Establishing a Leadership Forum improves Communication, Alignment & Learning
The concept of assisting our client organizations to develop and establish an extended “Leadership Forum” (effectively the top-3 tiers in the organisation) is based on what we have recognised as an increasing business and organisational imperative to ensure deeper and more cross functional engagement in the strategic and operational agenda. There are three compelling reasons to establish a Leadership Forum in your business…:
- to improve Communication (information exchange rather than 1-way flows) and the mutual understanding/interpretation thereof;
- to ensure Goal Alignment relating to the strategic plan & business priorities for the financial year under consideration; and
- to nurture organisational & leadership learning and development (building leadership, technical and functional capabilities that are linked to real time experience and future orientated innovation).
Typically, communication within organizations tends to be a reactive, top-down, functionally driven and one-way process.
Much of the information flows that fill line manager’s email in-boxes tend to be in response to operational tasks that are both planned and un-planned. The messages that get passed around rely on individuals’ insights and abilities to manage work flows, prioritise tasks and manage their own time and resources.
With our networked and increasingly matrix organisations (access to shared folders and intranet sites), the over reliance on electronic communication tools, we have under-estimate the value of face-to-face conversations. A Leadership Forum is all about Dialogue, and achieving greater consensus on a shared reality and common business priorities.
There is real value in investing in a recurring Leadership Forum for your top 3-tiers of managers where you: create time to “think about your thinking” (peer review of the issues that you are faced with, the assumptions that you are making, and the decisions that you are taking); to reflect on the implications this has for your leadership practices (and the culture that you want to entrench); and to talk about information and concepts that relate to the ‘future-as-yet-to-be-created’ business (products, processes, infrastructures, systems, etc) and organisation (capabilities, resources, structures, etc) that will be required in the future.
We have partnered with a number of multi-national clients to establish their own bespoke Leadership Forum in support of their business strategy. Should you be interested in learning more about our approach… Please contact Sean Germond at info@pygmalion.co.za