ANALYSIS OF HANDS-OFF APPROACHES IN STRATEGIC PLANNING 2

Analysis of Hands-Off Approaches in Strategic Planning

In hands-off approaches, leaders or developers of the strategic plan are not actively
involved in implementing the plan. Once they have developed and presented the plan, they
give team leaders, employees, and managers the freedom to find appropriate ways of
executing the plan (Drucker, 2018). A hands-off approach is likely to lead to a successful
implementation of the strategic plan. It gives a large number of employees within the
organization control over the strategic plan’s implementation. Thus, I believe that they are
more appropriate than hands-on approaches where a few people in the organization are tasked
with implementing the strategic plan.
Despite being generally effective, there are instances where hands-off approaches do
not always work as expected. I witnessed the shortcomings of hands-off approaches when
working in a restaurant. The senior management came up with a strategic plan to increase
sales by introducing healthier menus. Once the new menus were introduced, it did not take
long before customers complained that the foods were not as healthy as marketed. It turned
out that that employees had just removed a few ingredients and lied to customers about the
nutritional value of the foods. Thus, by not closely monitoring the restaurant’s menu and
actions of employees, the senior management had created room for deception, which resulted
in the restaurant developing a negative reputation.
As the example shows, leaders must provide adequate guidance during the
implementation of the strategic plan. Without guidance and monitoring from the top
leadership, there is likely to be low accountability from employees and other people tasked
with implementing the strategic plan. This involvement in the implementation of the strategic
plan should not be confused with micromanagement. The top leadership should ensure that
everyone involved in the implementation of the strategic plan is accountable for their actions.

ANALYSIS OF HANDS-OFF APPROACHES IN STRATEGIC PLANNING 3

In conclusion, hands-off approaches can be effective in ensuring the successful
implementation of a strategic plan. However, when everyone is left to determine how to
implement the overall strategic plan, and there is no monitoring or appropriate
communication from the organization’s top management, hands-off approaches may hinder
the successful implementation of a strategic plan.

ANALYSIS OF HANDS-OFF APPROACHES IN STRATEGIC PLANNING 4

References

Drucker, P. (2018). The Strategic Planning Process. Strategic Planning in Healthcare: An
Introduction for Health Professionals, 21.