StrategyDriven

There tends to exist a perception that companies are generally open to the identification and resolution of problems; that resources will be applied to solve issues if the gains expected can be shown to outweigh the costs. Reality is frequently different. Priority setting driven by limited resources and at times less visible agendas often precludes an organization from addressing small tactical issues and large global initiatives.

Members of the executive team are uniquely positioned to understand the organization’s direction, see the competitive landscape, and make priority-based decisions regarding the deployment of the organization’s limited resources. Therefore, executive sponsorship is critical to ensure that performance of a self assessment will be well supported and its findings acted on.

Executive sponsors provide many invaluable resources to a self-assessment team. Namely, they offer:

• a span of control and command over organizational resources needed to perform the self-assessment and implement its recommendations
• an integrated view of the organization’s performance and its external environment that will enhance the assessment’s overall perspective and be used to appropriately prioritize the performance of the self-assessment and implementation of any subsequent recommendations in light of the organization’s other commitments
• influential relationships with other key executives, customers, and stakeholders which are critical in achieving buy-in for in successful implementation of self assessment recommendations

In addition to their contribution to the assessment itself, executive sponsors frequently used their position to mentor and develop members of the self assessment team. Team members benefit from the often deeper and more varied experience of their executive sponsor; learning how to more effectively interact with executives and senior managers, gaining a richer understanding of the complex interactions between the business environment in the organization, and becoming skilled at communicating change broadly across the organization and to external stakeholders.

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