Strategic Planning: It Takes a Team!

Does this scenario sound familiar?

As the executive director of a small nonprofit, you are likely in the habit of wearing many different hats at your organization – often multiple hats at the same time. It’s time for your organization to set goals for the upcoming year through a strategic planning process. While some organizations bring in outside consultants to lead this process, you are confident the strategic planning process is one more task you are ready to handle.  So, where do you begin?

The best first step to take is one often overlooked by some nonprofit leaders who – whether out of necessity or habit – often find themselves working solo while steering the organizational helm. When it comes to strategic planning, it really takes a team. 

Who should have a seat at the table?

When selecting your team, consider the voices needed to represent your organization and your stakeholders. Consider not just organizational hierarchy but the knowledge and skills of your staff and board members when forming the strategic planning team. Teams run only by the Board and staff could be tempted to focus on a ‘pet’ project. Consider including key stakeholders who may not be as familiar with the organization’s internal workings but can still offer a critical perspective.

Forming a Leadership Team

It is also a great idea to consider leading the strategic planning process with a partner or small team. At a minimum, you want two people involved in this process – a group facilitator and notetaker. Both roles are important and necessary leadership roles; to have the most success, these roles are best designated by considering the individuals’ strengths, not necessarily their hierarchical roles in the organization.

Facilitator

The facilitator leads upfront, keeping the group on task and focused on the conversation at hand. They need to concentrate on the flow of the conversation and make on-the-spot decisions about when to dive deeper into a dialogue, where to summarize or synthesize to move along, and when to reinforce the boundaries of the conversation. 

Good facilitators remain in active listening mode – paying attention to the spoken words and nonverbal clues such as body language and facial expressions – to discern the messages being shared.

Facilitators need to keep an eye on the bigger picture, strategizing how each session contributes to the overarching goals of the strategic planning process. At the same time, a facilitator pays careful attention to the group dynamics and can adapt the process to their group’s needs without getting bogged down by details or getting off track of the overall goal of the session.

Notetaker

The notetakers role is also an important leadership role. There is power implicit in this person’s position of taking down what participants say. If the notetaker is not taking verbatim notes (most of whom do not), the notetaker continuously selects and synthesizes from the conversation around them. It can be challenging to ensure their own opinions or interests do not impact what or how notes are being recorded. 

A note-taker wants to catch specific details but should also be listening for themes and larger, overarching ideas. They can look out for and make note of nonverbal clues as well. (For example, did certain people around the table seem agitated or uncomfortable during certain parts of the discussion? Was there a point when everyone around the table became excited or energized?) 

Sometimes the note-taking role can be divided up among two people. This way, one person can concentrate on capturing specific details; another person can listen for and note the more prominent themes or ideas.

Strategic Planning Leadership Characteristics

In summary, the leadership team should be clear on the goals and purpose of each step in the strategic planning process and the roles each person on the leadership team will play to achieve those goals. In addition, the facilitator and note-taker(s) should maintain good communication and support each other in maintaining objectivity and empathy.

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