Over the years, businesses have embraced the fact that defining and having a strategic plan is an important component to long-term success. If you do not plan your direction, you cannot take control of your future. Many businesses are starting to be more aggressive in their strategic timetables. In addition to looking ahead three to five years and deciding where the organization needs and wants to be, more and more companies are becoming very aggressive in their short-term strategic analysis and review. With all the economic changes and uncontrollable outside distractions, looking through the short-term strategic lens more frequently is required.

Delegating is an essential element of any manager's job, and it frequently comes up as an area of question and frustration for my clients. When done properly, delegating provides real benefits for everyone involved. Done poorly, or not at all, it can make an ineffective situation even worse.

So, what is delegation? Delegation involves entrusting another person with a task for which the delegator remains ultimately responsible. Although delegating takes time to organize, prioritize and manage, the manager who avoids it will seem disorganized, will work excessive hours, and basic processes can be undermined by poor quality of work, bottlenecks, and missed deadlines, impacting his overall performance.

Here's an oldie but goodie for you. Blanchard has coauthored over 30 best-selling books, including The One Minute Manager which has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into more than 37 languages. Kenneth T. Derr, former Chairman & CEO of the Chevron Corporation, once said of this book that "If you haven't read it, do . . . if you have, read it again." Well, I recently read it again and was reminded of its simple yet powerful messages.

In this 100-page story, a man is in search of an effective manager. Throughout his journey he learns many lessons which Blanchard and Johnson have centered on three primary areas or "secrets."

"Let us suppose that we were asked for one all-purpose bit of advice for management, one truth that we were able to distill from the excellent company's research. We might be tempted to reply, ‘Figure out your value system.' Decide what your company stands for. Clarifying the value system and breathing life into it are the greatest contributions a leader can make." Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence.

Many people have given little more than a passing thought to identifying the values that govern their personal behavior, and even fewer organizations have done so. Instead, they accept the values of others and let situations determine their values.

When you begin to think of yourself as a successful leader, you realize that there are more demands on your time than you can possibly fill. This is a common problem faced by many leaders. The solution to this challenge is developing a process of effective delegation. However, delegation is an important tool that many leaders hesitate to use, and it has been the downfall of many leaders. The biggest barrier to delegation is overcoming the attitude that you must do it all! It becomes a leader's curse when you adhere to the adage, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Author of another wonderful book: “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” Marshall Goldsmith writes here that a leader’s greatest challenge can be knowing when it’s time to step aside. And just as challenging is the often overlooked, frequently thorny question of how you step aside. The goal would be, during the transition, for the departing leader to maintain his dignity (many don’t), enjoy his final year or so in the office, and put his successor in a position where he or she will have a great chance of winning.

This book offers candid advice on succession from the outgoing executive's perspective; however Goldsmith doesn't focus on the strategic or technical issues.

Henry has a decision to make. The disgruntled customer in front of him has a valid point. There has been a mix up on the part of Henry's service team and things have not gone smoothly. It wasn't the end of the world but the customer has already been inconvenienced and now the ‘fix' is going to inconvenience him again. Henry feels that the considerations the customer is asking for are not unreasonable, but how can this be handled? How would your company handle it: using a centralized leadership model or a distributed leadership model?

The work performed at the top of an organization to create strategy and related goals is intended to influence behaviors that drive results throughout the entire organization. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for the primary impact of the strategic work to remain at the senior management level. It's a bit like having a car with a finely-tuned engine but no wheels to help it move forward.

Many people, including many coaching clients with whom I've worked, seem unaware of the "shadow" they cast as a leader. Their shadow reflects what they deem important, how they respond to crises, deal with a disagreement, treat those around them, and behave in general.  Whether they realize it or not, all of this feeds into the cultural fabric of the organization.

As I've observed, if a leader treats every unanticipated roadblock as a major crisis, so will his or her employees.  If a leader takes the view that every problem could have been avoided and therefore when something goes wrong, "Heads will roll!" the resultant behavior will be one of blame and finger-pointing.  However, if a leader views mistakes as a natural part of learning, exploring, experimenting, and growing, then the result is an attitude that supports risk taking and innovation.

"I want to take my business to the next level. We need to grow by 40% this year and 150% over the next 3 years. But..."

I heard this from a business owner just last week. His "but" was his concern that his staff wasn't prepared to get it done. They didn't follow procedures, spent time on less important tasks, didn't think out of the box, and looked to him for all of the important answers. With those issues, taking his business to the next level will be difficult if not impossible.