Essay on Strategic Conversation

Strategic Conversation: Introduction

In the 21st century, the marketplace has become much more competitive than ever in terms of innovation. In this case, businesses should be open-minded with changes in internal organizational settings to keep up with the competition. In today's world, innovations in products, services, and business models spread quickly. Businesses should adapt these innovations to their organizations. The strategic conversation is one of the innovations that should be implemented in businesses. More specifically, the concept of strategic conversation creates an open communication environment within the workplace and increases communication between employees and executives for the better. Also, it provides a chance to align them in the organization's hierarchical structure while engaging them in the decision-making process, and they feel respected and valued by the organization. This paper focuses on the strategic conversation model in organizations, which plays a critical role in achieving desired outcomes because employees become more action-oriented. After all, an organization achieves good results by engaging its executives in the decision-making process and solving problems with strategic conversation. ,

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First of all, the strategic conversation can be implemented to businesses by hiring consultants or by educating executives about it. In either ways, it is essential to achieve desired outcomes. It can be used to solve organizational problems or make long-term decisions because, by using it, employees and executives increase their sense of belonging to the organization. They can participate in the decision-making process and provide a good results when they feel valued by their executives. The strategic conversation is all about creating an open communication environment and solving problems together. In the modern world, many businesses prefer to use it.

There are various ways to implement strategic conversation in an organization. According to Deloitte, it has three types: building understanding, shaping choices and making decisions (Ertel, 2018). These variables are essential for implementing it. For instance, building understanding is related to an open communication climate. It is about telling the problem or the topic entirely. In the shaping choices step, executives search for possible solutions to the problem, and then they are making decisions about it. Also, Deloitte suggests that during the strategic conversation, they should avoid fake participants (Ertel, 2018). More specifically, this is related to candor because members of the conversation want to be part of the decision-making process. They want to feel that they have been listened.

Another critical perspective about implementing strategic conversations is including a higher number of executives in the process. According to Wendell Nekoranec and Mitchell Kusy’s article, engaging executives in strategic conversations is important because they play a role in the decision-making process (Nekoranec & Kusy, 2005). Also, their article highlights a consultant's impact on adapting them to the process (Nekoranec & Kusy, 2005). He leads them to find solutions and making decisions together. Moreover, they provide a model that helps them to engage executives in the process.

The model includes three stages; question generation, response analysis, and feedback (Nekoranec & Kusy, 2005). The question generation step is related to asking several types of questions to the executives. In the response analysis step, the consultant actively listens to them and use stories and images for the communication because it increases their understanding. In the feedback step, the consultant starts a dialogue, and tells his evaluation about their opinions and perspectives while being sincere with them. However, an organization can implement strategic conversations without working with a consultant.

An organization can implement a strategic conversation session by creating an open communication climate, asking questions, active listening, using stories for communication, starting a dialogue, and being sincere. These variables increase the authenticity of their workplace. After all, these variables appeal to individuals' five senses as much as possible; simultaneously, a sincere attitude affects their motivations and constancies for solving the problem because they feel respected and valued. Therefore, achieving desired outcomes is highly related to how one treats others during a strategic conversation session. Eventually, they become more passionate about their job and work hard for solving the problems.

Strategic conversation implementation provides good results. According to Bruce Strong and J.-C Spender, only %30 of the strategies achieve their goals, but by engaging in strategic conversations, their success rates soar to nearly %80 (Strong, Spender, 2014). One can highlight that it is an effective method for achieving desired outcomes because it creates a healthy communication climate for setting goals or solving problems. Eventually, executives become more result and action-oriented during the strategic conversation session. Therefore, they reach organization’s long-term goals.

Strategic Conversation: Conclusion

After all, this paper focuses on the strategic conversation model in organizations. There are different approaches about how to implement it in organizations. However, the most effective model is creating an open communication climate, asking questions, active listening, telling stories for communication, starting a dialogue, and being sincere. This model appeals to employees' sense because it shows them that they are valued and respected. The participants in the decision-making process make them more action-oriented and passionate about work. There are lots of researches that prove the efficiency of strategic conversations because it is a powerful model for achieving desired outcomes. After all, an organization achieves good results by engaging its executives in the decision-making process and solving problems with strategic conversation.

References

Meet the author Chris Ertel. (2018, August 2). Are Your Conversations Strategic? Deloitte United States.

Nekoranec, W., & Kusy, M. (2005). Engaging Executives in Strategic Conversations More Than a Random Event. mitchellkusy.

Spender, J.-C., & Strong, B. A. (2014). Strategic conversations: creating and directing the entrepreneurial workforce. Cambridge University Press.