Culture eats strategy for breakfast… but communication is the bread and butter people forget

In my 15 odd year career to date, I’ve spent most of my time helping businesses with strategy (what we need to do) and operating (how are we going to do it) questions. And I’ve found it often quoted that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” (thank you Peter Drucker). 

And whilst I don’t disagree - in fact I believe a strategy which is un-executable because you don’t have the behaviours to execute it isn’t a realistic strategy at all - there’s one fundamental behaviour that will stop you in your tracks before you’ve even started planning.

Communication. 

But wait, I hear you cry, we talk all the time. 

Great, I say, but what are you talking about, and how are you talking about it? 

The most impactful teams that I’ve worked with do five things that help them identify, solve and execute strategic questions and operational issues effectively : 

1. They talk about talking

• Are we talking about the right ‘thing’?

• Are we having the conversation in the most impactful way?

• Have we identified any taboos and called out the elephants and spades? 

• Have we learnt something or has something changed that means we should change how we talk about this thing or what it is we’re talking about?

1. They disagree without being disagreeable 

• When you put a bunch of smart, experienced and opinionated people in a room, you’ll get a bunch of entirely different perspectives of the problem, and potential solutions 

• The most effective teams disagree without being disagreeable, and that doesn’t just involve the phrase “I respectfully disagree”

• It means listening curiously and seeking to understand what the other voices and views are bringing, understanding whether it is the fact, the combination of the facts, or a closely held belief that you are ultimately divided over

• Recognize that consensus does not necessarily mean agreement. And that that can be ok.  

1. They call the ball

• Effective decision making and executional teams take responsibility of their area of the pitch, especially when people are playing multiple roles or could cover the same area

• AND they take ownership of the things that go awry when the ball gets dropped, fumbled, missed, kicked long etc. 

1. They ‘over’ communicate:

• Simple things like stating agreement (sounds obvious) help add clarity and avoid confusion or assumptions. 

• Often, our thinking outpaces activity, and even great leaders forget that things take time and deciding something or saying it once doesn’t immediately make it so 

• A great communication strategy, and one that can be helpful to bake into your culture, includes the elements ‘Repeat, repeat, repeat’, and updating even if there’s ‘No new news’

How does your team communicate, and how is it helping you or holding you back? What else do you do together that sets you up for success? 

I help leadership teams work out what they need to do next, and how they’re going to do it, so they can be a better business, faster. Have a strategic or operating question? I’d love to hear from you.