rollout process.   Don't let your strategy fail before it gets to your people. #ceos #leadership #communication #execution

🐄❓What do an obscure US senator from the 1930s and a cow named Bessie have to do with communicating your strategy? Maybe everything! S.I. Hayakawa, an under-the-radar U.S. senator and scholar from the 1930s, gave us one of the most practical tools for communication I’ve ever seen: the Ladder of Abstraction. It’s a simple concept that can transform how you get your point across. Here’s how it works: At the top of the ladder, we have abstract ideas—like “freedom” or “success.” As we climb down, those ideas become more concrete, turning into examples we can see, touch, or imagine. This is where Hayakawa's example of Bessie the cow comes in. Imagine describing Bessie as simply “a farm animal.” Pretty vague, right? But if you move down the ladder, she becomes “a cow,” and even further down, “Bessie the cow who lives in the barn behind my house.” It’s suddenly more specific and relatable. The Ladder of Abstraction helps us choose the right level(s) of detail based on who we’re talking to and what we're trying to convey. So how does this relate to your business strategy? When you're communicating a big idea, like "improving operational efficiency," it might sound important, but without coming down the ladder, it’s too abstract to act on. The clearer you get—say, by stating a need to reduce customer service call times by 20%—the easier it is for your team to understand and execute, particularly when they can also see up the ladder to understand the “why.” The key to the Ladder of Abstraction is knowing when to start big and abstract and when to get specific so your message hits home - and vice versa. If you stay too high, your ideas feel distant. Go too low too soon, and you lose the bigger picture. Finding that balance is key. Key insights: 🔑 Start with the big picture strategy, but anchor it in specifics that guide action. 🎯 Tailor your communication for both strategic thinkers and the boots on the ground. 🪜 Use the Ladder of Abstraction to clarify your strategy at every level of your organization. Anyone else leveraging this technique? I’d love to hear how you’re using the Ladder of Abstraction to bridge the gap between strategy and execution! #communication #strategy --- ✨ Follow Mistere Advisory for more tips and insight. See the comments for links on the Ladder of Abstraction

Senior leaders carry a silent burden: Strategic responsibility. Most strategies don’t fail in the planning phase. They fail in translation. Not just setting vision. But aligning execution. Building leaders. Sustaining momentum. And here’s the insight most overlook: Strategy only works when your people carry it. Not understand it. Not agree with it. Carry it. 🧠 72% of strategic initiatives fail (McKinsey). 🧠 Only 16% of frontline employees understand company strategy (HBR). That’s not a communication issue. It’s a leadership one. If your business strategy isn’t backed by a leadership strategy, it’s a gamble. Want it to stick? Do these 5 things: 1️⃣ Translate goals into behaviors. Don't just say “prioritize innovation.” Clarify what innovation looks like at each level. 📌 Tip: Use behavioral anchors in strategy rollouts; tie each priority to 1–2 observable team behaviors. 2️⃣ Build leaders who can make decisions under pressure. Strategy means nothing if your managers freeze in the fog. 📌 Tip: Run “battle drills” (what if) leadership scenarios, practice decision making with time pressure, tradeoffs, and limited info. 3️⃣ Make ownership obvious. When it's unclear who’s driving what, execution slows. 📌 Tip: Assign one clear owner per initiative and review progress in weekly team check-ins, not quarterly reports. 4️⃣ Incentivize behaviors, not just outcomes. You can’t drive strategic change by measuring the wrong actions. 📌 Tip: Tie performance reviews to behaviors that reflect your priorities, not just deliverables or numbers. 5️⃣ Audit alignment quarterly. Most organizations revisit strategy once a year. That’s too late. 📌 Tip: Schedule quarterly strategy audits to identify misalignment early and recalibrate execution. The best leaders don’t just talk strategy. They engineer execution. Comment Below: How do you make strategy real for your team? ♻ Repost if you want to lead with more clarity and less chaos. I’m Dan 👊 Follow me for daily posts. I talk about confidence, professional growth and personal growth. ➕ Daniel McNamee

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 “𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀” 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁? A few years ago, I saw a brilliant executive key initiative getting derailed. The leader presented their vision and plan flawlessly to their team. Nods all around. '𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱?' they asked. The room murmured in agreement. Six weeks later: stalled execution, missed milestones. Here's what they learned the hard way: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 ≠ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 When the stakes are high, “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱?” is the wrong question. The right one is: “𝗗𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?” Why this shifts everything: 1️⃣ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Compliant teams will say they "understand" to avoid conflict. Commitment requires them to consciously opt-in. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 When people publicly commit, their brain rewrites the script from "your priority" to "our priority" 3️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝘀 If you can't get commitment, the problem isn't your team, it is probably your case for action How to do this 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: - Replace passive check-ins ("Clear?") with active commitment ("Can I count on you to...?") - Watch for non-verbal tells - hesitation means you haven't made your case - Normalize “I’m not ready to commit yet” as a healthy signal, not disloyalty. - Pre-wire stakeholders before the meeting, so commitment in the room is confirmation, not surprise 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. If you are not asking for commitment, you are just hoping for alignment. When was the last time you explicitly asked for commitment rather than assuming compliance? #OrdinaryResilience #ExecutiveCoaching #Accountability #StrategicExecution #Compliance #Commitment #CHRO #HR #TeamDevelopment