Being Strategic in a Non-Strategic World

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Slightly behind Schedule

I am still working on my “Lessons from the Drop Forge” post promised yesterday. Here is something else instead.

So, you want to be strategic? Who doesn’t?

How can you be a strategic player in a role where not every opportunity challenges you to work in a strategic capacity? Work within your boundaries to demonstrate to your colleagues and team members, and create opportunities that will allow you to add value.

Adding strategic value through HR

Add value by:

Recruiting employees who will engage themselves in the organization and eventually create a work team that is driven by pride and passion for the company and the work they do.
Establish a strong culture built around the core values of the business, and ensure that most, if not all decisions are guided by, and more importantly, drive those values.
Allow room for workers to be innovative, involved, and to have some fun in the work place.
Understand the objectives and plans of the business so that when opportunity knocks, you can present ideas and suggestions that demonstrate your ability to be a strong business partner, and an ally to your peers.
Always communicate: Listen, Discuss, Process and Provide Feedback to all levels (hopefully in a positive light) when the opportunity presents itself.
Use metrics to measure success and recognize and celebrate success stories, large and small.
Manage talent or help in the planning of talent management to direct employees to the best opportunities for them AND the company to take advantage of their skills and knowledge.
Embrace a Global view of the world. No matter how small or large your organization may be, you are no longer competing in one labor market or even one country for talent, or for customers. You are competing against the entire world. Recognize this and understand your competition so you can develop ways to differentiate from them.
Have good management in place to manage good people.
Add value when possible via an exceptional total compensation package. Market the value of each segmented portion of your total compensation portfolio.
Identify the competencies you need to drive your business strategy, and train these at all levels of the organization. Good organizational performance is a team sport.

As an individual:

Develop excellent leadership skills, including people management inside and outside the organization.
Manage your People strategy, including sourcing, the initial selection process, on boarding, etc.
“Walk the Talk” at every opportunity.

Originally posted: November 2007)