The Basics of Cascading for Strategic Management

Cascading is intended to make strategic planning come alive within the organization. When cascading is done well, employees are left feeling clear about how their role and tasks contribute to the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic objectives. Their success becomes directly tied to the organization’s success, which results in a more aligned, ambitious, and valued workforce. Similar to how a waterfall cascades over a cliff, the water gains momentum and begins to wear away at the rock below. Cascading helps organizations do the same by aiming all of their people in the right direction, gathering momentum together, and making an impact on the organization's objectives. It is true that cascading takes time to implement, however companies that are invested enough to complete it will reap the benefits of achieving more goals and strategic objectives each year.

Transition #1: In the big picture, cascading will happen down to every level in the organization. Once the strategic plan is complete including: vision, mission, strategy map, strategic objectives, goals, methods, and measures then cascading can begin. At this point, the executive leadership is aligned with the direction of the organization for next 3-5 year. In addition, each executive is clear on what goals they are responsible for and have committed to the methods to achieve them. This is the first transition of cascading, from the organization as an entity to the leadership of the organization.

Transition #2: The second transition happens when each executive now takes their assigned strategic objectives and goals back to their set of front-line supervisors and managers. Each executive has a meeting with each of their team members to discuss how their department, role and tasks contribute to the strategic objectives and goals of the organization. Then the executive collaborates with each of their subordinates to develop a supervisor strategic plan for the year. This simple form is a great facilitation tool for executives to have a conversation with each individual and complete together annually. This tool directly focuses on how each supervisor and their department tie to the organization’s strategic objectives and goals. In addition, it takes it a step further to include the methods, measures, and milestones that the executive and supervisor agree upon to ensure success. Both get a copy of the document for future conversations.

Executives are encouraged to complete one for themselves independently prior to having meetings with individuals. This will allow them to get comfortable with the tool as well as be aware of their own plan and how others may align. This type of conversation is key in strategic success as it allows the executive and supervisor to get on the same page about what the objectives and goals are and what actions are necessary to achieve them.

Get your Strategic Plan here! Choose: Executive or Supervisor

This tool has asks the planner to:

• Strategic Objective: Identify 3 strategic objectives of the organization that your dept, role, or tasks contribute to.

• Specific Goal: Identify the specific departmental goals that contribute to the corresponding organizational objectives.

• Methods: Identify 4-5 actions that will help you accomplish each specific goal.

• Who?: Identify who can be a resource or who could receive the tasks through delegation for each corresponding method.

• Measures: Identify the measures and metrics that will evaluate progress and achievement for each corresponding method.

• Milestones: Identify 2-3 dates for check-in points and a date for when you aim to accomplish the goal.

• Notes: This section is for the planner to write any thoughts, words, or reminders that they may need to.

Here is an example of a supervisor (or executive) strategic plan.

Once the executive has met with individual members of the team, we recommend at least one team meeting that reiterates the strategic objectives and goals of the organization for that year. By having individual meetings and a team meeting, this results in more teamwork and less duplicated efforts in achieving the organization’s strategic objectives and goals.

Transition #3: The third transition in cascading happens when the supervisor/manager level disseminates the information down to the individual employees on their teams. At this level, a similar conversation happens between the supervisor and each of their employees. In this conversation, the supervisor and individual collaborate to complete an individual strategic plan for the year ahead. The major change is that the individual does not have the option of delegation under the Who? column, instead they focus on who could be resources. Both get a copy of the plan for future conversations.

Just as the executive did, a team meeting should be held once the supervisor completes all of their individual planning meetings. This meeting is intended to rally the troops and create a sense of teamwork in accomplishing the objectives and goals of the year together. This results in the team having a common goal, which leads to more helping behaviors and a better team culture. Overall, these increase the likelihood of successfully achieving the objectives and goals intended.

This entire process starts with the executive leadership modeling the behavior by doing it first and then with team members. This shows the supervisor how to conduct an individual meeting as well as the team meeting. With modeling, now the supervisors have seen and experienced how to do what is expected of them.

Follow-up: The final key to success of all this planning is the follow-through with follow-up. Those milestones on individual strategic plans should be marked on calendars and meetings set to check in on progress and obstacles. If follow-up is not done by executives and supervisors, then leadership clearly communicates that the strategic plans, objectives and goals they set out to reach are inane. Undoubtedly, this is counterproductive to the success of the organization in continuing to strategically improve itself year after year.

In summary, communicate, communicate, and communicate. Communicate the objectives and goals to individuals to let them know how they add value to the organization. Communicate to teams the objectives and goals to create a common goal and team culture. And communicate that leadership is invested and committed to strategic planning and management through follow-up on milestones and measures.