For individuals and organizations, the beginning of the year is a great time to reset and recalibrate goals. For those involved with socially conscious endeavors, we all know that change doesn’t happen overnight. Audacious impact is incredibly challenging. Over time, there are growing concerns involving environmental stability, poverty, public education, job automation, globalization and other societal issues. Yet history shows us that audacious social impact can succeed. Unfortunately, success never results from a silver bullet -- it takes collaboration, prioritization, performance monitoring and talent management, among other things.
Collaboration: Although most organizations have vision and mission statements, few use them to effectively link strategy, operations and people processes to drive performance or outcome-based results. In the absence of a collaborative strategy, organizations often misallocate their limited financial and people resources. Collaborative strategic alignment is a critical component for initiating sustainable change that results in improving social impact.
Prioritization: Organizations that fail in effective planning and prioritization of outcomes often fall short of their long-term goals. Without a robust and inclusive prioritization process, organizations struggle with getting multiple stakeholders to support the implementation of its goals, projects and programs, respectfully. Prioritization and “stakeholder developed” theories-of-action provide the foundation for performance or outcome-based results.
Performance (data-driven) monitoring: Data driven decision making through Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) is a foundational path to a results-driven organization. Organizations that differentiate themselves have an integrated feedback loop that links long-term goals to short-term performance indicators. Likewise, socially conscious organizations that manage and monitor performance improve accountability and visibility into implementation effectiveness.
Talent Management: Human capital accounts for a large percentage of operating expenses. Without talent alignment, fiefdoms and silos dilute accountability and impede an organization’s ability to implement a strategy. Talent management, with cascaded performance objectives, aligns and improves individual’s accountability to the organization and to each other.
With intention, small steps and discipline, individuals and organizations can begin to form sustaining habits. Understanding and acting on these elements can help reset and recalibrate to achieve the audacious impact you seek.
Agree?