Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Creating strategy-supportive corporate culture - what is culture? - where does it come from? - strong v. weak cultures Creating good fit between strategy & culture Building ethical values & support into culture Driving implementation through strategic leadership Leading the process of corrective adjustments

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Culture is a set of shared values, attitudes a way of life. Patterns of how we do things around here, the company lore
Unique to business philosophy, principles & strategymanifested in values, practices, standards & policies.. Can originate anywhere but usually founders & leaders

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Can be a very powerful tool in implementation process - system of informal values, peer pressures, standards & culturally acceptable behaviour & identification with strategy & vision

Can energise org. in strategy-supportive way Sizeable mismatch weakens management actions

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Emergent & embedded cultures Multiple cultures & sub-cultures Strong / adaptive / entrepreneurial cultures
Weak / unadaptive cultures

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Culture reinforced through value system, reward system, co. lore, ceremonies, rites Continuity of leadership, small size, stable groups, geographic concentration & org. success all contribute to strong culture. Being overly political, hostile to change, not valuing initiative & leadership, complacency & insular thinking all contribute to weak cultures.

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership Creating the fit between strategy & culture
Strategy-makers responsibility Strategy-implementers responsibility Need for symbolic & substantive actions Not a short-term exercise

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Building ethical standards & values into the culture Principles that guide decisions / behaviour of managers wrt whether they are morally right / wrong Caring about how you do business Reinforce values through screening, indoctrination, training, tradition, code of ethics, structure, compliance mechanisms, mgt endorsement, word of mouth...

Strategic Leadership
Many different roles to play as leader 1. Staying on top of what is happening 2. Promote culture that energises org to perform well 3. Keep org responsive to change & opportunities 4. Consensus-building & containing power struggles 5. Enforce ethical standards 6. Corrective actions nb to improve execution & performance

Implementing Strategy - Culture & Leadership

Creatively adapting & reshaping strategy to unfolding events Interactive process of looping, recycling & finetuning - continually evolving process.. Best test of good strategic leadership - improving business performance - agility - good place to work