Strategic Planning

Danger? Annoyance? Magic?

No. Transformation!

I have had the privilege to work across various amazing mission driven organizations and have observed that strategic plans have evoked diverse reactions among leaders. Let me share a few examples:

Danger: For some, the words “strategic plan,” evokes terror in the hearts of organizational leaders. They worry that a strategic plan invites too many opinions, exposing the organization’s inner workings to staff, supporters, and key stakeholders who may then be privy to strengths and (even more upsetting) weaknesses. As part of the planning process these constituents might comment on strategy and goals, and potentially hold the organization- and the leader- accountable. “Danger Will Robinson!” 

Annoyance: For others, a Strategic Plan is simply an unnecessary and annoying process. Leaders with this perspective believe they already have a very clear and robust direction outlined for the organization and that this would be more performative than helpful.  Even more annoying to such a leader, a strategic plan means that the CEO must take time out of their busy schedule to think things through and make hard choices when they would prefer to keep all options open. Finally, what a waste of valuable time articulating their vision clearly and putting measurable KPIs against that vision- when they would prefer for strategy to be more malleable.  If the Board, staff, and key stakeholders could just be happy with the status quo this would allow the leader to trust her gut and not feel the unnecessary pressure of meeting goals and sticking to the plan. 

Magic:  Still others see the process of strategic planning as a mystery, where only magical, highly paid consultants can figure it out. We give them all the secret ingredients and access to staff and key stakeholders, and with a wave of their magic wands and quants expertise, they create a master plan that will propel the organization forward! If only we had enough money to pay these magicians, everything would be perfect and easy! The results, in my experience, are mixed at best. Even if the results produced are brilliant in theory, and the final document is beautifully presented, the plan doesn’t usually lend itself to the real-world constraints of needing staff and board buy-in and expertise to execute.  Ultimately the organization can find it hard to implement the magical solution. As we all have observed, it can be very disheartening to see beautiful and expensive PowerPoints shelved.

A different perspective exists: In 2023, CWE embraced a transformative approach. I have always viewed strategic planning as an opportunity to unite staff, engage volunteers, and amplify the voices of the key constituents we support to make sure we are meeting their needs.  We took this opportunity to welcome fresh perspectives from new experts, community leaders, a wide array of women entrepreneurs, and policy makers. The success hinged on clearly defining stakeholder roles through the process: staff tackled the big strategic questions and drafted proposals; the strategic planning committee brought fresh viewpoint in the form of feedback, suggestions, and asking those “stop the show” questions that challenged us to go deep and make a strong and crisp plan.  The Board was the ultimate decision-making body and, while informed throughout the process, provided final oversight and approval.  

Don’t get me wrong, as the CEO, my influence was significant, and I did not take that for granted.  I needed to balance my strong opinions and assumptions along the way (Deep Breaths Gaby). I welcomed transparency in the spirit of harnessing the amazing brain trust found in my staff, board, clients, and strategic planning committee. Sometimes meetings could veer off course but together we were able to pull it back and focus on the work that would enable a living, breathing strategic plan to guide our work over the next 3 years.

Just as important (and maybe more so) I have seen an organizational transformation within CWE; a unity of the staff with increased trust and enhanced coordination across departments. Putting together this strategic plan enabled new learning for those involved and highlighted the need to continue the journey of not only maintaining but also developing further trust and operational empathy for each other’s needs and constraints. By engaging our expert staff to work together to grapple with the big strategic questions before us, they began to understand that there is no Magic! It’s about making informed decisions, courageously tackling implementation, and being open to adapting as we measure, listen, and learn. 

PS: It also does not hurt that the Strategic Planning Process introduces new champions to our committees and some of them to our Board of Directors!

PPS: Please enjoy a summation of our overall organizational strategy (high level for public consumption) here on our website. If you have an interest in diving deeper and learning more about the goals, milestones, tactics, and KPIs related to this strategy, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at gkmorse@cweonline.org.  I would love to talk to you more about it!