Here is an excerpt from an article written by Randall H. Russell  for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here.

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Too many CEOs and other leaders today are uncertain about their role in executing strategy. Too often they relegate this and miss an important opportunity to perform the role of Chief ExecutionOfficer. Unlike a traditional CEO, the Chief Execution Officer gets involved in the details of strategy execution by: translating the strategy into measurable objectives, sharing the story of the strategy with internal and external audiences, establishing a feedback system, and by aligning the reward and recognition system with strategy.

By not relegating the execution of strategy, the Chief Execution Officer can achieve consensus and commitment across the leadership team, establish and preserve the integrity of the strategy, and engage the work force. If done correctly, this approach and these achievements can greatly improve performance of the strategy. But for many CEOs, becoming actively engaged in strategy execution remains a challenge.

Why is that? Mostly because evolving from the position of a CEO to that of a Chief Execution Officer requires a new management approach, and most traditional CEOs are loathe to try a new approach when it comes to something as critical as strategy. Based on over 150 case examples the lessons from those who have successfully evolved their own management style and who have become Chief Execution Officers, we can identify the steps that lead to success.

[Here’s the first.]

Lead the Leadership Team. The creation of a leadership team that is unified around the strategy is the most important prerequisite for successful strategy execution.Getting the right people, in the right seats, is a prerequisite to successful strategy execution because strategy typically requires new levels of cross-functional integration. Executives who resist this type of consensus can undermine successful strategy execution. Consensus on, and commitment to, the strategy provides a litmus test for determining who on the leadership team should stay and who should go. Making these tough staffing choices is a role for the Chief Execution Officer.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Randall H. Russell is Vice President, Strategy Execution Center, Palladium Group, Inc. Russell, who has spent more than a decade in partnership with Robert Kaplan & David Norton, is founding editor of Balanced Scorecard Report: The Strategy Execution Source.