by & Saskia Jones
First published on the All Things IC blog on 15 November 2018.
Do you know the difference between tactics and strategy? Today I have a guest post by Saskia Jones for you to dispel some myths and provide clarity.
I often describe strategy as “the thinking” whereas tactics are “the doing” – in other words, what we’re going to do, then how we’re going to do it/get there. […]
Saskia is a Communications Consultant and Coach, specialising in internal communications. Her latest role was Head of Communications Engagement at Oxfam, responsible for brand, strategy and global internal communications. She won ‘Internal Communicator of the Year’ at the Institute of Internal Communication Icon Awards 2014.
I’ll hand you over to Saskia…
Internal Communications Tactics vs Strategy: What’s the difference?
‘We need to get all staff on Yammer’; ‘We need a newsletter’; ‘We need a leadership video’. Familiar?
It is very tempting to measure the effectiveness of your role by the number of initiatives you can come up with or are working on. It gives the impression of forward movement. But what are these initiatives designed to achieve, and how are they bringing results for the organisation?
You may feel like you have no time to look at the bigger picture under the pressure of so many demands on your time.
When you have dozens of projects on the go, it’s easy to have no time to step back. You certainly need to have lots of ideas for effective actions, but also a strong clarity about where those actions are being designed to take you – in other words a certainty that they will contribute to achieving your organizational goals.
What’s the difference between strategy and tactics?
A strategy sets the direction in which you are headed. It sets an approach for achieving your overall objective.
A tactic is a course of action – one of possibly several – that you will embark on to bring your strategy to fruition. It is an activity to which you can assign a clear timeline, resources and metrics.
Without a strategy, your tactics have no direction. Without tactics, your strategy won’t happen.
Can you give a simple example?
Imagine that your latest employee survey has shown that employee engagement has decreased.
You have been asked to work with HR to improve this. Your overall objective is therefore to increase employee engagement.
Specifically, the survey has shown that line manager communication is poor.
You may therefore decide that one of your strategies for raising employee engagement will be to improve line managers’ skills at internal communication.
Tactically, there are a number of ways to potentially achieve this, including:
- You could implement a training programme in effective internal communication for all line managers
- You could make it compulsory for all line managers to have an objective on internal communication with their teams
- You could have a dedicated area on your intranet where communications resources for managers can be accessed and shared.
These are all initiatives, but what is important is that they are all initiatives with a clearly perceived purpose:
What’s wrong with just focusing on tactics?
By focusing on tactics alone, you might find yourself very busy delivering some great products –but will they be the right ones? Will they really be helping achieve organisational objectives?
Next time you get asked to ‘produce a podcast’ or ‘organise a talk’, take it to the next level by directing some questions to your leader or internal client.
Help uncover whether there is a strategic need for it by asking ‘What is your objective?’ and ‘Who do you want to reach?’ Success is not just about getting everyone onto the latest platform or ticking items off your to-do list. It’s about reaching the right people, at the right time and through the right channels, to achieve your objectives.
As Sun Tzu, a Chinese military leader and philosopher observed more than two millennia ago, “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”.
Strategies are your guiding light; tactics are your path. The two have to work in tandem.
By understanding the difference between strategy and tactics, and using them together, you’ll be focused on doing the right things, instead of on doing a lot of things right.
Original post can be found on allthingsIC.