When we do Organization Alignment Consulting with a leadership team, we always recommend some coaching with the team’s leader – before, during, and after the change initiative.
Some of the coaching is spent making sure they fully understand the Organization Alignment process and have time to think through the steps before engaging in these discussions with their team:
• Identifying key stakeholders – customers, suppliers, senior leaders, team members, etc.
• Identifying forces in the environment that are drivers of change
• Assessing the organization’s current reputation with its most important customers and valued partners
• Identifying the organization’s desired reputation (core values)
• Identifying strategies for closing gaps between the organization’s desired reputation and its current reputation
• Identifying structures, processes, systems, and roles that need to be strengthened to implement new strategies
• Identifying changes in the organization’s culture (leadership, communication, decision-making, teamwork, recognition, etc.) that need to change so that the strategies will be perceived by key stakeholders
Often the coaching also focuses on potential changes in roles and responsibilities, changes to reporting relationships, or process changes. And in most cases it also focuses on developing a communication strategy – helping the senior leader communicate with individuals, teams, and the entire organization about what’s changing, why it’s changing, and how important they are in making the change successful.
In some organizations we also do this type of coaching with other key leaders, especially if their team will play a critical role in implementing changes.