Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

Patti Cotton

3 Reasons Your SWOT Analysis Won’t Work

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Previously, I shared a 5-step power tool to help you and other executives finish your year strong. If you didn’t have a chance to see it, click here.

In the article, I mentioned in step 3 that you would want to do a “quick analysis of priorities and projects.” When most executives see this, they immediately think of going through what we call a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

In the world of business, SWOT analysis taught us a lot. But over time, those of us who lead and support leadership in their strategic planning process have recognized that this exercise may do more harm than good.

In fact, there are 3 main reasons why SWOT analysis can actually be counter-productive, and hold your enterprise back from reaching its full potential.

1. You lead with the analysis instead of leading with vision.

Beginning with looking back keeps us from effectively looking forward.

Leading with such an analysis roots the planning in today – reactive mode instead of proactive mode. Instead, if you start by reverse-engineering from your desired future by beginning with the end in mind, then you will step out of current perceptions and into the “what’s possible.”

Stepping into vision first will allow you to leave preconceptions and biases more easily behind, making the mental space for more creativity and innovation.

2. You focus on the weaknesses instead of the opportunities.

This, too, is rooted in past principles of leading by focusing on fixing what’s wrong. Language is powerful, and the very word “weakness” intimates that you must get better, improve, repair.

Instead of locking you and your strategic planning team into that kind of Titanic mindset, begin by reviewing your strengths. Remember first what you do well and the unique value you bring to the marketplace.

In addition, consider that what some call “weakness” may actually be reworded as a partnership opportunity. By reframing the term, we actually reframe the thinking of those involved in the process to more positive possibilities to explore.

3. You put the analysis results on the shelf.

Many enterprises don’t do anything with the information from the analysis they have performed. It sits on a shelf for a while, and then someone suggests doing one again, because the marketplace has changed. And these days, that could be a matter of months.

An unused analysis can be because there was no accountability determined with next steps, or leadership didn’t really have a sound strategic planning process that helped to move the team forward to take action. Or it may be for other reasons. But all limiting scenarios can be overcome with the right process, if you are committed.

The SWOT analysis was a first good beta for answering the question, “How are we doing?”

But there’s a better way to ask…well, better questions. I’ll be sharing that with you in my next article.

Meanwhile, whether you are about to undertake a strategic planning process, or you simply want to do a “spot check” with your team to see how well you are doing, remember to make the experience a motivating and enjoyable one – and then do something with it!

A Powerful 5-Step Planning Tool

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A Powerful 5-Step Planning Tool for Executives to Finish Strong

A Powerful 5-Step Planning Tool for Executives to Finish Strong

It’s September.

If you are an executive in charge, acting “on purpose” to guide your team or entity to this year’s finish line is crucial.

I know it’s already on your mind.

Yet September is usually when I see executives start to slide.

 They have pushed hard during the first couple of quarters, and have allowed the summer’s workplace to slow things down.

Psychologically, it’s pretty tough to pick back up after ramping up and slowing down. It can cause stress, a feeling of overload as you try to get back on track, and a sense of being behind that can follow you through December 31st.

In fact, you may feel just a wee bit tired and demotivated just reading this, because you know what I mean.

Are you ready to get in front of this so you finish the year strong, avoiding the stress and overload that comes with year-end frenzy?

It’s time to get intentional.

I can help you do that so you finish out the next quarter in a strong and productive way that helps you and your team celebrate effectiveness and achievement.

It’s something I use with my private clients, no matter what time of year, to ramp up their success.

The 5-Step Powerful Planning Tool

1. Review your business foundation.

Gather your team and review your mission, vision, and values statements. Together, these should comprise a strong and exciting philosophy that does not change. These share the inspiration, the “why” of what you do that will fuel your motivation and drive over the next 90 days. Get clear on these before proceeding to step 2.

2. Assess your progress to date.

Review your current goals and strategies. Are these currently meeting and exceeding your business objectives? How well? Refer to any milestones and benchmarks associated with them to see if you are firmly on track, or if you need to adjust or shift any approaches you take to finish out the year. Celebrate the wins, cut the losses, and above all, quickly eliminate any work associated with that which is not working. Clear the deck for your last quarter.

3. Determine your priorities for the next quarter.

What priorities rise to the top? Identify or review the initiatives and projects associated with these. If you find it difficult to triage, do a quick analysis of priorities and projects so that you don’t hang on to the misnomer that “everything is equally important.” Take the lean and mean approach so you can finish strong, allow your team to be recognized well, and save your sanity.

4. Outline your 90-day action plan.

Working a 90-day action plan is incredibly effective at keeping you and your team motivated and energized, if you will include incremental milestones and short-term wins. So, as you identify major projects and activities, responsible parties and key stakeholders, ask yourself: What are the incremental milestones we can celebrate at the end of 90 days? Where are the best short-term wins to be captured that will support longer-range goals? And finally, do a quick assessment to ensure that the plan and its tenets support the enterprise’s mission, vision, and values. This is a great team-building exercise.

5. Up-level your ability to execute.

Use this 90-day action plan to perform a “personal 360°” on your plan and yourself. Have your team do the same, and then come together to discuss so that you can best support one another.

Here are questions to ask yourself:

  • As I look to the end of this next quarter, what commitments, activities, and calendar items do I need to shift, put aside, and/or eliminate in order to accomplish the 90-day action plan’s objectives?
  • What are those personal leadership behaviors I need to adopt in order to do well?
  • What needs eliminating?
  • What needs shifting?
  • What does meeting with my team to assess progress look like?
  • And how shall we celebrate our success at the end of these next 90 days?

I hope you enjoy this process as much as have my clients. They have used this for team-building, heightening performance, productivity, and morale.

What are your biggest barriers to meeting year-end goals? How do you move past these in order to succeed?

Taking Your Manifesto to Work

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Taking Your Manifesto to Work

Part III of Making Your Leadership Work

Is your leadership only in your head? You should be taking your manifesto to work.

Here’s a pet peeve of mine: anything that sounds great in theory, but doesn’t teach you how to use it.

This is especially true of leadership. There’s a lot of “feel good” stuff out there and heady theory about what leadership is, who you ought to be, and how it should work.

But what do you do with this?

Unless you can apply your knowledge practically, on the job, knowledge is not power, contrary to the old adage. You just walk around thinking about it and living off the warm and fuzzy feelings that thinking about leading can generate.

You and your leadership will just sit in your head.

How do you fix this?

You learn how to make the powerful connections that put your knowledge to work.

The power in possessing knowledge is always the same, whether it’s learning how to lead or perfecting your backstroke in the swimming pool.

You have to practice. You actually have to take your knowledge and apply it to learn how to master it.

So when it comes to your leadership manifesto – your beliefs as to who you are as leader, what is important, and how you intend to act on these beliefs, there’s a big hole.

And it’s taking your manifesto to work – seeing how it can make significant change.

How do you do that?

Well, first you must have developed your leadership manifesto. If you haven’t crafted your manifesto, click here.

And then, you need to put your manifesto to work by defining the impact it can make on the enterprise. This powerful visioning will serve as your inspiration for all you do.

To do this, you’ll need a piece of paper and pen or pencil. And then…

  • Position the paper so that it is in “landscape” mode.
  • Draw lines to make three columns on the paper.
  • Across the top, your column headers will be (left to right): “Manifesto Statement,” “The Enterprise,” and “The Transformation”
  • In the left-hand column, under the heading “Manifesto Statement,” list out the key statements from your manifesto.
  • Across from each statement in the “Manifesto Statement” column, and under the heading “The Enterprise,” write how the enterprise can be positively affected because of the statement.
  • Example: If your manifesto statement reads, “Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart,” then across from that, your statement about how it can affect the enterprise might be, “We have created a culture that cares and is involved.”
  • Across from each statement in the middle column, “The Enterprise,” list the resulting transformation in “The Transformation” column. “My employees are more creative and engagement, resulting in a superior product.”

Here it is so that you can see the relationship between your leadership manifesto and how you can impact the enterprise.

 

Manifesto Statement The Enterprise Transformation
Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. We have created a culture that cares and is involved. Our employees are more creative and engaged, resulting in a superior product.

 

Continue with each statement from your manifesto until you have exhausted the list. As you review your paper, congratulate yourself. You have just outlined the impact that your unique leadership can have on the enterprise – and the world.

Once you have defined the unique impact you can make with your leadership, you will identify those strategies that will best support this intended impact, and then, the actions necessary to effectuate them.

How will you put your leadership manifesto to work?

How to Create Your Leadership Manifesto

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 How to Create Your Leadership Manifesto

Part II of Making Your Leadership Work

Does your leadership count, or are you just the next “suit in a seat” in a succession of many?

If you want to make a significant impact on the world around you, you need to take a stand.

It’s time to revisit your leadership manifesto.

Don’t have one? It’s time to craft yours.

A manifesto is a declaration of principles that include your:

  • Intentions – what actions you intend to take
  • Key beliefs – your stance on things
  • Vision – the world as you wish to see it

There are a few reasons formulating your leadership manifesto is important.

It’s a formidable exercise in authenticity.

Authoring your manifesto forces you to identify your most important beliefs – a “stop and think” exercise for most of us. Then, it requires that you create a powerful vision in response to these beliefs, and to outline your intentions about how to create the change. If you think about it, this is a formidable exercise in stating who you are and what is important to you above all.

It brings focus to your work.

Your manifesto brings tremendous focus, helping you to reflect on what aligns – and what does not – in your work and life.

It helps you to stay the course in turbulent times.

Your manifesto serves as a GPS, supporting your ability to move toward your vision, even in the midst of significant challenges.

Ready to craft your leadership manifesto? Sit in a quiet place and reflect on the questions below. Many executives with whom I work go through these questions twice. During the first round, they answer the questions in the context of life; during the second round, they relate it to the workplace.

  1. I believe in ____
  2. I want to live in a world where ____
  3. Here is what I know for sure: _____
  4. The one problem I want to solve during my life _____
  5. The changes the world will see as a result ______
  6. What is at stake here is ______
  7. I will show the world ____

As you review your answers, what becomes clear for you? And what, in your life and work, needs to change?

Lead or Manage? Why You Need to Do Both

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To Lead or Manage is the Wrong Question: You Need to Do Both

Part I. Making Your Leadership Work

To lead or manage? This is the wrong question – you need to do both.

The differences between managing and leading are crucial, and you will find a lot of material on the subject.

But the comparisons imply that leadership is preferable to management, and that in order to be a leader, you must leave the managing to others.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

When you manage, you should also be leading in order to be at your most effective. And when you are leading, you absolutely have to manage, as well.

What are the key differences, and how do you make them work together?

Leading focuses on taking the enterprise into the future, creating followership through influence in order to meet the vision, mission, and objectives of the enterprise. Managing focuses on the work at hand, ensuring that the necessary pieces work well together to meet the vision, mission, and objectives of the enterprise.
Attributes of leading include:               Attributes of managing include:
  • Create and share vision
  • Inspire change
  • Imagine possibilities
  • Lead forward, setting direction
  • Anticipate trends
  • Coach and mentor talent for culture and succession planning
  • Ability to think abstractly
  • Ability to articulate and influence
  • Ensure goals and objectives are being met
  • Understand how the work gets done in an organization
  • Accountable to team
  • Ability to teach and mentor
  • Ability to monitor and interpret data, outcomes
  • Self-discipline
  • Direct others
  • Provide input

As you review these two lists and make your own comparisons, where are you? Can you see that, if you are to be most effective, you will actually need to be able to do both?