In times of uncertainty, strategy work is more important than ever. It can even be a key that drives engagement for change. Kajsa Asplund, psychologist and expert in motivation and commitment in working life, states that there is a clear pattern among those who succeed.
The strategy is one of the most important tools for taking the business in the direction set by management. It helps us make decisions, guides and provides support in how to prioritize and focus on the right things.
But it is not uncommon for strategy work to get stuck in a fancy Power Point from the management team, while everyday work continues as usual. Why does this often happen?
Translate strategy into action
– All companies know that strategy is important. But for it to become a tool for change, it must be clear, easy to communicate and translated into actual action, explains Kajsa Asplund, psychologist and Ph.D. in business administration from Stockholm School of Economics.
Kajsa Asplund has guided companies and also researched issues related to commitment and motivation in working life. She has noticed that there are a number of factors that are important for the strategy to become a useful tool for change.
This is Kajsa Asplund
Psychologist and PhD from Stockholm School of Economics.
Her research focused on the effects of talent management on employees. Author of the popular science book Talang för människor (“Talent for Humans”), published in 2019.
Currently, Kajsa is Lead People Science at the Swedish HR tech company Alva Labs, and writing on her new book which will center on soft skills.
– The key to bringing the strategy to life is to translate it into actual action. My strong experience is that it is easier if the strategy is simple, easy to grasp and comprehend, she says.
One powerful image
Most companies have a strategy, but it is not always stated. Moreover, there can sometimes be misunderstandings and different views about it even in the management team.
It is therefore important to start by clarifying the strategy: What is the challenge we face as a company? How can we address that challenge? What makes us unique – why us, and why right now?
– Ideally, boil down the strategy to one powerful image that clarifies the answer to these questions. It can be in the form of three points, a flowchart, a pyramid or whatever suits the message. Those who are good at living their strategy have found an easy way to talk about their strategy and do it consistently in all contexts so that it becomes clear and understandable to everyone in the business, says Kajsa Asplund.
Affects everyday work
Clarity makes it easier for employees to understand and see their part in the strategy, but also to see what concrete changes a new strategy entails. But the weak point of strategy work, which always requires a lot of work, is behavior.
A new strategy is of no use if it does not have an impact on the work. It requires new ways of doing things – in the actual projects, meetings with customers and collaboration between colleagues.
Therefore, you need to talk about how the strategy affects everyday work. Which behaviors do we want to see more of, which lead us in the right direction? What should we do less of? How do I need to change my way of acting? And what obstacles are there to breaking habitual patterns?
– This is an important perspective in the implementation phase, especially for managers and leaders. Managers at all levels need to receive coaching in order to guide their teams in the right direction. Make sure to highlight educational examples that concretize the strategy, but also confirm and show how each person contributes in different ways to bringing the strategy to life, emphasizes Kajsa Asplund.
Five crucial areas
Kajsa Asplund highlights five areas that are crucial to creating commitment to the strategy:
- The sense of we. An important part of feeling committed to the business’s goals and mission is to sense that you are part of something unique. What does the strategy mean to me, how can I contribute? The strategy also needs to highlight the uniqueness of the business – the team, the technology or the expertise – and the feeling that this is something you do together.
- Psychological safety. Through her research, Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership at Harvard Business School, has focused on psychological safety as a key factor for commitment. Being safe, being able to be yourself and feeling that you are listened to, accepted and respected plays a major role in how you act in the workplace. The lack of psychological safety can therefore be an obstacle to the strategy having an impact in everyday life.
- How hierarchical is the business? Feeling like a “cog in the machine” is a real commitment killer. Research shows that organizations characterized by steep hierarchies where there is a large difference in status between employees have a harder time achieving high levels of engagement. The organization needs to create a leadership where managers coach and provide conditions for their employees to contribute with their engagement. And to clarify how everyone contributes together to reach the overall goals.
- What consequences does a behavior have? If the business wants to encourage innovation, creativity and experimentation, this can be inhibited if there is a culture where failures lead to reprimands or even have consequences in career development. Find structures to confirm and highlight positive examples of behaviors, decisions and actions that are in line with the new strategy – and become aware of the consequences that inhibit the behaviors you want to see more of.
- Autonomy. Autonomy means that you feel that you can influence your work, that you get to be involved in making decisions, can contribute with your own ideas – and act independently. This is where the strategy comes to life and functions as a tool that drives the organisation in the right direction. There is a clear road that starts with a clear strategy that everyone understands and commits to, via psychological safety and behavioral change that leads up to autonomy.
Strategy in times of constant change
In an unstable world characterized by great uncertainty with AI, tariffs, trade routes, wars and unrest, Kajsa Asplund feels that many companies are taking a wait-and-see approach right now. This is also something that affects strategy work.
– The global situation makes it difficult to navigate and we see that many are holding back with investments and decisions. Some of this is warranted, of course. But what if uncertainty is the new normal? Here I believe that leaders and organizations must dare to act and find strategies for how they as an organization handle a new world that is both complex and unpredictable.
“For a strategy to become reality you need to build understanding all the way through the organisation. Leaders need tools to talk about the strategy in their own words and then, together with their teams, translate it into what it means in everyday work. It’s hard work, but when everyone understands and feels they can contribute, the whole organisation pulls in the same direction.”
Siri Wikander, Chief Strategy Officer, Beyond Talking
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Reading suggestion from Kajsa Asplund: Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters BY Richard Rumelt