The strategy has been developed and the priorities are clear. Leaders are busy with meetings, decisions and results. But those results are operational. Strategic tasks keep being postponed, quarter after quarter.
This is not a question of discipline or motivation “in a vacuum.” People work toward what they are paid for. If the reward system is tied to operational metrics, top managers will stay focused on day-to-day operations. Always. Even when strategy matters and everyone understands that.
A strategy-oriented reward system is not a bonus “for effort.” It is a mechanism that shapes the team’s behaviour and makes strategy execution a personal priority for every leader.
The strategy has been approved, but the top team’s strategic tasks are moving slowly because day-to-day operations always win.
Each leader is focused on their own function and metrics, while shared strategic priorities remain somewhere on the side.
Major changes are ahead, and they need to become a real priority for every leader rather than remain a declaration.
Top managers compete for resources instead of supporting each other’s decisions, and the reward system pushes them in that direction.
The current motivation system was designed for different priorities and has not been reviewed against the current strategy for a long time.
A new organisational structure has been designed, but people continue to work by the old rules.
The bonus system encourages local efficiency instead of a shared result.
The more strongly individual functions are rewarded in isolation, the harder it becomes for them to work together.
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What is the core principle?
We create a reward system that motivates leaders not only to achieve their own results, but also to execute the company’s strategy together.
Most reward systems are built around leaders’ individual KPIs. This works well for operational management, but does little to support strategy execution. Each leader seeks to improve their own function’s performance, while the company’s overall result remains outside anyone’s personal accountability.
We change this logic. Alongside individual metrics, part of each leader’s reward is tied to shared strategic results and the success of cross-functional initiatives.
As a result, leaders benefit not only from achieving their own goals, but also from helping colleagues execute the company’s strategy. People naturally focus most on what their reward depends on.
Project stages
- Stage 1: Analysing the company’s goals and current reward system
- Stage 2: Analysing and redesigning the non-financial reward system
- Stage 3: Building a system of reward pools
- Stage 4: Launching and fine-tuning the reward system
Why the system is accepted and works
A reward system works only when it supports the interests of both the business and the management team. Our task is to create a model in which achieving the company’s strategic goals benefits both the company and its leaders.
That is why we do not design the system behind closed doors. We build it together with the management team, drawing on the leaders’ experience and expertise. This helps account for the realities of the business, identify potential contradictions early, and build trust in the new system.
As a result, the company receives more than a new reward model. It receives a system that leaders understand, consider fair, and see as a natural part of how the company is managed.
A motivation system where every leader has a personal incentive to move strategic tasks forward, not only operational metrics.
The top team starts working toward a shared result: the model makes cooperation beneficial and competition for resources unhelpful.
Strategic priorities stop losing to day-to-day operational demands because they are built into the reward logic.
A transparent system the team can understand: every leader knows what they receive a bonus for, how it is calculated, and how their actions connect to company results.
Every day, the reward system encourages the decisions and actions leaders need to take for the company to achieve its long-term strategic goals.
Rewards focus the management team’s attention on the key constraints, strategic initiatives and results that shape the company’s development.
Project Expert
Iryna Sotnikava
Co-Founder of A.maze.S
Tell us about your situation. We will discuss what should be reviewed and how to structure the project.
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