Leadership Diagnostic: Unlocking Human Competence for Effective Strategy Execution

Abstract

Despite unprecedented technological advancement, people remain the most important resource for businesses to execute strategy. Yet, research reports that not all businesses ensure the optimum functioning of their people. This is evident from reports on (a) low levels of employee engagement, (b) deployed positions do not utilise peoples’ ‘competence’, (c) leadership lacks information linking employees to strategy execution and resultant business performance, (d) measuring employees’ contribution to business performance more readily at the tactical and operational levels than the strategic level of measurement, and (e) failure of strategy execution. Neglecting people is an enigma as leadership has long honed tools to make the most of their employees. One such tool is people analytics and another is strategy shaping. Consequently, we explored businesses use of people analytics in strategy execution, the vehicle ensuring business performance. This paper reports on the study. A literature review integrated strategy and people analytics culminating in a diagnostic which leadership can use to unlock human competence. An empirical study followed. Limited empirical evidence on the topic justified an exploratory survey which utilised an online questionnaire to collect vast amounts of standardised data from a purposively selected sample as best fit, which is uncommon. The data were descriptively analysed. The findings (a) showed that strategic level measurement is present at all levels of strategy shaping, and (b) overlooked at the business operational level where strategy is translated and executed, (c) revealed that these overlooked measurements are consequential for unlocking human competence, and (d) illustrated how people link to strategy execution. These findings provide preliminary evidence necessitating further descriptive and explanatory studies. This diagnostic provides requisite information enabling leadership to optimise the functioning of their employees by deploying suitably competent people in appropriate positions, rendering them available to perform, resulting in higher engagement levels, enhancing effective strategy execution, and improving business performance. This study contributes knowledge by demonstrating how people link to strategy execution, enabling leadership to make better decisions by discerning and selecting the critical people measures ensuring strategy execution and thus, business performance.

Leadership Development Programs Today: A Guide to Effective Strategy Execution or Fads du Jour?

“…Business skills include: Planning (to foresee the future by setting the direction as stated in vision, mission, and goal statements and drafting action plans to realize the future), organizing (bolstering human and other resources of the enterprise), command (directing employees and their interaction), coordination (harmonizing all activities and effort throughout the enterprise), control/monitor (ensuring everything occurs as planned), decision-making, communication, and motivation which rely on cognitive abilities, rather than the ability to deal with people (CIPD, 2022a; Hogan and Warrenfeltz, 2003). However, to meet business/performance goals, leaders need the cooperation of people in a coordinated fashion (Morkel, Nienaber and McNeill, 2021;Nienaber and McNeill, 2022;Skivington and Daft, 1991). Furthermore, who wants to follow a leader who is incompetent or impotent?…”

“…In total, six responses from diverse industries partly address accomplishing coordination and cooperation that align key actions fulfilling strategic intent, as discussed (Nienaber and McNeill, 2022;Skivington and Daft, 1991). However, most of these responses signify that leaders neglect human competence as a major organizational resource to attain performance.…”

“…Competitive advantage signifies that the organization offers customer value either at a lower cost than or differentiated from the competition (Porter, 1985). Competitive advantage arises from leaders accomplishing coordination and cooperation that align key actions fulfilling strategic intent (Nienaber and McNeill, 2022;Skivington and Daft, 1991). In essence, coordination and cooperation facilitate value-creating activities which depend on (a) the competitive market that the organization elects to serve, (b) customer value -whether economic, functional, psychological, or a combination, and (c) access to resources to provide customer value (Nienaber and McNeill, 2022).…”

“…However, a primary and repeated reason for the strategy implementation failure is the physical or psychological 'unavailability' of people to implement strategy (Bourgeois and Brodwin, 1984;Gallup, 2021;Kahn, 1990;Nienaber and McNeill, 2022;Pfeffer in Leavy, 2016). Furthermore, it is maintained that leaders do not know how people link to strategy (Hamilton and Sodeman, 2020;Marler and Boudreau, 2017).…”