Practice Four: Shape How Work Gets Done
Shaping how work gets done is where leaders intertwine their teams' daily actions and decisions with the envisioned results and outcomes of their strategy. One of the pitfalls leading to the failure of strategic plans is the tendency of teams to revert to business as usual once a strategy is in place, neglecting the necessary adjustments in their daily tasks. Shaping how work gets done involves proactively defining and guiding processes, behaviors, and culture governing the team's workflow and performance.
Guiding the Flow of Work
Shaping how work gets done empowers team members to execute objectives and tasks within a well-defined framework. This empowerment is channeled through core processes that directly contribute to your team’s strategy and goals, delivering value to your customers and key stakeholders.
Core processes, those repeatable and standardized actions, significantly impact your team's efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. Examples of these core processes encompass:
Sales or Fundraising Process
Production Process
Supply Chain Management
Customer Service
Product Development
Hiring and Onboarding
Financial Management
Managing the Tension
Shaping how work gets done requires a delicate balance of structure. Too much structure can stifle team creativity and engagement, reducing empowerment and slow response to challenges. Conversely, too little structure can result in confusion, lack of direction, and diminished accountability.
Designing Processes to Elevate Performance
The crux of shaping how work gets done lies in designing core processes that nurture and propel high performance. Avoiding processes that constrain, limit initiative, and frustrate team members is crucial. Processes are indispensable, but they must be crafted to encourage the right level of initiative expected from your team.
Navigating the Five Levels of Initiative:
Level One: Team waits for specific instructions before acting.
Level Two: Team seeks guidance on what tasks to perform.
Level Three: Team recommends actions, subject to approval.
Level Four: Team acts independently but reports immediately.
Level Five: Team initiates action but reports routinely.
Every core process demands a specific level of initiative to foster the desired performance. When designing these processes:
Define the appropriate level of initiative from the outset.
Set clear goals and outcomes for each core process.
Involve high performers in the design process.
Align processes with your team’s strengths.
Simplify processes wherever possible.
Embracing the Wayfinder Approach
At Wayfinder, we are deeply committed to empowering leaders to chart a clear path to success and navigate it effectively. We equip your team with the skills and tools to achieve strategic and lasting results. Wayfinder stands beside you, offering insights, tangible guidance, training, and tools for success.
Are you prepared to embark on this transformative journey? If your answer is a resounding yes, take the next decisive step by connecting with us now. Your expedition toward strategic success awaits.