Over the years I have worked in a diverse range of industries – from the primary sector to retail and beyond.
What I have come to learn as being an absolute truism is that irrespective of business type/ industry sector, there are many organisations failing to evolve simply due to the degree of conflict and in-fighting that plagues their operation.
It is clear to me that the more effective leaders can be in minimising conflict and in-fighting within their organisation, the more productive that organisation will be; and the greater the distance that organisation will travel in an evolutionary sense.
In short, leaders need to step-up and lead, or back-down and be prepared to tow the line – and be led by others instead; and stakeholders who are being led need to back/ support their leaders – not challenge them at every crossroad.
The over-arching document that should define and guide the activities of all stakeholders within an organisation is its Strategic Plan. Once adopted, this all important document should be shared with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that all of these people know what the direction is and how they are instrumental in helping their organisation achieve the objectives within. Along the way leaders need to take a tough line with those stakeholders who refuse to tow the line and support the set direction of the organisation. Failure to do so will result in these outlier “rebels” attracting an unnecessary proportion of governance time/ energy in trying to influence them to come onside – most often resulting in no change in the behaviour of the given stakeholder.
Minimise in-fighting and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much faster and more positively your organisation evolves – and achieves its set strategic objectives.