Once we’ve decided the moves we’re going to make, we need to think about how we’re going to make them. If we’ve involved our talent in the strategic thinking process — by following the Hierarchy of Strategic Thinking — we’re already half way there, because talent knows what we’re doing and why.
Now we must build a bridge from our strategic choices to the tactical level where they’ll be put into action. This needs to be more than a plan telling talent what to do — as talent responds poorly to coercion and success comes from constantly adapting as situations change, not from blindly following a rigid plan.
This requires operational art — focusing on the order we must do things (sequencing) and how to respond when reality unfolds in unexpected ways (coordination). This is an essential skill for every organisation in a changing world, but rarely practised in business today.
Sequencing
New strategic move needs to be installed first. We have to decide what we will build, buy or outsource. But rather than repeating whatever worked before, we make decisions according to the current situation. This is another reason we use a Wardley Map — to agree on the most appropriate methods to use.
Talent now maps the areas they’re responsible for in more detail — enabling leaders to both see and challenge what they’re going to do and how the intend to do it. Open conversations create alignment, but also trigger new insights — sudden and unexpected shifts to better courses of action.
The length of the installation phase depends on the ambitions of our moves and the amount of work to do. Once complete, we’re ready to deploy our new strategic moves — repeating the process: mapping it out, deciding which methods to use where and learning if there are better ways of doing things.
Coordination
With maps, talent can see the bigger picture and their role in it. They can also see the role others play and the mutual dependencies between them. Recognising these interdependencies encourages talent to forge links directly with others — rather than relying on bureaucratic process or management intervention.
Treating talent like responsible adults — involving them in strategic thinking and giving them the autonomy to decide how they will deliver on their responsibilities — makes talent act like responsible adults. Leaders now only need to step in when interactions between them break down.
Freed from directing every interaction and micromanaging every output, leaders can lead. Establishing feedback loops — free of delay and distortion — to ensure issues are quickly addressed and insights rapidly considered. This is how organisations become stronger through action.
Quick Test
Think about your organisation’s last strategic move:
Was talent involved in how to install it? Or was it rolled out by management with minimal input?
Did talent coordinate its own actions? Or was everything routed through management?
If your answers are more the latter, operational art is absent in your organisation.
What Next?
Orchestrating talent to turn moves into action.
To follow this series join the Telegram channel t.me/wardleymapping
Or subscribe to the blog https://powermaps.net/blog
If you found this post useful consider sharing it with others.
And if you’d like to think and act strategically in your organisation explore more here: https://powermaps.net
Now we must build a bridge from our strategic choices to the tactical level where they’ll be put into action. This needs to be more than a plan telling talent what to do — as talent responds poorly to coercion and success comes from constantly adapting as situations change, not from blindly following a rigid plan.
This requires operational art — focusing on the order we must do things (sequencing) and how to respond when reality unfolds in unexpected ways (coordination). This is an essential skill for every organisation in a changing world, but rarely practised in business today.
Sequencing
New strategic move needs to be installed first. We have to decide what we will build, buy or outsource. But rather than repeating whatever worked before, we make decisions according to the current situation. This is another reason we use a Wardley Map — to agree on the most appropriate methods to use.
Talent now maps the areas they’re responsible for in more detail — enabling leaders to both see and challenge what they’re going to do and how the intend to do it. Open conversations create alignment, but also trigger new insights — sudden and unexpected shifts to better courses of action.
The length of the installation phase depends on the ambitions of our moves and the amount of work to do. Once complete, we’re ready to deploy our new strategic moves — repeating the process: mapping it out, deciding which methods to use where and learning if there are better ways of doing things.
Coordination
With maps, talent can see the bigger picture and their role in it. They can also see the role others play and the mutual dependencies between them. Recognising these interdependencies encourages talent to forge links directly with others — rather than relying on bureaucratic process or management intervention.
Treating talent like responsible adults — involving them in strategic thinking and giving them the autonomy to decide how they will deliver on their responsibilities — makes talent act like responsible adults. Leaders now only need to step in when interactions between them break down.
Freed from directing every interaction and micromanaging every output, leaders can lead. Establishing feedback loops — free of delay and distortion — to ensure issues are quickly addressed and insights rapidly considered. This is how organisations become stronger through action.
Quick Test
Think about your organisation’s last strategic move:
Was talent involved in how to install it? Or was it rolled out by management with minimal input?
Did talent coordinate its own actions? Or was everything routed through management?
If your answers are more the latter, operational art is absent in your organisation.
What Next?
Orchestrating talent to turn moves into action.
To follow this series join the Telegram channel t.me/wardleymapping
Or subscribe to the blog https://powermaps.net/blog
If you found this post useful consider sharing it with others.
And if you’d like to think and act strategically in your organisation explore more here: https://powermaps.net
