Strategic planning is an integral part of every successful organization. After all, if you don’t have a plan (clear goals and long-term vision) how do you expect to grow?
Strategic planning often makes the difference between true growth and productivity and simply “putting out fires” day in and day out.
We’ve probably all found ourselves in that kind of situation at one point or another. Each day is filled with a steady stream of problems that need attention. You find yourself constantly dealing with issues, rather than achieving success. These working situations can be exhausting, not to mention unproductive.
What’s the solution? You guessed it…strategic planning.
Strategic planning doesn’t mean you will avoid all problems, but it does help to anticipate potential challenges and develop productive strategies for handling issues as they arise.
Now, I know what you may be thinking…
“I’ve tried strategic planning…it didn’t work for me!”
If you’ve attempted to create a strategic plan for your organization in the past but didn’t find the success you were looking for, it doesn’t mean that strategic planning isn’t for you. It simply means that some aspect of your planning process needs to be reworked or adjusted.
Here are a few common mistakes many individuals and organizations make as they attempt to create a strategic plan. Correcting these mistakes will make a significant difference in the overall impact and success of your strategic planning.
Common Strategic Planning Pitfalls:
- Ignoring Organizational Culture
The success of your strategic planning sessions, as well as the success of your plan implementation, require cooperation and buy-in from your team. In other words, if your team isn’t committed, your plan (no matter how excellent it may be) will not reap the rewards you seek.
Many organizational leaders struggle with implementing their strategic plans because they’ve neglected to build a culture within their organization that fosters inclusion, cooperation and commitment amongst all team members.
Solution ? Make building a positive team culture a top priority.
- Forgetting The Stakeholders
Stakeholders represent an entire category of support and resources that many leaders forget to tap into. Not only do your stakeholders offer a valuable perspective on the work of your organization, but their support can also increase the overall impact of your work. Additionally, if your stakeholders are included in the strategic planning process, they will have a deeper understanding and appreciation for your organization. That’s a GOOD thing.
Solution ? Contact your stakeholders and offer them a role (not just an update) in the strategic planning process.
- Neglecting Benchmark Assessments
Most strategic plans have clearly articulated end goals and specific measurement tools for quantifying your success. What many plans lack, however, are incremental benchmark assessments that will help to evaluate whether or not the work you are doing is effective in moving you towards your end goal.
These benchmark assessments allow the opportunity for small adjustments to your work and prevent you from wasting time and resources on ineffective practices.
Solution ? Take your overall “end goal” and break it into (at least) 3-5 smaller chunks. For each of these smaller goals, identify an assessment that you will use to evaluate whether or not you’ve met this benchmark.
If you struggled through the strategic planning process in the past, I invite you to give it another shot. Ask yourself, “have any of these obstacles played a role in my strategic planning?”
Strong leaders take the time to evaluate their practices, identify previous mistakes, and make adjustments accordingly.
Speaking of strong leaders…
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Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
