Assessing Leader’s Strategic Readiness

In the age of hyper-competition, shrinking margins, and market shifting technological advances, leaders’ strategic management skills are crucial for the sustainability and survival of a firm. Strategic readiness is the ability of a leader to sense the changes in the market, create and execute a strategy, and leverage a firm’s internal resources to sustain a competitive advantage. Strategic management is a rational decision-making process that focuses on getting the right data, avoiding biases, and doing activities that differentiate a firm from its competitors (Porter, 2008). Leaders are expected be foresighted in their approach to leading a firm. They are expected to be able to sense, seize, and reconfigure market and internal data to sustain a competitive advantage (Breznik & Lahovnik, 2014; Teece, 2000). They are expected to be able to translate data into strategic objectives, which is the ability to understand market data and a firm’s internal resources to reconfigure them to meet the strategic opportunities of a firm. As a result, the consultants at All Things Strategic created the ADEM Readiness Assessment (ADEM assessment) to assess a leader’s strategic management skills to help them grow their firms.    

The ADEM assessment assesses a leader’s strategic management skills based on competencies associated with the elements related to the phases in the ADEM Strategy Management Cyclical Model. The ADEM Strategy Management Cyclical Model organizes the strategy management process into four easy-to-follow phases: 1) Analyze, 2) Develop, 3) Execute, and 4) Manage. Each phase has actionable elements that are dependent on the phase and interdependent to the elements across the model. The analyze phase consists of analyzing external market data and internal data, avoiding biases in the data, and choosing the most competitive strategic direction for the organization (Porter, 1996). The develop phase consists of translating market and operational data into a concrete and actionable plan. The execute phase consists of effectively implanting a strategy into the culture of the organization through strategic alignment of its internal resources and cascading objectives to units. The manage phase consists of aligning the reporting of the plan across an organization, conducting scheduled strategic meetings to discuss the strategic performance, and testing the hypothesis of the plan, and pressure testing the plan.

ADEM Readiness Assessment

The ADEM assessment is a self-assessment instrument that assesses competencies associated with 16 key elements of the ADEM Strategy Management Cyclical Model. Leaders who take this assessment are expected to be forthcoming in the assessment of themselves in order to grow and develop. The competencies in the instrument range from knowing how to analyze factors across multiple industries to conducting strategy review meetings. The assessment assesses competencies based on the leader’s response to 16 declarations used in the assessment. The purpose of the declarations is not only to assess a leader’s strategy management skills, but also to encourage leaders to think about their gaps. One of the declarations used in the analysis section of the assessment is “purposefully analyze multiple industries to remain aware of potential new entrants”. This declaration helps leaders to broaden their perspective of environmental scanning. Chrusciel (2011) wrote that environment scanning is a valuable tool for gathering data from the market, soliciting input from stakeholders, and identifying new services to offer their customers. Leaders conduct market analysis to determine their strategic direction and to align their internal resources to enhance value for consumers. Analyzing the market helps to refine strategic direction of a firm and allows a firm to remain competitive (Chrusciel, 2011). To remain competitive today, leaders must look beyond their industry to identify threats and opportunities. The declarations in the assessment can help leaders consider possibilities beyond their scope of awareness and help them begin building on the appropriate competencies to grow their firm. 

Competency scores

The ADEM assessment uses competency scores to score the declarations in the instrument. The competency scores are based on the following Likert Scale: 1 = Never; 2 = Rarely; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Often; and 5 = Consistently. Leaders must read and score each question based on their application of competency (knowledge is considered the precursor of application). The highest score per section is 20 and the highest score per question is 5. The total score for each section must be transferred to the strategic readiness score chart. The chart includes a bar for the totals of each section and a value range from 0 to 20 and in between. Leaders must shade in each bar according to the score of a section to see how they compare across the four sections of the assessment. The comparative visual gives leaders a glance at their strengths and weaknesses in strategy management.

Development

The output score of the assessment provides leaders with a baseline of their strategic management skills for growth and development. Leaders must compare their score to the assessment’s rubric to determine their capabilities. See Figure 2 below. Based on their findings, leaders are expected to create a development plan to enhance their strategy management skills. The goal for leaders is to reach the “Ideal” level and work toward the “Exceptional” level.   

The ADEM assessment is a must for all leaders who seek to enhance their strategy management skills. Provided that leaders are expected to consistently scan the market to sustain a competitive advantage, translate strategy into actionable steps for a firm, and add value by scrutinizing  outcomes, they must have enhanced strategic management competencies (Albright, 2004; Chrusciel, 2011; Kaplan, & Norton (2001). The ADEM assessment was created to help leaders enhance their strategic management skills to help them grow their firms. Your journey can start today by assessing your strategy management skills by using the instrument in this article. Begin your journey today!   

Readiness Assessment

To access the assessment, go to the home page and complete the form entitled How Ready Is Your Organization for Strategy Management . . . 

References                                    

Breznik, L., & Lahovnik, M. (2014). Renewing the resource base in line with the dynamic capabilities view: a key to sustained competitive advantage in the IT industry. Journal for East European management studies, 453-485.

Chrusciel, D. (2011). Environmental scan: influence on strategic direction. Journal of Facilities Management.

Porter, M.E. (1996) What is Strategy? Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 2540.

Porter, M. E. (2008). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. Simon and Schuster.

Teece, D. J. (2000). Managing intellectual capital: Organizational, strategic and policy dimensions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.