Strategic change often stalls after the initial excitement fades, especially when the change involves future scenarios that might be uncertain, unknown, or challenging. Instead of letting all that strategic thinking go to waste, focus on small, immediate actions that fit into existing workflows rather than creating extra work. Don't just inspire people in the moment; start building a culture where you support, empower, and encourage them to welcome and embrace change.

https://swiy.co/go-strategy-to-action

How do you turn strategy into action?

Next month, I’m running a workshop at a strategic leadership forum for an organisation in Melbourne. They bring together their top 100 leaders every six months to work on the big issues facing their organisation. The CEO told me everybody loves those sessions, and they walk out energised and motivated.

But ... Very little changes in practice. The leaders walk out with the best of intentions, ready to roll up their sleeves and put the big ideas into practice. But then life gets in the way. They get caught up in the everyday operational work, so those big ideas get forgotten.

And it’s not surprising. Because those big ideas are new.

And challenging.

And ... well, big!

So it’s easy to put them off until things get quieter, or easier, or less chaotic.

Of course, that never happens!

So how do you turn strategy into action? How do you stop all that great thinking go to waste?

The big mistake leaders make is they try to do too much at once.

They might be excited by the idea. And why not? After all, it was probably their idea! And they can’t see why everybody else is not as excited.

And that’s the problem. For others in their teams - and often even for the leaders themselves - implementing big ideas takes time.

And effort.

And courage.

And a willingness to be uncomfortable.

So it’s not surprising they don’t jump at the chance!

If you don’t have a culture of change agents - where your people are open, willing, or even excited about change - you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.

So what can you do?

First, don’t give up on that big idea! It might be crucial part of your strategy.

But also work on building your culture of change. And that happens one step at a time.

So give them the big picture, but also give them things they can put into action - right now. And ideally, those small actions don’t add to their workload, but slip in as part of their work.

Your goal is not to get other people to do the work for you, but to build a culture where people are open to change.

And there are some really specific things you can do as a leader to start building that culture.

I won’t go into the details here, but I want you to start thinking that way. If your people are slow to change, think first that it might be YOUR fault. Which means you can fix it. You can’t force people to change, but you can create an environment that supports and even rewards them for having that change mindset.

I’m running an online presentation soon. We’ll look at the future of work in four specific areas. And in each, I will give you a practical action you can use to build that culture of change. And of course, in the spirit of this topic, they are things YOU can do easily as well!

It’s free, public, and open to all. So please join us, and invite others in your team and network as well.

https://swiy.co/go-strategy-to-action

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