In the first two parts of this series, we explored the foundations of strategy, the levels at which it operates, and the board’s evolving role in shaping and guiding organisational direction. We also examined how the three horizons of strategy and the imperatives of ESG and GRC frameworks are reshaping boardroom priorities.
This third part transitions from strategy design to strategy execution — where vision is translated into measurable results. Strategy without execution is merely aspiration; execution transforms that aspiration into sustainable impact.
The board’s focus must therefore extend beyond approving the strategy to ensuring that strategic intent becomes embedded in the organisation’s operations, culture, and performance systems.
The board’s role in strategy execution
While management leads the day-to-day implementation of strategy, the board plays an equally vital role in ensuring strategic alignment and accountability. The board’s focus should not only be on what strategy is pursued, but how effectively it is executed across the enterprise.
Key board responsibilities in execution include:
Clarifying strategic priorities so that management and staff align their activities with organisational goals.
Setting measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked directly to strategic outcomes.
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Monitoring progress through regular reporting, dashboards, and performance scorecards.
Supporting leadership by challenging assumptions and fostering innovation — without crossing into management functions.
Ensuring accountability and learning, where successes are celebrated and lessons from setbacks are applied.
When boards maintain active oversight throughout execution, they transform strategy from a static document into a living framework for growth and resilience.
Strategic performance monitoring
Execution demands oversight that balances short term performance with long-term direction. Many boards monitor financial results, but strategic oversight goes further — it evaluates whether the organisation is truly moving toward its vision.
Boards should continually ask:
Are strategic initiatives delivering the intended impact?
Are resources being utilised efficiently and effectively?
Are emerging risks and opportunities being integrated into the strategy?
Using balanced scorecards, strategy maps, and digital dashboards, boards can maintain visibility of progress and ensure that oversight remains forward-looking and proactive, not reactive.
Risk, resilience in strategy execution
Today’s environment is defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. In such conditions, risk management and resilience are not compliance exercises — they are strategic imperatives.
Boards must ensure execution is anchored in a strong risk framework that identifies threats, quantifies impacts, and embeds mitigation mechanisms. But just as importantly, boards should help management view risk as a source of strategic insight, not merely a hazard.
Resilient organisations anticipate disruption, adapt rapidly, and sustain performance despite challenges. Through scenario planning, stress testing, and contingency preparedness, boards build the organisational capacity to thrive amid uncertainty.
Technology and strategy
Technology is now a defining force in strategic success. Boards can no longer view technology as a back office function — it is a core driver of competitiveness, transformation, and risk.
Boards must ensure digital transformation, data governance, and cybersecurity are integrated into strategic priorities. They should also assess how emerging technologies — such as artificial intelligence, automation, and analytics — support business model evolution, innovation, and customer experience.
A technology-aware board is better positioned to challenge management constructively, approve investments with insight, and anticipate disruption before it occurs. In today’s environment, technology governance is strategy governance.
The ESG and GRC connection
The modern organisation operates under increasing scrutiny from investors, regulators, and the public. This has elevated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) frameworks to the centre of strategic oversight.
Boards must ensure ESG is woven into the fabric of strategy execution. Environmental responsibility, social equity, and governance integrity directly influence value creation and stakeholder trust.
Similarly, a well-integrated GRC structure enhances strategic discipline — aligning risk, compliance, and performance management. When ESG and GRC are embedded rather than appended, they become strategic levers for sustainable growth and reputation protection.
Keeping strategy alive
Strategy is not a one-off plan but a living, evolving process. Successful boards institutionalise an annual strategic refresh cycle, complemented by mid-term reviews that assess relevance and impact.
This ensures strategy evolves in line with changing market dynamics, technology, and stakeholder expectations. Through this renewal process, boards foster organisational agility and continuous improvement — keeping the strategy vibrant, responsive, and results-oriented.
Effective execution relies on a strong partnership between the board and executive management. The board provides governance, challenge, and oversight; management drives delivery and operational excellence.
For this relationship to succeed:
The board must maintain strategic altitude — avoiding micromanagement.
Management must ensure transparency and timely communication.
Both must share a unified vision of organisational success.
Continuous board development and exposure to global trends further strengthen strategic foresight and decision-making quality at the top.
Performance bonus systems
Performance-based bonus systems can be powerful mechanisms to align individual behaviour with strategic objectives. When properly designed, they motivate employees, reinforce accountability, and direct focus toward achieving measurable outcomes tied to the organisation’s long-term goals.
However, their effectiveness depends on balance.
Overemphasis on short-term financial targets can distort priorities, undermine ethics, or discourage innovation. Unrealistic targets can also demotivate employees or encourage manipulation of metrics.
Boards must therefore ensure incentive structures are fair, transparent, and strategically balanced — rewarding not only results but also behaviours, innovation, and sustainability. The best systems link performance rewards to both the “what” and the “how” of success.
The strategy cycle
The Strategy Cycle represents the ongoing rhythm of defining, executing, evaluating, and adapting strategy. It typically involves four stages: formulation, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation.
Formulation defines direction and value creation. Implementation translates it into operational reality. Evaluation measures progress, while adaptation refines the strategy based on learning and environmental shifts. Boards play a vital role throughout — guiding, reviewing, and ensuring alignment. The cycle underscores that strategy is not an event, but a discipline — one that sustains competitiveness and relevance over time.
Conclusion
Boards stand at the intersection of foresight, governance, and accountability. Their greatest contribution lies not in approving strategy, but in ensuring its realisation.
When boards champion effective execution — anchored in technology, sustainability, and sound governance — strategy becomes part of the organisation’s DNA.
In an era of complexity and disruption, boards that combine strategic vision with disciplined execution will not only lead organisations to success but leave enduring legacies of integrity, impact, and innovation.
Matigimu is a business consultant and trainer. These weekly New Perspectives articles, published in the Zimbabwe Independent, are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy in Zimbabwe (CGI Zimbabwe). — [email protected] or mobile: +263 772 382 852.
