The strategy activation model

The impact of any strategy depends on how it is activated and turned into organisation-wide action. Without activation, any new strategy is just a fancy slide deck with aspirations and plans that are dead on arrival.

International research has well documented that the success rate of strategic transformations is meagre – statistics show that the risk of failure is 2 to 3 times higher than the hopes for success. And missing or shabby strategy activation is a major contributor to the discouraging odds.

“Corporate transformations still have a miserable success rate (…). Studies consistently report that about three-quarters of change efforts flop – either they fail to deliver the anticipated impact, or they are abandoned entirely.”
– ‘What Everyone Gets Wrong About Change Management’, Harvard Business Review. N. Anand and Jean-Louis Barsoux.

To create momentum and deliver impact, any strategy activation must address three requirements:

1. Create a clear strategic direction that answers the question of “WHERE are we going and WHAT are we trying to achieve?”
2. Establish a shared sense of ownership and motivation across the organisation by answering the question of “WHY should I care?”
3. Enable people to take action by addressing the question of “HOW can I contribute in my role?”

We can consider these three factors as part of a simple equation:

Strategy momentum = Direction x Ownership x Enablement

If just one of these factors is seriously neglected, the new strategy is at severe risk of turning into “corporate theatre” without meaningful, real-world impact.

The strategy activation model

The strategy activation model is a simple framework to guide the planning, launch, implementation, and anchoring of larger strategic transformations in complex organisations. The model is based on practical experience from numerous strategy roll-outs as well as the research and theories of academic thinkers like Stephen Bungay, Marshall Ganz, Joseph Campbell, Rick Maurer, Amy Edmondson and Anand Narasimhan.

The model aims to mobilise the organisation behind the strategy – it goes beyond compelling communication and boosting support and engagement. We need more than employees supporting the strategy of the board and executive management and “doing what they are told to do”. We need colleagues across the organisation to “do what needs to be done”, which takes real ownership, shared alignment, and trustful empowerment.

The model has a 3-layer structure:

• The first layer is Connect. From creating initial organisational awareness to ensuring shared understanding of the new direction. All colleagues should understand what we are trying to accomplish and why it is important.
• The second layer is Commit, with a focus on personal commitment and building a shared sense of ownership – this is our strategy. It is also vital to create internal alignment about what the strategy entails and how it impacts daily work, roles, and responsibilities. It must be clear to everybody how they can contribute.
• The third layer is Act. Implementing new initiatives, learning from what is working, and adjusting based on new insights. And when things are working well, embed new ways of working into daily habits and shared culture.

We prefer to use the concept of layers or levels instead of phases. There is a natural sequence to when a new layer is relevant and introduced, but the importance and relevance of a layer never ends once it has been activated – even in the late anchoring part of a strategy, there continues to be a need to remind people about the purpose and strategic intent.

“So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want!”
– The Spice Girls.

Connect – “Call to adventure…”

The initial step of the journey is to connect the strategy with the organisation in a meaningful way. First, we must create awareness and then build a deeper understanding.

1. Awareness
First, we must build awareness and get the attention of our colleagues. Modern organisations are overloaded with information and competing agendas, and it is important that we cut through the noise and get people to listen. The initial communication should speak to both hearts and minds and if possible, combine a compelling aspiration with an element of necessity or urgency.

2. Understanding
The initial awareness must be followed by building a deeper understanding that allows people to make sense of the situation and intentions from their own point of view. This can be hard to do through classic one-way communication – we must create opportunities for dialogue and playful exploration of the new. And we must respect the different professional and cultural backgrounds of our colleagues. At this part of the journey, there will always be a high level of uncertainty, concerns, and frustration – people will have a lot of relevant and fair questions that have not been addressed yet.

When working internally on planning this layer, some helpful questions to consider could be:

• Do we know what we really, really want, and is senior management aligned?
• Are we ready to communicate what we want in a meaningful way that makes sense to the organisation?
• Are we going to assume that our colleagues will understand what we intended based on the strategy communication alone, or are we planning activities where people can engage and align?
• Is there an emotional story to the strategy that people can relate to and genuinely care about?

“Leadership is accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose under conditions of uncertainty
– Marshall Ganz, Harvard University

Commit – “Crossing the threshold…”

The connect layer can create support and excitement about the new strategy, but not even the most enthusiastic cheerleaders can win a game by themselves. This layer is about converting people from passive supporters into active contributors with a personal sense of ownership and shared alignment on how to bring the strategy to life.

1. Ownership
You can never dictate that people take ownership; it only works if it is founded on personal motivation and a sense of purpose. For most people, the most direct way to foster ownership is through honest involvement (also known as the IKEA effect) – ask people for their learnings, concerns, and ideas, and create opportunities to co-create. Make it clear that even when the high-level what and why of the strategy are settled, there is still plenty of opportunity to impact and shape the operational and tactical how of the implementation and future ways of working.

2. Alignment
Top management providing detailed instructions and telling employees how to do their jobs is not recommended at this step. Real and actionable alignment takes candid and trustful conversations that allow each team and function to understand their contribution and unique role. And alignment should address both common understanding of the strategic intent, as well as shared tools and processes that are critical for internal collaboration and synergies of scale. We highly recommend the use of back-briefing to identify misunderstandings, clarify expectations, and enable empowerment and accountability.

When developing activities and plans for this layer, some helpful questions to consider could be:

• Have we given our colleagues a fair chance to connect the WHY, WHAT and HOW in a way that makes sense for them?
• Are we creating opportunities for colleagues to contribute, share and co-create?
• Do we truly listen and respond to concerns and frustrations, or do we press on?
• Are we making room for engaged colleagues to contribute as ambassadors and storytellers?

“The more alignment you have, the more autonomy you can grant.”
– Stephen Bungay, The Art of Action

Act – “Return with the elixir…”

This layer is where things get real as plans meet reality – the “first contact with the enemy” as the Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke has famously put it. To harvest the outcomes that the strategy was set out to deliver, we need to sustain momentum behind new initiatives as we learn from what is working and adjust as needed based on new insights. And when things are working well, we embed new ways of working into daily habits and shared culture. All this takes leading for both alignment and autonomy at the same time. And it takes trust and psychological safety to manage conflicts, preserve accountability and learn from failures.

1. Probing
In most situations, we do not truly know what is working until we try it. Probing is about daring to take novel steps without complete certainty, and then learning and adjusting based on feedback. Probing can be hard and discouraging – colleagues are normally used to being good at what they are doing, and now they need to do something new that they do not master yet. Leaders need to take away or soften the mental pressure while still sustaining momentum and confidence.

2. Embedding
A strategy also needs to end. When things are working well, and new ways of working are turning into “this is just how we do things around here”, the focus of leaders should shift to embedding and sustaining healthy daily habits and culture. What was once news is now the new normal, which leaves space for new adventures.

Key questions to consider for this layer:

• What are we doing to ensure continued attention from senior management, or have their focus already moved on to other issues?
• Do we follow up on what is working, and are we open to adjusting plans based on real-life learnings?
• Are we allowing leaders time to embed new ways of working in daily practice, or are we just assuming that they will manage on top of all their other tasks and responsibilities?
• Are we consistent and persistent in our focus and communication, or do we assume that people remember what we said when the strategy was launched?

Read on

Some of the models and theories that have inspired our work in designing and refining the strategy activation model:

•  ‘The Art of Action’ by Stephen Bungay, 2010.
• ‘What Everyone Gets Wrong About Change Management’, Harvard Business Review by N. Anand and Jean-Louis Barsoux, 2017.
• ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ by Joseph Campbell, 1949.
• ‘People, Power, and Change: Organising for Democratic Renewal’ by Marshall Ganz, 2024.
• ‘Beyond the Wall of Resistance’ by Rick Maurer, 1996.
• ‘Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well’, by Amy Edmondson, 2023.
• ‘The Strategy Activation Playbook’ by Aric Wood.