By Stella Olivia Kikoyo
IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS OR YOUR TEAM PERFROMANCE THROUGH COORDINATION AND ALIGNMENT OF THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE MCKINSEY 7-S FRAMEWORK.
This model/framework can be used by individuals, teams, small and medium enterprises, departments, institutions and corporations.
This is one of the key timeless tools you can use to analyse and develop key internal elements across different spectrums of life, businesses and institutions. It can be used in all institutions like schools, businesses, industries and government parastatals. I use this tool in guiding my clients and mentees both in leadership roles in their own businesses or as managers in their organisations. I also integrate the framework in many business trainings. This tool can also be used by a start up, non-profit making and even family operations.
Many enterprises start with just the need to start with no vision of where they are going and road map to get there. Those that do, miss the need to align all the components for effectiveness. Many start up wait until they have grown and start focusing and adopting one component at a time. However this can be dangerous. It is like starting to build a house and adopting new key structural changes as you move along without analysing the effects of this on the foundation and overall structure. There’s need to plan for growth. However many people create excuses that stop them from planning as given below:
- Too busy, no time
- Lack of resources – no money, no people
- The economy
- The future is too uncertain especially after the pandemic
- Lack of interest
- I don’t even know where to start.
Get into planning ahead “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” Richard Cushing. It is also known that failure to plan is planning to fail.
When addressing goals you need to have certain things in place to be able to achieve those goals. Do you know what element is key in enabling change in the organisation you work for or in your business? McKinsey 7-S model still stands strong in guiding today’s business operations. The model was developed in the late 1970s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman who were both former consultants at McKinsey and company. The two gentlemen identified internal elements of an organisation that need to be in place and aligned for it to achieve its intended goals and mission. The framework is a constellation of interrelated elements that influence an organisation’s ability to change. The aim of the tool is to show how the 7-Ss align to achieve effectiveness. Critical to its understanding is that all parts work together and that a significant progress in one part of the organisation is difficult without working with others.
Has your organization put these key elements in place? Does it reflect and analyse each of them to see how each component integrates and influences another?
In this article, you will be able to identify the key elements in detail and learn how to improve performance and bring about a much-needed change in your organisation or business by ensuring that these key elements all work.

This framework can help you to analyse and examine likely effects of a future change in your organisation or align your subsidiaries or departments and processes. It can work well with mergers and acquisitions and development of teamwork or even with family offices – new family oriented approach.
This model has two elements.
The HARD S and SOFT S elements
HARD ELEMENTS | SOFT ELEMENTS |
Strategy | Style |
Structure | Staff |
Systems | Skills |
Shared Values | |
SHARED VALUES is center of the model as these becomes central in building the organisation’s culture, which is the way people do things. From here the focus becomes alignment and support bring about balance and improved performance.
HARD ELEMENTS
As shown above, there’re three hard elements that is strategy, structures and systems. These can be identified by the organization or institution and evaluated with ease.
What business strategy do you have in place?
What is the structure of your organization or team – small, medium or big? There should be a structure that supports the flow of information within the team members and the organization as a whole.
What systems do you have in place to support the structure and strategy?
SOFT ELEMENTS
Everyone worries about the soft elements. Soft elements include shared values, staff, skills and style. They are less tangible and very difficult to analyses yet they have a big impact on the organisation’s performance and thus as important as the hard elements. However most organisations and enterprises spend more money and time on the hard elements.
What each element entails:
- Strategy: This is the organisation’s or enterprises’ plan for building a sustained competitive advantage over its competitors. A strategy that is clear and helps to achieve a competitive advantage. This is well aligned by the vision, mission and values. What is critical is that strategy cannot be analysed on its own, it affects and is affected by others like structure.. How adoptable is your strategy today?
- Structure: This how your company is organised? It is how departments, divisions and teams are organised and how information flows up and down or across departments or teams. Who is in authority? What are the relationships? Who is accountable to who? Is it a flat or hierarchical structure? An organisational chart is easy to understand and adopt if need be.
- Systems: The daily activities and procedures of your enterprise and includes the way things are done. How the team does the work it does. This may be the focus as it requires a lot to change.
- Shared values: These are the core values of an enterprise, institution or business corporation. They relate to the company culture.
- Staff: What type of people are required, grown and developed? How many are required? How diverse is your staff? How are they recruited, trained and motivated?
- Style: The approach of governance and leadership used by top management. How they interact and the actions they take. The way we do things and culture. These are difficult to analyse. What is the focus? This can have an impact on the type of investments you make and the people you recruit.
- Skills: This focuses on individual and institutional skills, capabilities and competences. How broad and deep should the skills be? What skills are needed to support the strategy? What can you do for yourself and what requires outsourcing?
Using the questions below analyse to check for consistency, alignment, any conflict, gaps, support, strength and weakness.
Take the following steps starting with the shared values, then move to the hard elements and lastly to the soft elements.
- Identify areas that are not fully aligned
- Determine the best organisational design
- Decide what is to be changed
- Make the changes required
- Review what was implemented.
The process will need to be back and forth with adjustments and reanalysis of the impact to other elements. In the process you will have an improved performance.
KEY QUESTIONS TO GET YOU STARTED WITH THE ALIGNMENT USING THE MCKINSEY 7 – S FRAMEWORK FOR YOUR ENTERPRISE, ORGANISATION AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT.
SHARED VALUES
Do the values support the structure, strategy and systems that you have in place? If not, then identify what change you might need to bring along.
- What is the vision of the organisation?
- Does the organisation have values?
- What core values do you bring into the organisation? What team or corporation culture do you have around? How do people do things?
- Are the values clear to the team?
- What are the key founding values?
STRATEGY –
- What is the enterprise’s positioning strategy in the market? Is this clear?
- How does the organisation intend to achieve its goals and objectives?
- What is the competitive positioning approach?
- How does your organisation adopt to changing market conditions?
- How adoptable is your strategy today?
STRUCTURE: Structure should support the strategy developed and system
- How is the team divided?
- Is it a flat structure or hierarchical?
- What is the span of control? How many people are under each manager or team leader?
- How many departments exist?
- How do the departments coordinate work and activities?
- Is decision making centralized or decentralized?
- What are the lines of communication? Explicit or implicit?
SYSTEMS
- How is business done?
- What operating systems do you have in place?
- How do the systems support structure and strategy?
- Are there any controls in place?
- How is the progress evaluated?
- What are the rules, procedures and policies clear to the team?
STYLE:
- What kind of leadership style do those in leadership use?
- How effective is the style in supporting team harmony and performance?
- Is there teamwork in your enterprise or organisation?
STAFF:
- What is the size of the organisation?
- What positions do you have today? Are there gaps to be filled?
- Do the staff have the capabilities to do what is required to be done?
- What is the plan to address the capabilities?
SKILLS:
- What skillsets do you currently have?
- Are there any gaps?
- What is the team good at?
- Do all the staff have the skillsets required? If not, what can be done?
Develop your framework for improved performance today.
To learn more visit 360 Stellar Coaching, Training and Consultancy www.360stellarctc.com –