As association leaders, we know it’s a vital part of your work to be on the lookout for the latest strategies and best practices to implement a vision across your organization. Without a strategic vision on where you’re going, it will be impossible to get there! This has a negative impact on your staff and your members. Navigating change and effectively communicating with your teams during the process will determine success and avoid the challenges. Taking this down to the simplest tactics, it comes down to execution against the vision.
Read our blog for three best practice strategies on how to effectively communicate and implement a vision at your association.
3 steps to successfully executing at your association
Naveen Jain is an Indian American entrepreneur, business executive, founder, and the former CEO of InfoSpace. When asked about success, he said this: “Success doesn’t necessarily come from breakthrough innovation but from flawless execution. A great strategy alone won’t win a game or a battle; the win comes from basic blocking and tackling.”
Jain’s perspective highlights the importance of proper execution in achieving success, emphasizing that even the most brilliant strategies require diligent implementation to yield results. Here’s how you can apply this principle to your leadership:
1. Focus on the execution of excellence
In my opinion, it’s wise to prioritize flawless execution over groundbreaking innovation. Rather than focusing on skills your team hasn’t yet learned, invest in what your staff knows and perfect those skills. You can always work on incrementally improving someone’s skills, but I also strongly believe that you can’t train a fundamental weakness out of someone.
Do so by ensuring your staff understands the importance of executing tasks with precision and attention to detail. You’ll want to emphasize the value of consistency and reliability in delivering results across departments. Communication and clarity becomes key here in order to help drive overall excellence.
2. Embrace fundamental practices
When working towards success in executing a vision, I’ve found it most helpful to have my teams focus on fundamental tasks. Sometimes it truly is “back to basics” so that you can rebuild a foundation that can be built upon. Apple, for example, focused on minimalist designs that allowed for intuitive use. It is a core tenant of theirs that started from their slogan “It just works”. There is no reason your teams can’t adopt a similar back to basic practices.
Begin by encouraging your team to prioritize basic tasks such as planning, organization, and follow-through. Remind your staff that success often stems from mastering these foundational elements rather than pursuing complex strategies.
3. Foster a culture of accountability
As you work to effectively communicate your vision with your team, try holding each team member accountable for their role in executing the strategy.
Do so by establishing clear expectations and milestones for each team project or initiative. Regularly review staff progress and provide feedback to ensure that everyone is aligned with your overarching goals and objectives. Clarity allows for the confidence that everyone is doing what is necessary to perform towards one vision.
When you emphasize flawless execution and the importance of best practices, you can empower your team to achieve success consistently. Remember, while innovative strategies may capture attention, it is the disciplined execution of those strategies that ultimately determines the outcome of how you implement your vision.
