Strategy execution and performance management are two different things. Everybody knows what performance management is, and it has to do with human resources (HR). HR owns performance management. It has to do with people’s competencies and how people perform within an organization, and it has to do with performance evaluations that are typically conducted annually or biannually. Leadership owns strategy execution. It is about attaining goals. It is about attaining initiatives and sustaining growth in a company. Leaders own strategy execution. HR owns performance management.

Execution and performance management get confused because only 15 percent of organizations really have strength around execution management. The other 85 percent of organizations do not, so they learn to turn to a process that is already in place. HR owns the process and they have a strength area there, so they look to HR to handle that area, thinking it’s managing performance. The fact of the matter is that HR does own that piece of it, but leaders are the ones who own responsibility for setting a direction and achieving initiatives.

Best-in-class companies have a process for strategy execution. That process is based on the fundamental that for every key initiative or objective that they have for their sustainable growth, there is a system of goals. Each goal is a system of projects and each project is a system of tasks, so each person knows who is going to do what by when. Throughout the course of the year, there is a monitoring process in place that is done on an individual basis between the manager and the employee. That process of communication and feedback is something that needs to be sustained throughout the year. The way to sustain the process is to tie it to the performance evaluation. There are two areas that have to be tied to the performance evaluation. One area is the person’s progress on their goals. The other is the record of the manager and the employees maintaining the frequency of those meetings.