Most organizations struggle to make their strategy work for them, not against them.
Leadership teams invest time defining clear goals, yet months later, progress feels disconnected. Teams stay busy, but outcomes don’t reflect the original intent.
The issue rarely lies in the strategy itself; instead, it emerges in the space between planning and execution, where goals are expected to translate into action but often don’t.
This gap forms because strategy is typically defined at the top but not effectively translated downward. As it moves across departments and teams, it loses clarity, context, precision, and urgency. What begins as a focused direction becomes fragmented efforts, with each part of the organization interpreting priorities according to its specific needs.
Why Employees Feel Disconnected from Strategy
A significant portion of employees don’t fully understand their company’s strategy or how their work contributes to it. This lack of clarity creates a ripple effect. People default to what they believe matters, which often leads to redundant efforts or misplaced priorities. Without a clear line of sight between daily tasks and long-term goals, work becomes activity-driven rather than outcome-driven.
The activity becomes the outcome in and of itself.
This disconnect also impacts motivation. When individuals can’t see how their contributions fit into a larger purpose, engagement drops, and whilst teams may still perform their roles as expected, without alignment, their efforts rarely compound into little more than droll progress at best.
The Cost of Misalignment in Daily Operations
Misalignment is not always obvious at first.
It shows up subtly in duplicated work or conflicting priorities that beget delays caused by constant clarification and reclarification.
Over time, these small inefficiencies accumulate into larger organizational challenges. Departments begin optimizing for their own success metrics, often at the expense of broader company goals.
Instead of moving in one direction, the organization pulls itself apart. Meetings increase, coordination becomes more complex, and leadership spends more time realigning than advancing strategy. The result is a system where effort is high, but impact remains limited.
Understanding Cascading Goals and Why They Matter
What Cascading Goals Actually Do
Cascading goals provide a structured way to connect high-level strategy with everyday work. Rather than keeping objectives at the leadership level, they break them down into actionable goals for departments, teams, and individuals. This process ensures that strategic priorities don’t remain abstract but become part of daily execution.
The purpose is not simply to distribute goals downward but to create alignment across the organization. Each level interprets and translates the strategy in a way that fits its role, while still maintaining a clear connection to the bigger picture.
How the Cascade Works in Practice
The cascading process typically follows a logical flow. Leadership defines a small set of clear, measurable strategic goals. Departments then translate these into functional objectives based on how they contribute to those goals. Teams further refine these into specific KPIs they can control, and managers connect those KPIs to individual responsibilities.
When this process is done correctly, every layer of the organization understands its role in achieving the overall strategy. There is no ambiguity about priorities, and each action contributes to a shared outcome.
Why Alignment Depends on More Than Structure
While the structure of cascading is important, alignment ultimately depends on communication and transparency. Employees need to understand not just what they are doing, but why it matters. Without this context, even well-defined goals can lose their impact.
Effective cascading also requires two-way communication. Teams must be able to provide feedback, highlight constraints, rearrange objectives, and adapt goals when necessary. This balance between direction and flexibility is what turns cascading from a rigid system into a practical one.
Where Cascading Breaks Down (and What Causes It)
Misaligned KPIs and Conflicting Priorities
One of the most common issues in organizations is misaligned KPIs. Teams often define success based on what they can measure easily, rather than what supports the overall strategy. This leads to situations in which different departments work toward goals that unintentionally conflict.
A company might aim to improve customer experience, while individual teams focus on speed, cost reduction, or output volume. Each goal may seem valid in isolation, but without alignment, they create friction instead of progress.
Silos, Ownership Gaps, and Communication Failures
Siloed thinking emerges when departments operate without visibility into each other’s goals. This lack of coordination leads to duplicated efforts and delayed outcomes. At the same time, unclear ownership creates confusion about who is responsible for driving specific results.
Communication plays a central role in both of these challenges. When strategic goals are inconsistently reinforced or not clearly explained, teams are left to interpret them on their own. This results in fragmented execution and ongoing misalignment.
Overcomplication and Lack of Follow-Through
Another common breakdown occurs when organizations overcomplicate their cascading systems. Too many layers create confusion rather than clarity. Employees struggle to prioritize, and focus becomes diluted.
Even when goals are well defined, they often fail due to a lack of follow-through. Without regular reviews, audits, updates, analyses, and adjustments, alignment weakens over time. Strategy becomes static, while the business environment continues to change.
Building Alignment Through Effective Cascading
Keeping Goals Focused and Visible
Effective cascading starts with simplicity. Organizations that limit their strategic goals to a small, focused set are more likely to maintain alignment. Clear goals make it easier for teams to understand priorities and translate them into action.
Visibility is equally important. When goals are accessible through shared dashboards or centralized systems, alignment becomes part of daily work. People are more likely to stay focused when they can see how their efforts connect to broader objectives.
Creating Accountability and Continuous Alignment
Alignment is not achieved solely through goal-setting. It requires ongoing management. Regular performance reviews and feedback loops help ensure that goals remain relevant and achievable. These moments of reflection allow teams to identify misalignment early and adjust accordingly.
Clear ownership also strengthens accountability. When individuals understand their responsibilities and how they contribute to team outcomes, execution becomes more consistent. Accountability shifts from being enforced to being naturally embedded in the system.
Balancing Structure with Flexibility
While cascading provides structure, it should not limit adaptability. Organizations need to remain flexible as priorities evolve. This means allowing teams to adjust goals, refine KPIs, and respond to new challenges without losing alignment with the overall strategy.
The most effective systems combine structured goal-setting with continuous feedback and collaboration. This approach ensures that alignment is maintained, even as conditions change.
Final Thoughts
Organizations rarely fail because of poor strategy. More often, they fail because the strategy never fully connects to execution. Without alignment, even the best plans remain theoretical, while teams continue working without a shared direction.
Cascading goals address this challenge by creating a clear link between high-level objectives and everyday actions. They provide structure, improve visibility, and help organizations move as a cohesive system rather than a collection of independent parts.
When alignment is achieved, the difference is noticeable. Work becomes more focused, collaboration improves, processes interlink, and progress becomes measurable. Strategy stops being something discussed in meetings and starts becoming something that actively drives results. In the end, cascading is not just a process. It is a way of ensuring that every effort within an organization contributes to a common purpose.
Image source: danielvfung from Getty Images via Canva
Democratizing strategy planning refers to the process of involving various stakeholders of all organizational levels in the strategy formulation process. In the traditional approach, strategy planning is a top-down process formulated by selected stakeholders like the senior management and key decision makers. So, to make the process more inclusive and participatory, democratizing strategy planning comes into account.
One of the main advantages of democratizing strategy planning is that it increases employee engagement. Thomas, K. W. (2009) discussed in his paper “Intrinsic Motivation at Work: What drives employee engagement” that when employees feel that their voice is heard within the organization, they are more likely to feel connected and invested in the organizational success, which increases their motivation, commitment, and job satisfaction, and that means a lot for them as they feel more valued in the organization.
Another advantage of democratizing strategy planning is that it enhances ownership and accountability, which will be reflected in improved employee engagement, as employees who participate in the strategy planning feel a stronger sense of ownership and responsibility, which leads to extra accountability and willingness to go the extra mile in achieving the organizational objectives as per the psychological ownership theory, which emphasizes on the role of psychological ownership in influencing employee attitude and behavior which lead them to be more engaged, motivated and committed to their organization.
To implement democratized strategy planning, having and securing the leadership buy-in is crucial to its success, so it is necessary to present the benefits and potential of increasing employee engagement and fostering innovation in the organization.
After getting leadership buy-in, we need to define a clear scope of where employee inputs would be more valuable, which is recommended to be initiative-specific in the beginning to avoid any potential analysis paralysis. In addition, it is vital to develop a precise feedback mechanism to capture different stakeholders’ diverse perspectives and ideas and recognize and reward participation.
This process will take time to be implemented correctly without any issues, so it is essential to mention that continuous improvement is critical to reach a practical approach. A great starting point is attending the Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional course by The KPI Institute. Learn more about it and secure your slot here.
What does business as usual mean now? How have last year’s events changed the future of work? How has employee engagement changed? New business models, exponential technology, agile working methods, and regulation are constantly changing how organizations work. Let’s take a closer look at lessons learned through the experiences of employee engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world was shaken, and despite the negative effects of the recent global health crisis, we can all agree on one thing: We learned a lot in terms of organizational change and growth. After businesses were forced to close their offices and manage all their employees remotely, the learning curve for managers was initially steep. Yet this new way of functioning has brought valuable lessons about how to boost employee engagement that should not be forgotten in the new normal.
Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization and its employees, vision, and goals. It is not only about employee satisfaction, high salaries, or benefits packages. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages, such as higher productivity and lower employee turnover.
So, let’s see some lessons and how some companies managed their organizations and increased engagement in a virtual environment.
1. Choose a supportive management approach.
Some companies have been allowing their employees to work from home even before the pandemic hit. They already have rules and ways to manage teams remotely. Other organizations were completely surprised when the lockdowns happened, having no procedures or ways to manage and assess employees in a remote work setup. Some common online methods used were daily or weekly team meetings and frequent 1-1 check-ins.
For many, having frequent check-ins led to a micro-goal setting and allowed employees to receive constant feedback. This coaching approach has led to performance improvement. It also allows management to easily assess and measure progress while also boosting team productivity, which, in turn, keeps employees engaged and gives them a sense of purpose and achievement in reaching goals.
INMAGINE’s remote working environment was quick to adopt best practices in the areas of employee engagement and retention. This creative company founded in 2001 started an anonymous online feedback channel for employees to share anything, assuring them that lines of communication are open. They have also formed peer support groups according to six personality types. It serves as a platform for employees to exchange stories and thoughts not just about their jobs but also their personal lives.
2. Assure a flexible and positive work environment.
For most employees, a change in the environment has become the biggest challenge. It is felt in the transition from being physically present in the office, where one can focus on work, to working at home, where varying contrasts abound, such as being alone or having young children or elderly to care for., All of these could be disruptive to any workflow.
That said, the flexible working environment that most employees experienced during COVID-19 has changed our understanding of work-life balance. Working from home has allowed employees to do their work and attend to personal needs (e.g. taking care of children, elderly, and pets and running errands) simultaneously. This has served as a reminder to managers that several non-work-related factors can affect an employee’s mindset and engagement.
Employees have proven the ability to maintain the balance between work and personal needs, albeit through a forced testing period. In the post-COVID period, management must not forget the importance of constantly creating a positive work environment for their employees. This must include ensuring that work fits into their employees’ lives and not the other way around. When employees feel that their personal needs are valued by management, their emotional connection to the organization is strengthened, and they are more likely to stay.
3. Encourage trust in leadership.
During these challenging times, employees had to trust their leaders to take the right direction and to make tough decisions about the future. A key part of trust in leadership is transparency, which means employees are aware of what is happening within their organization. This is particularly important during a work-from-home scenario, where employees rely on leaders to make crucial decisions for the future of their jobs and the organization. This is why clear, open communication between management and employees on how the organization is tackling COVID-19 is crucial.
At INMAGINE, online meetups with founders and online mentoring sessions with the CEO allowed employees of all levels to engage directly with senior management leaders. In these sessions, employees can freely ask questions and solicit feedback. Having a good collaboration platform is another example of how INMAGINE eases the challenges of working from home. INMAGINE uses Bitrix to keep employees updated on work matters, enable employees to chat live online, and create workgroups for discussions and brainstorming. The tech team advocates extra tools to help manage projects and people, Jira. This ensures that all deadlines are crystal clear to everyone, and the pipeline of each project journey is clearly outlined.
4. Build a virtual office watercooler.
For decades, practitioners have gathered around office watercoolers to catch up with colleagues. Casual conversations run the gambit from professional to personal topics. If you and your team are missing these chats, why not create a virtual watercooler so they can continue even if you are not physically in an office? Establish an “Around the Watercooler” team on the Microsoft Teams platform where team members can start or engage in random conversations throughout the day when they need a break. Add an optional standing “Watercooler Conversation” on Zoom during the week to encourage this type of interaction. If your firm uses Slack, check out the Watercooler app, where bots organize random conversations among team members. Ask your employees what platform is best for them.
5. Make a virtual remix of the firm’s favorite tax season activities.
Bring back the friendly atmosphere from the fun activities you used to have by creating new virtual versions. Incorporate a “crazy hat day” or “wear your favorite sports team attire” in virtual check-ins. Ask individuals to share interesting backstories about what they are wearing, then vote for the best attire. Host monthly lunch celebrations online to recognize your team’s accomplishments. To add to the excitement, have a meal from a restaurant client delivered to the team. How about a bracket selection party for Christmas, New Year Celebration, or other types of celebrations.
6. Reward good efforts.
People want to know that they are appreciated, especially when they work additional hours to help the company achieve its goals. Make it a priority to acknowledge your team members for their hard work. Share success stories during meetings. Pick up the phone, initiate a quick Zoom call, send an email, or write a personal note to say “thank you.” Tell them how much their dedication means to you and the management. Send them a gift card from their favorite restaurant or store, movie tickets, or other types of incentives. Do all you can to make your staff feel appreciated and valued. A little recognition can make the difference between an engaged employee and one that has a foot out the door.
To inspire trust in leadership in the post-COVID-19 period, we recommend having frequent check-ins and transparent conversations between top management, head of departments, and employees to feel included in what is happening within the organization. Moreover, it is also imperative for employees to learn about individual growth opportunities.
Leaders who invest in the learning and development of their employees will be encouraging engagement. Learning can be provided not only through professional education and training but also through constructive feedback, a crucial element in achieving a learning organization status. These practices will boost employee engagement and help organizations to retain their employees for the longer term.
Managing individual and team performance requires up-to-date knowledge and skills. Through The KPI Institute’s Employee Performance Management Professional and Practitioner training courses, leaders will learn how to develop a culture of performance and implement performance systems aligned with the strategic goals of the company. Learn more about the course by sending an email to [email protected] or calling T: +61 3 9028 2223 M: +61 4 2456 8088
Do some managers avoid giving employee feedback because of employees’ reactions or are there any other reasons?
In a 2009 Gallup survey, more than 1,000 US-based employees were sought to qualify the impact of feedback on employees. The results show that managers who focus on the strengths of employees when giving feedback create a solid level of employee engagement.
Accordingly, a manager who gives little or no feedback is not able to engage 98% of the employees. Therefore, to make employees engaged in your future vision, they need to know that their contribution is valued and that they are helping the organization to reach its goals. On the other hand, when managers avoid giving feedback, they make employees feel ignored and unimportant.
Reactions to feedback
Sometimes managers feel uncomfortable providing feedback, especially when it is negative. They often worry that the employee receiving the feedback may react defensively, ignore the message behind the feedback, or blame the manager. Some managers are not skilled to constructively provide feedback, lack confidence, or fear confrontation. They may not have enough experience to give feedback or were never trained to do so.
An employee’s reaction depends on how feedback is presented, one’s readiness, and the ability to adapt to changes. Some employees are not always sure why they are receiving a particular feedback and what the managers want them to do.
An employee may become defensive when feedback sounds like criticism, fault-finding or disciplinary, especially when it is the first time the employee is hearing the information. When employees are confronted about their poor performance, the discussion may trigger feelings of self-doubt, mistrust, and insecurity. A more effective approach is to focus on the desired positive performance rather than highlighting shortcomings.
Feedback is stressful
When managers give feedback, employees are often confused about the manager’s purpose. Sometimes, feedback receivers don’t know how to react because they are not ready to change their behavior. In fact, managers don’t always understand the inability of the subordinate to change so they avoid giving feedback rather than understanding the change process.
In general, managers believe that giving feedback is stressful or difficult because they either don’t have the time to give feedback or they have too many subordinates to be evaluated. On the other hand, managers avoid demotivating employees or want to prevent conflicts. Additionally, managers sometimes believe that employees are responsible for their own development.
Remember that performance and evaluation data are not completely helpful when they are not communicated and interpreted properly between managers and employees. What managers can do to overcome the discomfort of giving feedback is to schedule a feedback routine so that employees will be prepared. Managers can also break the ice with detailed constructive feedback.
Feedback is a gift
Whether you are receiving it or giving it, feedback can be considered as a gift. Feedback should be presented properly and should have something unique and meaningful inside that beautiful package. Here are some things to keep in mind for managers when providing feedback for their employees.
First, employees need feedback to grow and develop. Have short, frequent, and regular one-on-one meetings to find out what is important to your subordinates. Discuss progress and barriers and build trusting relationships.
Finally, consider your employee’s success as your own success. Employees who receive feedback are more likely to be successful. It is true that employees are responsible for their own development, but managers can help their subordinates focus on meaningful opportunities based on their needs.
Performance management is evolving. Increasingly, organizations are abandoning their annual appraisal systems and moving toward continuous performance management — a more agile and intuitive way to engage and motivate employees.
