Stellar Execution—Achieving Breakthrough Results TOGETHER
It takes meaningful breakthroughs for you and I (and the entire Avenir Project family) to do this work together. It takes meaningful breakthroughs for us to make orphanages sustainable, to lift children out of poverty, to make space for more children to feel safe, heal, and thrive. And that takes stellar execution. What do I mean by stellar execution?
In his seminal book, Execution—the Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy, former chairman of Allied Signal and Honeywell Corp., insists that “execution is the leader’s most important job!” From my own experience in business, I learned (often the hard way) that Bossidy is right. So much so that our central mission at my consulting and coaching firm, Lewis Leadership, is “to enable senior leaders and their teams to achieve breakthrough results through stellar execution.” I guess it’s no surprise, then, that I brought that same priority and focus to my role as a member of the board of The Avenir Project.
I was delighted to soon discover that the basic components necessary to achieve stellar execution were already taking shape and evolving nicely.
Research has proven, and our experience bears out, that stellar execution is a function of four essential elements as illustrated below:
As the first step, the organization must Achieve Strategic Clarity. This simply means knowing why we exist (our purpose), what we believe (our values), what we do (our mission), and where we intend to take our mission (our vision). From there it is critical to define the “how” we will make it happen. These are the strategies of the organization. Madison and her team have done a great job of defining these components for The Avenir Project. While our strategies will evolve, there is currently great clarity about our direction and the path we will take to achieve it!
But being clear isn’t enough. There must also be alignment with and between all the key stakeholders of the mission. Being aligned means that all parties fully understand and are committed to support our strategic direction. At The Avenir Project, we are hard at work carrying the message to our team members, our partners and the residents of EMSF’s Le Prince Orphanage, and to our financial supporters. This requires very intentional communications with each group. Since great communication is always two-way, we are also listening hard to the response to the message and any feedback you and others might have to share.
Once strategy is clear and everyone is aligned and committed, we must Build Leadership Capacity. Leaders at all levels of the mission are critical to turn strategy into action with great outcomes. Leadership starts with our founder and CEO. Madison brings the balance of a huge heart, a great mind, and a strong bias to act (i.e., she gets stuff done!). She is supported by her husband and co-founder, Blake. Blake has a gift for business operations and serves the ministry as our Chief Operations Officer. Our remaining co-founder, William, is a dedicated field specialist, bringing hands-on support and serving as liaison to the orphanage.
Of course, of critical importance are the “on-the-ground” leaders of ESMF’s Le Prince Orphanage. Their heart commitment and tireless efforts have built this incredible orphanage. We are privileged to come alongside them to help take the orphanage to the next level while ensuring the sustainability to continue helping orphans heal and thrive.
Finally, Madison and Blake have thoughtfully assembled the core members of our board, each with complementary skills and experiences essential in providing proper oversight and counsel to organization management. Our board meetings include lively debates and creative problem-solving that ensure management is tapping into the best thinking in making decisions and executing with excellence.
The third element of stellar execution is to Acquire Process Capability. These are the organizational processes needed to get great results. As a small, early-stage ministry, we need to be careful to introduce the right type and amount of process at the right time—no sooner or later than needed. Examples would be our financial management process, our marketing and communications processes, and our fund development process. Each of these and others are very much on the minds of management and the board alike and are undergoing rapid development and implementation.
The final element is to Establish an Accountability Culture, which also creates a great place to work and serve. This means ensuring that everyone’s roles are clear and that team members are empowered to make decisions and take action in their areas of responsibility. Ideally, each team member then willingly embraces ownership and accountability for their part of the whole. When combined with effective recognition and focused development, we will build a high performing team operating in a positive and uplifting culture. . . that is also a great place to work!
So the future is bright, and the prospects are excellent that The Avenir Project can and will “achieve breakthrough results through Stellar Execution!”
