Phumla Mkhabela

There is a growing need to understand how leaders can initiate changes that address the problems of strategy execution. The current article attempts to address the issues that concern strategy implementation. As such, a study was carried out in a local municipality. The results of the study highlighted several important factors: the difficulty of understanding the organizational strategy, the detriment of the strategy and operations gap, as well as the financial challenges faced during the implementation of the strategy. It was, therefore, recommended that the leadership should ensure effective communication of the organizational strategy. Furthermore, there is a need for bridging the strategy and the operational divide.

Keywords: strategy and operational implementation, municipality, vision, municipal financial challenges and effective communication.
JEL Classification: E6, L21, L80