What is True Executive Leadership?

• July 12, 2021

Meaningful executive leadership takes the promises a company makes in its advertising, website, and annual report and turns them into actionable strategic plans.  A few years ago, Dissolve, a stock-footage and video resource created a “generic brand video” on YouTube, which has had almost 3 million views.  It’s a spoof of every corporate video ever produced, including the voiceover announcer saying, “Equality, Innovation, Honesty, and Advancement are all words we choose from a list.”  It’s a humorous but important example of something we’re all occasionally guilty of – corporate-speak which sounds portentous and important… and doesn’t mean a thing. 

Think Like an Organization That Knows What is Most Important

Does your executive leadership give meaning to those strategic words?  Are they a directional compass for your organization or just important-sounding language to please your stakeholders?  Imagine you’re the head of a non-profit Cancer organization such as the American Cancer Society.  Your Vision would be clear to everyone you work with and everyone you do business with:  End cancer.  That immediately defines a possible Mission:  To find a cure, say, or to get people to stop smoking, or to improve diagnostic rates.  Any one of those Missions will lead to a cure — it’s up to the executive leadership to clarify and communicate the path everyone follows. That’s the power and responsibility of true executive leadership. 

Vision, Mission, and Values — OH, MY!

When we lead a Strategic Alignment Process™ the first thing we do is survey your direct reports and ask them what they think your Vision, Mission, and top Strategic Objectives are.  The truly sad thing is that we never get the same answers from the senior leadership team members (really – try it yourself with your team).  That is why getting everyone on the same page is so essential.  When we bring your team together for the Strategic Alignment Process™ and everyone works through that question, the way forward becomes clearly agreed upon by the team and can be communicated easily.

What Makes a Great Leader?

It’s a simple and very important process that is essential for being a great leader: Getting everyone on your team and in the organization into alignment with the Vision, Mission, and Values.  Keeping the company moving towards your most important goals and objectives consistent with the Vision, Mission and Values is the key to delivering as a great leader.  Staying current, congruent, and aligned with your strategic direction requires a quarterly tune-up with your team.  A 3 to 4-hour quarterly Strategic Alignment tune-up session keeps everyone clear, focused, and productive in delivering what really matters.  Everything becomes easier: Leading. Managing. Strategizing. Prioritizing. Decision-Making.  And add in significantly improved productivity and profits too!

To learn more on how to optimize your decision-making process, schedule an intro call at OptimizeCalendar.com

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