BlueApricot

I was at a meeting yesterday when someone said, “I help businesses with their strategic planning”. Naturally, as a strategic planner myself, I was curious about the method/model she uses. She mentioned she typically undertakes a SWOT analysis (identifying, preferably with key stakeholders including the staff, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and providing the client company with recommendations for implementing agreed goals and actions. Uhm. This sounded fairly simple and I like the KIS (keep it simple)principle but in my heart I know simplicity and leading change are not that compatible.

To begin with, inevitably you have an organizational leader who may be dissatisfied with the status quo but that’s not the same as having the motivation (or stomach) for acting on change needs. Many CEOs are fairly protective of their own “baby”, no matter how much crying goes on! After all, in many cases they are the company’s founder who started a business from an idea, some of their own money and the kindness of a few supportive friends who believed in the CEO, or at least in the idea of making money.

Fast forward a few years when a company experiences internal and external changes it has not bargained for: changing markets, personnel problems, talent drain, high expectations from employees for rewards and recognition, new top team members with different views of the priorities etc etc Communication and gaining clarity become challenging. What is the leader to do?

For sure, he or she should be willing to open up a candid dialogue with all staff about the current and future state of the company. But noone should ignore or minimize how such conversations can throw up a sense of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, aggression, posturing and human behaviors that Shakespeare and many others have written plots and plays galore. Seriously, ‘organizational change strategy’sounds awfully rational when any change management effort will always - yes – I say always – throw up irrational behavior among leaders and employees alike.

For that reason, strategic planning facilitation involves much more than doing a SWOT analysis and coming up with an executable plan. Over-intellectualizing the process will not get you very far. After all, at the end of the day, change in human systems i.e. organizations calls for emotional self awareness and emotional management. Leaders need to take a hard look at themselves and test their own motivation to change the staus quo. After all, the change will be an emotional journey many CEOs would prefer to skip!