{"id":50569,"date":"2020-06-25T21:33:16","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T01:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=50569"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:09:12","slug":"leadership-effectiveness-business-strategy","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/leadership-effectiveness-business-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Linking Business Strategy and Leadership Strategy for Better Business Outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all done it: Sat through a required course in high school or college and quickly forgotten what we learned.<\/p>\n

Too often, the same thing happens with leadership training. The course may be interesting \u2014 even inspiring \u2014 but have little impact on our behavior or effectiveness when we return to work.<\/p>\n

Even the best organizations struggle with this problem. Well-designed leadership development experiences get high end-of-program evaluations, but they fail to produce changes in individual or organizational performance. Why is this?<\/p>\n

Simply put, individual learning doesn\u2019t often translate into organizational change. In order to behave differently, our research shows that leaders need support from their immediate superiors to put to use what they’ve learned. Moreover, to impact organizational performance, both the individual leader and the organization need to change.<\/p>\n

How to Link Business Strategy and Leadership Development<\/h2>\n

\u201cOrganizational performance is tied to how work gets done; if we don\u2019t change the way work gets done, we’ll get the same results we’ve always gotten, regardless of how effective the individual leader might be,\u201d explains William Pasmore, a CCL senior vice president and advisor to CEOs, boards, and senior teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a ‘both-and<\/em>‘ proposition; leaders must change how they lead, and<\/em> the organization must change its work processes,\u201d Pasmore adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo reap the full value of leadership development, someone has to be thinking about engaging the entire system, not just having people learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best way to increase organizational effectiveness?\u00a0Create a leadership strategy that helps leaders learn how to execute business priorities.<\/p>\n

Then you\u2019ll be in a better position to design leadership development experiences with the right content and methods to really move the needle on performance.<\/p>\n

Getting Back to Business Strategy (and Leadership)<\/h2>\n

\u201cEveryone understands the need for a well-defined business strategy, but few organizations have taken the time to develop a leadership strategy,\u201d says Pasmore.\u00a0\u201cWhen organizations define the competencies and behaviors needed from their leadership team, they have a much greater chance of achieving their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a leadership strategy starts with identifying the key leadership drivers that will determine long-term success<\/a> for your organization. For a budget retailer, affordability might be your priority. For a high-end restaurant, your focus is likely on the customer experience. Most manufacturers would have quality and efficiency on their list.<\/p>\n

Deciding on these key drivers will require careful thought and discussions among people who know your business, inside and out. But once you\u2019ve done the work, it will be easier to see the link between the success (or failure) of your business strategy and leadership effectiveness.<\/p>\n

\nRead our white paper Reset Your Organization for the Post-COVID Future<\/a> and learn research-based guidance on steps to take to prosper in the changing world that lies ahead.\n<\/div>\n

A \u201cFuture Perfect\u201d Leadership Culture<\/h2>\n

One helpful tool in developing a leadership strategy is to envision a \u201cfuture perfect\u201d state for transforming your organization<\/a> and its leadership culture. You do this by asking questions such as:<\/p>\n