From Legacy to Leading Edge:

A Leadership Blueprint for Digital and Business Transformation

Chapter 5: Strategy

Abdullah came to the coffee shop and discovered that John was not there. He decided to wait for five minutes and leave if John did not arrive so he could use his morning more effectively rather than waiting for his mentee to arrive.

As Abdullah was about to leave, he heard “Abdullah, … please wait”.

“I am so sorry for being late. I was up till late at night taking down the key points from our previous sessions and thinking about how I would apply them to my work.”, John apologized sincerely.

“I was about to leave, John. Please be here on time, always! Also, a good night's sleep is as important for a good leader as any of the skills that he can bring to the table.”, Abdullah was calm but firm.

“Sure, it won’t happen again.”, John promised.

After this, they settled on a table and ordered their drinks.

Mentoring session 3: Strategy

Strategy alignment flow down

“At the start of every yearly ‘Employee Performance Review’ cycle, how do you set objectives for your team members?” asked Abdullah.

“I usually know the weaknesses of employees, and I try to give them objectives to rectify them. I also give them project objectives that they need to deliver.”, John explained.

“As their manager, you are closest to them and therefore understand their weaknesses. However, with your objective setting, have you seen marked improvements in your employees, year on year?”, Abdullah shot back another question.

John thought about this and responded, “It has mixed results; some team members improve over time, and some people never do”.

“How do you measure this ‘improvement’?”, Abdullah inquired, listening intently.

“I don’t know how to measure people’s improvements. I guess it’s just an experienced judgment.”, John replied.

“How do the employees feel after the end of every review cycle, are they satisfied with the outcomes or do they complain that they are not satisfied?”, Abdullah continued with his line of questioning.

Abdullah had touched his nerve. “I never asked anyone, Abdullah. However, from the number of unhappy emails I get or snide comments from my team, I would say that they are never satisfied. We have limited bonus funds, so not everyone can be deemed ‘Excellent’. I do not believe that I have the best team, so we get a few ‘High’s and mostly ‘Average’ performances. They will not be happy with the bonus, which is linked to their performance.” John retorted, annoyed.

“Let us unpack the conversation and try to see if the dissatisfaction and performance issues are coming from how the objectives are being set in the first place. Moreover, let us also discuss whether the objective setting is aligned with the organization’s strategy.”