Maintaining strategic focus throughout the organisation is one of the most difficult challenges faced by those responsible for implementing
strategy in a hotel.
In addition to the loss of clarity that occurs as directives and priorities make their way through the organisation, intent can be clouded by shifts and changes in the market. By the time a message reaches decision-makers, their tactical choices can easily overlook the brand and delay the strategy.
Directors often make
several mistakes that can lead to the loss of integrity in strategic messages as they cascade through the organisation:
Failing to involve lower-level managers in strategic planning
Third- and fourth-level managers often bring perspectives based on their frontline experience that are not obvious to senior leaders. Drawing on their input can help make strategic decisions that are better suited to real market and operational conditions.
Furthermore, participating in the strategic decision-making process ensures that mid-level leaders truly understand the strategic intent. It enables them to become what are known as "alignment leaders" within the organisation.
Misalignment between metrics and behaviour.
Are your metrics and KPIs truly driving your strategy? If not, consider how you can leverage and realign your tactics and, if necessary, your reward systems to create a motivating effect that helps keep employees on track.
This requires mid-level managers to clearly communicate what is required and to use metrics and behavioural indicators effectively as motivational levers to guide behaviour.
Communicating exclusively through data and logic.
It is important to use data and logic in communication, but do not overlook the power of storytelling. Stories capture people’s attention and imagination, allowing them to experience messages indirectly in a visceral way that makes learning and recall easier.
Leaders can share stories that illustrate what success looks like and how it is achieved. Stories do not have to be epic or lengthy. Even brief descriptions or anecdotes about how change was successfully achieved in the past, who was involved and how their actions aligned with the vision can help communicate how you expect change to happen.
Maintaining overly rigid organisational boundaries.
Successful strategy implementation requires teamwork across the levels, functions, divisions and departments of a hotel. Breaking down the barriers between these different parts creates checks and balances and facilitates the kind of interactive problem-solving and innovation often needed to remain aligned with the strategy. It helps ensure that parts of an organisation do not begin working at cross-purposes.
As leaders across all levels and functions collaborate with one another, they often develop strategic solutions that can be used in other hotel departments. This type of cross-sharing can give a hotel an extremely powerful advantage in successfully implementing its strategy.
Remaining on a pedestal, disconnected from reality.
Misalignment does not always flow from the top down. Sometimes, the strategy itself can become misaligned when it fails to take into account the day-to-day reality of the hotel organisation or the market.
As a director, it is worth taking time to understand how things work at every level of the organisation. A strategy is merely a hope unless it is embraced and implemented on the front lines. Having that connection to the daily lives of all employees is invaluable both for creating viable strategies and for securing buy-in across the organisation.
It is the director’s responsibility to keep the lines clear so that the intended results can be achieved. To do this, you must proactively take the necessary steps to maintain alignment between the strategy and its implementation.
