Planning School

Today’s unpredictable and fast-changing realities mean you cannot think and act strategically only when you can afford to hire an outsider to lead YOUR process. Strategic processes, like planning (not just strategic acumen or thinking), must be a baseline skill set for today’s leaders. 

You need the confidence and know-how to build actionable and adaptable strategic tools that help you reach your most important goals, even when chaos and change strike! 

Bolstering your strategic planning expertise will help in these ways:

Quicker to Act and Adapt

Strategic planning is a combination of strategic thinking, strategic acumen, and strategic PROCESSES. Most leaders have strategic thinking and acumen under their belts but never learn correct, contemporary processes that they can duplicate (or adapt). This is why, even with “all that acumen,” leaders hire an outside facilitator to lead their strategic planning process. One of the missing tools is an education in the processes. When you rely on an external facilitator to build and execute your strategy, what is compromised? Your ability to act and adapt the moment you need to. Add strategic PROCESS to your toolbox and increase control and agility.

Greater Confidence

Have you ever enjoyed leading from a place of hesitation or lack of clarity? Have you ever felt comfortable following a hesitant or unclear leader? Of course not.  What happens when we have the tools and expertise to make strategic decisions and provide clear leadership? How about when we have the tools to adapt or adjust when the $h*t hits the fan (because it always does)? Our confidence goes up. We know what to do and when to do it. We know how to adjust and how to communicate that change. We know how to set a course and how to reach that goal. A leader’s confidence creates buy-in, inspiration, and commitment across the organization. And guess what? In-house strategic planning competency also increases your team’s confidence in their ability to act strategically. “We got this!” feels so good!

Stronger Commitment

Honestly, many people aren’t actually doing strategic planning (usually, it’s operational planning using strategic thinking). But when you and your team are responsible for proper strategic planning (instead of us outsiders), there will always be greater buy-in and commitment to executing the plan. The easiest way to explain this phenomenon is to say that you will be more committed to the outcome when you have more skin in the game. And isn't the point of planning to do the things in the plan?

Increased impact

Purpose-driven organizations are filled with people who care about their impact. When leadership direction is unclear, or we struggle with conflicting priorities or are overwhelmed and burned out, our ability to serve our mission is compromised. Waning impact is demotivating, and employees start polishing their resumes. Learning strategic planning so you can utilize its supportive mechanisms whenever needed helps you get clear and focused (decreasing the overwhelm) and move confidently toward your goals (increasing impact). Win-win! 

➡️ Want to continue exploring the differences between learning and leading strategic planning versus hiring a facilitator? Read "Do you need an outside facilitator?" here.

➡️ Not sure what Strategic Action Planning is? This blog explains it. 

➡️ Want to understand what strategic planning really is? Watch this video.

➡️ Need to connect? Email [email protected].

➡️ Explore Strategic Planning Support options below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️