When it comes to structure, too many times this is one of the primary culprits for causing even the best strategies to fail. It is caused by either one of two things. First, they have an operating model that will not enable the strategy to be successful. For example, if a company has multiple product lines and they need to give autonomy to them to make their own decisions due to not having to share resources and they still have a functional structure. By having a structure that is not in alignment to the strategy, will inevitably have issues. The other cause is, you guessed it, leadership alignment. When the organization operates in silos, it ultimately results in a company that can never achieve its strategy. If the structure and the top of the hierarchy is not supportive of the goals and objectives, then we must redesign the cylinders that are not firing in the right order.

To manage these silos there are three things that are common of all leaders of the organization:

 #1 Goals – This is where the strategic objectives become the leaderships team’s bond. They own them and use a lateral process, a strategy meeting, where they track the results and manage the progress.

#2 Metrics – Common metrics are all managed as opposed to separate metrics by a division or department that they individually manage. By having common metrics, there is a higher probability of achieving the organization’s goals.

#3 Behaviors – Behaviors are driven by how we are measured. If we know we will be measured on the number or widgets we produce, we will produce the maximum we can. If we are measured on quality with velocity, then we will get both volume and quality products. When it comes to the leadership team, the metrics that are developed to manage the strategy become common metrics for everyone. They may have sub metrics for their department or divisions, but these metrics will drive common behaviors needed to achieve the company’s goals and overall strategy.