Strategy Execution by Design Series: Execution Capability

Strategy Execution by Design Series

Lever 5: Execution Feasibility
Element 5: Execution Capability

Strategy execution doesn’t fail because the capability doesn’t exist.

It fails because of how leaders make decisions about it under pressure.

The project budget gets stretched across more initiatives than it can carry. 

And when something has to give, the project isn't stopped, rather the execution capability around it is cut.

Delivery orchestration gets pared back. Change enablement is transitioned to the business. Business ownership gets assigned on paper, then that person is pulled straight back into operations.

Each decision looks reasonable at the project level.

But across the portfolio, the damage adds up.

The technical capability gaps get the airtime. The specialist gaps get the budget. But the capabilities that actually determine whether any of it lands?

They're often treated as important but never critical. 

Until execution starts to drift.

They’re the execution capabilities every strategic initiative needs, regardless of what it’s delivering. 

And most organisations have never planned for them at a portfolio level.

My research backs this up. Over 70% of senior leaders rated execution capability as critical to achieving their outcomes.

One said it plainly: “You can wish and you can dream, but if you do not have the capability to deliver on that ambition, you are just spinning your wheels.”

In my experience, there are five execution capabilities that are non-negotiable: delivery orchestration, executive sponsorship, business ownership, change enablement, and domain expertise.

These aren't just roles to fill, remember having someone named is not the same as having someone who can deliver it.

So, the question becomes how you make sure the capability is genuinely there?

Two of these, delivery orchestration and change enablement, can be sourced both internally and externally. There are more flexible options available now than ever before and if you are planning across the portfolio these decisions become far easier to address your resource model.

But the other three, executive sponsorship, business ownership, and domain expertise, cannot be outsourced. They must be built and protected internally.

If you're finding the same capabilities stretched or absent across your portfolio, that's not a resourcing problem. 

That's strategy approved without an execution plan that's actually feasible.

Here's the question I'll leave you with: In your last portfolio review, did you assess whether each initiative had the execution capability to deliver? Or just whether it had the budget to start?

Click here to access a simple tool to support you to assess capability across your portfolio: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-reti-4582433b_execution-capability-diagnostic-activity-7439791101542080512-E8Ns?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAhmYsQBKppHDyfPTxqHXXgP5MmXRjB7WJs