Seth Kahan on Leadership // Monday Morning Mojo
All Aboard!
Train ConductorWhy does the conductor yell, "All aboard?" Because it doesn't really matter where the train is going if the passengers are not on the train! Are you doing what it takes to help your people get on board?

Whether you are issuing a change in direction or just expecting everyone to have strategic clarity so they can make the right daily decisions to move your organization forward, you need a process for getting everyone on board. Here's a simple four-point plan:

1. Start with the senior team, the VPs, and ensure there is strategic clarity - i.e., a common understanding of the organization's priorities in simple-to-say, easy to grasp terms.

2. Work closely with senior managers (VPs in a small organization) to establish best practices and expectations for convening their respective units and discussing how they contribute to the strategic priorities. Set a deadline for when this will be done.

3. Conduct an all staff meeting that allows everyone to speak. No talking heads. Distribute the priorities in advance to all staff and ask them to put on a knowledge fair or information marketplace that shows others how they are supporting the strategic priorities in their group. Make it fun. Let people wander around. Give away some awards for best presentation, most fun, most creative.

4. Provide a talking points toolkit and FAQ to all managers, helping them to have an interactive conversation with their subordinates. The focus of the conversation: to create a solid line between their subordinates' day-to-day operations and achievement of the organization's strategic priorities.

Make this an annual sequence to ensure staff stay on track, or initiate it when there is a substantial change. Then you will be sure to have everyone contributing what they can to take your organization forward.
Read Seth's Regular Columns VisionaryLeadership.com
Follow Seth
Seth Kahan - Visionary Leadership
PO Box 380 Glen Echo, Maryland, USA, 20812
Tel: 301.229.2221 | Email: Seth@Visionaryleadership.com
� 2010 Seth Kahan. All rights reserved