Seacoast Leadership Group is the leading professional services firm in Maine
focusing on helping our clients achieve what matters most to their organization

Design for Success Mapping Process is perhaps the most over-looked and yet most critical phase in the execution of organizational strategy. In this work, our process brings the senior leadership team through the following separate but equally necessary steps.

The initial phase begins with an Organizational Needs Inventory. This assessment instrument is designed to give senior leaders valuable insight into the organization’s most important but hard to measure assets from the perspective of its employees.  Those areas are organizational culture, structure, predominant leadership style, values and mission Participants respond candidly because they are not asked to reveal their identity.  They report how conditions are today and how they would be under ideal conditions by responding to statements which are designed to present an accurate picture of today and the desired future.  The difference between the actual responses and those applicable to an ideal environment creates a gap.  Those gaps represent opportunities for improving organizational performance and environment.

During the second phase, we recommend that members of the management team involved with formulating and executing initiatives participate in the Profile Evaluation System (PES).  The PES has been implemented in thousands of organizations and combines cognitive and personality scales in a normative instrument.  This approach delivers the most accurate approach to providing a well-rounded picture of an individual.   

As a coaching tool, the PES helps management communicate more skillfully with team members, and it helps identify developmental needs and opportunities for an effective job match.  As importantly, this assessment tool helps to identify those individuals who have significant growth capacity.  The PES is also an effective tool for hiring, succession planning and career development of employees.

The next stage in the Design for Success Mapping Process is the Strategic Analysis Workshop.  This workshop introduces members of the management team to the process and importance of developing a strategic plan for their organization.   A workbook is utilized to help our client begin the strategic planning process by asking for input on the opportunities and challenges facing the organization. 

This stage of our process is composed of two parts.  In Individual Analysis, each participant uses his or her own “best judgment” to complete a series of probing questions.  This exercise is responsible for developing team “best thinking” based on individual responses.

The second section, Organizational Analysis, focuses on key aspects of organizational performance.  In this section, team members review collect past performance data, compare that data to their present performance, and forecast future performance – all in an effort to develop an objective analysis of organizational performance.  This section combines several views, including financial data, sales trends, and customer and vendor feedback – all in an effort to create a transparent picture.

The final stage in the Success Mapping Process is an executive retreat for the management team.  Here, members review feedback collected during the Organizational Needs Inventory, collective “best thinking” from Strategic Analysis Workbooks and trends that may be impacting their organization, from financial to industry.  The team begins to formulate a Strategic Plan of Action that helps each stakeholder develop a better understanding of the organization’s current state and how they can best support and be an integral part of reaching a greater level of success. The Strategic Plan of Action becomes a tool that keeps your team focused on what matters most in your quest for sustainable success and continuous improvement.  The tool for collecting and organizing this information during the retreat is the Organizational Plan of Action.  Specific outcomes would include:

• Organizational Strengths, Opportunities, Dream List, Important Short & Long-Range Organizational Goals
  
  
• Shared Organizational Values
  
  
• Organizational Vision, Mission & Purpose Statements
  
  
• Product and Service Uniqueness, Competitive Analysis
  
  
• Critical Success Factors, Overall Organizational Objectives
  
  
• Future Implementation Plan

The outcomes we seek through the Design for Success Mapping Process are:

• Examine markets and competition as well as look for potential crises and untapped opportunities.
  
  
• Develop a clear sense of internal strengths, weaknesses and opportunities impacting the organization.
  
  
• Build awareness for developmental and process improvement needs and requirements.
  
  
• Create a shared vision that directs the leadership team’s Strategic Plan of Action, to include initiatives, goals, benefits, obstacles, prioritization and measures of accountability.