Management and leadership are complicated and involve both strategic and tactical execution on new initiatives for success. In the early 1990s, private sector companies started to use the balanced scorecard to develop a more strategic approach to their operations. The balanced scorecard helps organizations improve the articulation and understanding of their strategies.

The scorecard, as illustrated in Figure 1, also provides a framework for building strategies, addressing financial issues and customer service perspectives, creating internal processes aligned to customer needs, and creating an environment supporting technology, organizational learning, and continuous change.

 

Unique Challenges Require Unique Scorecard

Leaders in the public sector need a scorecard tailored to their unique needs and challenges. The scorecard should serve as a compass for aligning strategy with the tactical implementation of new initiatives and promote collaborative decision making. One such public sector scorecard or tool is called 4 Square Management (see Figure 2).

The vacuum that is often created without this alignment results in new initiatives that create some unexpected consequences when they are implemented.

A simple but impactful example of unexpected consequences is when a governing board acts on a policy, but the staffing and long-term financial resources to effectively implement the policy are not considered. Using a tool that provides a clear compass to guide an organization so that it avoids the potential pitfalls of these unintended consequences is critical to more effective governance.

A manager can often overlook and not plan for the challenges that change may bring to her or his organization. The fundamental flaw in most innovators' strategies is that they focus on their innovations—on what they are trying to do—rather than on understanding how the larger culture structure and norms will react to their efforts.¹

Staying on course is not easy in the public sector. A tool or compass that sets a framework for both strategy and implementation of that strategy would be useful. Public sector environments have significantly more transparency than the private sector.

The actions of governing boards that direct management are conducted in the proverbial fish bowl of public opinion. This public opinion that is increasingly being shaped and directed by print and social media can sometimes result in reactionary instead of strategic decisions.

A checklist for public sector leaders could provide a compass to maneuver through the development and implementation of new initiatives. The key is finding the balance between these factors to successfully implement new initiatives:

• Stakeholders' and customers' expectations.

• Governing boards' desire to meet those expectations through policy direction.

• Management (executive leadership) capacity to implement the policy.

• Capacity of employees to execute the policy for stakeholders and customers.

4 Square Management is a tool designed to strategically and tactically guide an organization through a measured process of improving the effectiveness of implementing new initiatives or projects. So how does it work?

Prior to implementing any new initiative, here are questions that should be addressed in each of these four categories:

 

1. Stakeholders' and customers' expectations.

• Is this initiative consistent with our value, vision, and mission statements?

• Is it one of our stated priorities or strategic focus areas?

• Does it address an immediate and pressing problem that is appropriate for the organization to address?

• If funding is involved, can this initiative be sustained over the next five years with other competing budget priorities?

 

2. Governing board's desire to meet those expectations through policy direction.

• What are the outcomes we will use to determine if this initiative is successful?

• When will the initiative be reviewed to determine how it is being implemented?

• Do we have existing policy direction from an approved general plan or other plan to undertake this initiative?

• What are the best practices for this initiative?

 

3. Management (executive leadership) capacity to implement the policy.

• Do we have the necessary operational procedures to implement the initiative?

• If the initiative requires technology, is it in place or do we have to purchase it?

• Is a performance-measurement system in place to track the outcomes or results of the initiative?

• Do we have the necessary structure and supervisory capacity to implement the initiative?

• Do we need a field trip to an organization that has developed and implemented the initiative?

• What are contingency plans if the initiative has problems while being implemented?

• What is our communication strategy for the initiative and the spokesperson?

 

4. Capacity of employees and volunteers to execute the policy for the stakeholders/customers.

• Has first-line employee and volunteer input been received on how to implement the initiative effectively?

• Is employee and volunteer training required to implement the initiative?

• How will implementing this initiative impact current work cycles for services?

• How will implementing this initiative affect timelines on implementing any other initiatives directed by the governing board?

 

How Effective Is This Approach?

Since 2012, 4 Square Management has been used as one approach to help Spokane County, Washington's Fire District 8 work more effectively to link its strategic planning efforts with priorities of the fire district board and customers, along with its management, employee, financial, and technology capacity to successfully implement projects.

"Before 4 Square Management, the district did not have a consistent method for strategically planning and executing projects," notes Chief Tony Nielsen. "The development of a new strategic plan was an appropriate time for the district to consider this planning tool for its current and future projects."

A public sector scorecard like the 4 Square Management tool is adaptable to each organizations' needs and can provide the platform for implementing a more collaborative approach for leaders. This simple template for governing boards and management to use will help to ensure a new initiative has run the gauntlet for its successful implementation.

 

Endnotes and Resources

¹ Senge, P. M. (1999). The Dance of Change: The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations. New York: Currency/Doubleday, page 26.