According to the 2022 Workplace Learning Report from LinkedIn Learning, 49% of learning and development leaders say that executives are concerned that employees don't have the right skills to execute business strategy. (This report is cited and linked in this Forbes piece from December 2022.) If you are a mid-level leader responsible for executing a new strategy in the new year, a strategy that has been set from above, and you are interested in increasing the potential of your strategy execution to deliver successful results, we have just the course for you.
In 2021, the Brandon Hall Group awarded our Executing Strategy program the Brandon Hall Excellence Award (Gold) for Best Unique or Innovative Leadership Program. Now it is available, for the first time ever, in a new format: It's open to individuals in a self-paced program, which runs from February 6 to March 3.
The faculty for this includes Insight Experience facilitators Kristin Leydig Bryant and Krista Campbell, who are here today to answer some questions about the program.
Tell us about this Executing Strategy program. Who is it for? What can participants expect?
Krista Campbell (pictured above): Executing Strategy is an award-winning leadership development program designed for mid-level managers who are responsible for executing strategy but not necessarily setting strategy. In this four-week, self-paced course, participants can expect to dive deep into the Insight Experience Strategy Execution Cycle™, participate in a business simulation experience, and build a personalized action plan. The best part of Executing Strategy is that this program can be done at your own pace.
Why is this program valuable? What would you say to someone who is considering signing up but is still on the fence about it?
Kristin Leydig Bryant (pictured below): Everyone working in a large organization gets strategic direction from above. This program gives participants specific tools and techniques for understanding that direction, translating it to their own level’s work, and then implementing it so that their day-to-day decisions are aligned to that direction.
How will participants learn? Will they primarily work on their own? Will they, at any point, interact with others in the program?
Krista: Once the course launches, participants will have access to an online learning platform. This will be the “home base” for the program and will be where participants access all their course content and business simulation materials and build their action plan. Participants will partake in a weekly discussion board prompt and will crowdsource advice and insights from their fellow participants; however, the rest of the course will be completed as an individual. This enables maximum flexibility for all our participants.
What do you love about teaching strategy execution skills?
Krista: When teaching executing strategy at Insight Experience, we often refer to the idea of “the braid.” The braid helps us to visualize that, as managers and leaders, we must work to align people, process, and projects. The Executing Strategy business simulation enables leaders to practice this alignment in a risk-free environment. It’s a pleasure to discuss and diagnose with leaders which element of the braid comes most naturally to them and which element might take more conscious focus — in the simulation and in real life.
Kristin: I never get tired of hearing stories from people who have gone forward to use what they learned and practiced in our Executing Strategy programs. Many of our participants continue to send me, years later, stories about their experiences.
Krista, you have taught our Leadership Foundations program open to individuals, so you have experience with these types of self-paced courses. What was your biggest takeaway about these kinds of programs from the last time you taught one?
Krista: The best part about these courses is the pure flexibility our participants have. Many of the leaders we work with are balancing hybrid work, families, hobbies, travel, and much more, and this course enables them to take dedicated time to develop their skills when it's best for them. Some of our participants will block one hour a day over four days, and some will choose to complete the course work in one sitting on a Saturday morning. Whatever your preference, it is your choice! Additionally, during each week of this program there is a section of optional activities for those participants interested in going deeper into any particular content area.
Why a business simulation? How does it make this program better?
Kristin: The simulation is absolutely central. It allows participants to wrangle the concepts we talk about in a realistic situation and see what works and what doesn’t work. Our simulation debriefs then give everyone a chance to talk about why something works (or didn’t). Sometimes it’s a timing or sequencing issue. Sometimes participants make a good decision about revenue but then don’t support that decision in other ways. In the simulation, they experience three business quarters, and they can better understand how the decisions made in quarter one affect results in quarter three.
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Many thanks to our esteemed faculty for the information.
Interested in the program? It will bring increased confidence in making the daily decisions that support a larger strategic direction, all while expanding your professional networks.
Head here to read more about the course and to register.
Happy learning!
