Mission: Impact podcast & blog
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![]() In episode 115 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Michael Butera dive into the challenges and opportunities facing associations as they adapt to 21st-century realities. They talk about:
[00:10:05] Strategic Thinking vs. Strategic Planning
Guest Bio:
Michael Butera is a keynote speaker featuring Strategic Thinking, Innovate or Stagnate: Adapting 20th Century Traditions to 21st-Century Realities. Practice areas include governance, restructuring, strategic facilitation, foresight, and coaching. He is an expert partner at the Rogue Tulip Consultants, a Toastmasters, and a Certified Maxwell Leadership Team Speaking Coach and Mentor. Important Links and Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelabutera/ Association ActiVision, LLC https://www.michaelbuteraspeaks.com/ ASAE Drivers of Change: https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/asae-foresightworks The Heath Brothers (Author of Switch and other books) https://heathbrothers.com/ SCARF model: https://www.bitesizelearning.co.uk/resources/scarf-model-david-rock-explained#:~:text=The%20SCARF%20model%2C%20introduced%20by,take%20steps%20to%20mitigate%20these. BANI: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeroenkraaijenbrink/2022/06/22/what-bani-really-means-and-how-it-corrects-your-world-view/ VUCA: https://executiveacademy.at/en/news/detail/bani-vs-vuca-how-leadership-works-in-the-world-of-tomorrow/ Related Episodes: Episode 110 Episode 109 Episode 102 Episode 90 Episode 69 Click "Read More" for a transcript of the episode. ![]() In episode 110 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton discusses who should be involved in a nonprofit strategic planning process. She: Explores How a more inclusive approach that leverages diverse perspectives from both internal and external stakeholders Challenges the traditional top-down approach, Describes the role of each group of stakeholders in the process Episode highlights: Inclusive Strategic Planning [00:00:00] Carol begins by addressing a frequent question: Who should be involved in nonprofit strategic planning? She introduces the podcast's inclusive approach, encouraging organizations to assess their current position, envision a positive future, and identify steps to reach their goals collaboratively. Challenges with Traditional Strategic Planning Models [00:02:06] Carol critiques the traditional, top-down approach to strategic planning borrowed from the for-profit sector. She explains why this model is less effective in nonprofits, where ownership is collective and all voices matter. Defining Inclusive Strategic Planning [00:02:29] Carol explains her vision of inclusive strategic planning, which encompasses concentric circles of stakeholders. This approach brings in perspectives from staff, board members, beneficiaries, community members, partners, funders, and others. Benefits of Inclusivity in Strategic Planning [00:03:02] She outlines the benefits of an inclusive approach, such as stronger buy-in and access to a wider range of perspectives. Carol addresses leaders' concerns about managing multiple voices and emphasizes that inclusivity does not mean involving everyone at every stage. Key Stakeholder Groups in Strategic Planning [00:04:00] Carol discusses the roles of various stakeholders: the strategic planning task force, executive director, leadership team, board, staff, volunteers, and external voices such as donors, funders, partners, policymakers, and community representatives. Role of the Strategic Planning Task Force [00:04:58] The task force’s purpose is clarified as stewarding the planning process rather than making content decisions, a distinction that helps manage expectations and anxiety about influence. Engaging Internal Stakeholders [00:07:00] Carol stresses the importance of involving internal stakeholders, including staff from all levels, to gain insights into the operational realities of the organization. She shares various methods for gathering their input, such as interviews, focus groups, and surveys. External Stakeholders: Partners, Funders, and Experts [00:11:02] Carol describes the value of including external voices, including funders, partners, government leaders, and futurists, in the data-gathering phase. These stakeholders can offer insights into trends and broader environmental factors. Role of the Strategic Planning Consultant [00:11:41] She explains the role of consultants, like herself, in facilitating the process and providing an outside perspective, helping organizations to synthesize diverse insights into actionable themes. Synthesizing Insights into a Coherent Plan [00:13:06] After gathering data, Carol discusses the synthesis stage, where themes and commonalities are identified. This process benefits from an external facilitator manage this big project. Conducting Constructive Planning Sessions [00:13:43] Carol emphasizes the importance of involving a cross-section of staff and board members in planning sessions to make meaning from the data. She details facilitation techniques that encourage openness and productive discussions. Balancing Vision and Decision-Making [00:14:49] Carol explains how to prioritize initiatives based on factors such as mission alignment, community impact, and resource availability, using methods that make the planning process focused and achievable. Why Inclusive Nonprofit Strategic Planning works better [00:17:20] Carol wraps up by reiterating the importance of inclusivity in strategic planning. By embracing diverse voices, nonprofits can create a shared vision that is truly reflective of the community and fosters a stronger, more effective organization. Related Episodes:
Episode 29: Online strategic planning Episode 60: Why bother doing strategic planning? Episode 70: Values based strategic planning Episode 84: Identifying skills your team needs to bring your strategic plan to life Episode 90: Five steps to successful nonprofit strategic planning Episode 109: Beyond the retreat: Comprehensive Nonprofit Strategic planning ![]() In episode 109 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton discusses the critical components of nonprofit strategic planning, emphasizing that it's much more than just a retreat. She highlights the importance of preparation, comprehensive stakeholder involvement, and continuous adaptation to ensure the strategic plan remains relevant and actionable. Hamilton underscores that nonprofits should consider a strategic planning process that includes pre-retreat work, stakeholder engagement, and post-retreat follow-through, fostering alignment between board members, staff, and the overall mission. The episode concludes by reminding leaders that strategic planning is an ongoing, adaptive process aimed at maintaining the organization’s ability to respond to changing circumstances while staying focused on its mission. Episode highlights: [00:00:00] Strategic Planning Beyond the Retreat Carol introduces the episode by discussing the common misconception that strategic planning is just about the retreat. She explains that a truly effective process requires more preparation and post-retreat follow-up for long-term success. [00:03:00] Why Do Strategic Planning? Strategic planning helps nonprofits step back to assess their current state, engage with stakeholders, and reconnect with the organization’s mission. The medium-term focus (3–5 years) creates a roadmap for growth and mission alignment. [00:05:00] Pre-Retreat Preparation: Data Gathering and Stakeholder Input Carol emphasizes the importance of gathering input from a diverse range of stakeholders before the retreat. This data gathering phase, often aided by an outside consultant, helps shape the strategic inquiry for a more informed and balanced planning process. [00:07:00] Involving Both Board and Staff in the Retreat Carol explains that involving both board members and staff (depending on the organization's size) leads to a more holistic understanding of the nonprofit and enhances buy-in for the resulting strategic plan. This inclusive approach ensures that the plan is grounded in reality and supported by key stakeholders. [00:08:20] Pitfalls of a Retreat-Only Approach If strategic planning retreats are conducted without adequate preparation, they risk creating disjointed goals that don’t align with the organization's actual capacity or needs. Carol cautions against generating “wish lists” that lack actionable steps for implementation. [00:09:00] Post-Retreat Follow-Through and Plan Implementation After the retreat, a smaller committee should refine the draft plan and ensure feedback from the larger group is integrated. Carol stresses the importance of setting shorter-term goals (quarterly, biannually) to ensure the organization remains agile and responsive to change. [00:11:00] The Dynamic Nature of Strategic Planning Strategic planning is not a static process. Carol advises that plans should be revisited regularly, with progress measured and adjustments made as new challenges arise. Having clear success indicators helps ensure the plan evolves along with the organization’s needs. [00:12:00] Embracing the Full Scope of Strategic Planning Carol concludes by reinforcing that the power of strategic planning lies in its ongoing nature, which allows nonprofits to remain adaptable and responsive while still focused on their mission. Leaders are encouraged to embrace this comprehensive process to boost both organizational impact and sustainability. In the ever-evolving landscape of nonprofit organizations, inclusive strategic planning is not just a best practice—it's a necessity. The strength of a nonprofit lies in its collective effort, embracing the voices and perspectives of all stakeholders. Traditional top-down approaches often miss the mark by excluding crucial insights from those who drive and benefit from the mission. In this post, I explore why it's so important to create a comprehensive strategic planning process that brings together executive leaders, board members, staff, volunteers, donors, and the communities served. By fostering an inclusive environment, nonprofits can develop dynamic, responsive, and effective strategies that truly reflect and serve their diverse communities. Let’s delve into how your organization can harness this inclusive approach to not only build a robust strategic plan but also cultivate a shared vision for sustained impact and success. What is strategic planning for nonprofit organizations?Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations is a process to assess where you are currently as an organization, envision a positive future and identify steps to move you from where you are to where you want to go. Strategic planning is more than just a retreat to define the mission, it's a comprehensive process that often takes months to gather data from multiple sources and move through a decision-making process to prioritize the nonprofit's goals and action steps. A key consideration is who to include at each stage in the process - from task force to focus group to retreat. Why the traditional top down nonprofit strategic planning process doesn’t workTraditionally strategic planning has been seen as solely the job of the board and the senior leadership of the organization. This model is borrowed from the for profit sector. But this assumes an owner of the organization. No one owns a nonprofit – it is a collective endeavor. When decision-making is held at the top of the organization, there are many missed opportunities and risks. You miss the perspective of important people who are all working together to move your mission and your organization forward. You risk lacking buy in to a vision created by a select few. Without buy in, implementation can then be really challenging. Therefore, I advocate for an inclusive process that includes all your important stakeholders, including the communities and individuals that the nonprofit serves. What is Inclusive nonprofit strategic planning?An inclusive nonprofit strategic planning process is very intentional about who is brought into the process at what stage. It harnesses the energy of different groups of people who are important to moving your mission forward at each stage of the process. While each of these leadership groups has a role, being more inclusive increases your likelihood of buy in to the ultimate plan as well as benefiting from a wider range of perspectives and lived experience. Leaving people out of the planning process leaves their wisdom and ideas out of the process as well. Leaders may fear a cacophony of voices and opinions if many people are included. Including everyone in the process does not actually mean that everyone will be in every step. Let’s consider who the typical stakeholder groups are and how they are involved in the strategic planning process. Strategic planning task force or committee: what is its purpose?The purpose of the nonprofit strategic planning task force is to steward the process. Its job is NOT to make all the decisions about what goes into the plan but to advise on how to adapt the strategic planning process to the specifics of the organization. Forming your strategic planning task forceYour strategic planning committee or task force should include people empowered to make decisions on behalf of the organization, including staff and board leadership as well as people who hold informal power within your organization. They are the people who others look to for direction. This nonprofit strategic planning task force is ideally relatively small – up to five people – for effective decision making. What is the job of the strategic planning task force?Some tasks of this group are: • Identifying the exact stakeholders you will involve and how, • Deciding what to focus on at the retreat and/or planning sessions, • Refining drafts produced by larger group processes, and ultimately finalizing the plan. Often strategic planning committees hire strategic planning consultants like myself to guide them through this process and work closely to identify all the relevant stakeholders to bring to the table. Educating your nonprofit about the task force roleMaking sure everyone knows the purpose of the strategic planning task force When you are clear with the larger system about the purpose of this group – to make process decisions rather than plan content decisions – it can address the push to make this a larger group that often stems from the anxiety that an individual will not have influence on the outcomes of the plan without being on this planning group. Because more traditional strategic planning often uses this group to make directional decisions, addressing this transparently is important as many may have experience from other situations of feeling left out of the process. How internal stakeholders should be involved in the strategic planning processNonprofit Executive Director and leadership teamWhen I am working with a client nonprofit organization on supporting their strategic planning process, my primary contact is usually the nonprofit organization’s CEO or Executive Director. Together we guide the process. We make decisions together about how to structure the project and work together to refine products of larger group meetings. This process often includes checking in with the leadership team at key points. Board of DirectorsThe nonprofit organization’s board of directors, in their governance role, has the fiduciary responsibility to ensure that strategic plans align with the organization’s mission and values. They are critical to the process, yet a plan will be stronger when staff are included in the process as well. Nonprofit Staff MembersIt is important to involve staff from all levels of the organization to gain their insights on operational realities and challenges. This will include involving staff in your listening tour or data gathering phase as well as during the retreat or planning sessions themselves. Each staff person brings unique insight into the various aspects of how your organization works to further its mission and vision. Data gathering may include 1-1 interviews, focus groups and surveys. For very large organizations, including representatives of your teams or departments may be a more practical option for the planning sessions themselves. Nonprofit VolunteersMany organizations involve volunteers at all levels of their organization and they are integral to delivering programs and services. They have a distinct perspective on the organization – insiders in some aspects and outsiders in others. At a minimum be sure to Include volunteers in your data gathering phase. You may also want to consider whether you will invite volunteers beyond your board to your planning retreat/sessions. People your nonprofit serves or supports: Who is your nonprofit designed to help?Gathering input from those who participate in your programming can be a critical to the success of your planning process. Questions you ask could include:
Accessibility considerations and power dynamicsConsider accessibility needs to enable participation of those you serve whether it is language interpreters, stipends and offering food and child care during connection sessions. Also consider the power dynamics inherent in the relationship and what you need to do to create a greater sense of psychological safety with those you are asking to provide feedback. This is true with each group of stakeholders, yet can be particularly important with this stakeholder group, depending on the exact services you offer. Hiring a nonprofit strategic planning consultant to support you in these efforts can help with these issues as the consultant is not part of your organization. External Stakeholders that could also provide value in the nonprofit strategic planning processExternal stakeholders are an important group to include in the data gathering process. The strategic planning task force will identify exactly who needs to be included and in what manner – whether inviting to a 1-1 interview, a focus group or engaging through a survey. The subgroups of external stakeholders that are typically involved, include:
Other external groups to consider:Strategic Planning ConsultantsAs a strategic planning consultant, I bring expertise in facilitating the planning process. In addition, I can provide an outside perspective on the organization, its strengths and challenges. Some consultants will claim that they bring an unbiased perspective. I would counter that we all enter every situation with our particular world view and biases. Yet I will not necessarily be operating within the same assumptions as those inside the organization. I can also bring experience from other comparable organizations to give a broader view, as well as what can be typical for an organization of your type and life stage. Field Experts and FuturistsField experts and futurists can provide insights into trends and external factors that may impact the organization. Talking to these experts during your data gathering phase can be very helpful to widen your perspective and deepen your foresight as you plan. Integrating Diverse PerspectivesHaving gathered information, input and view points from a good representation of your internal and external stakeholders, all that information will now need to be synthesized into a set of themes. Pay attention to the areas of commonality as well as where there is a variety of opinion. Be mindful of the outliers – especially when they may bring an outlook less represented in your leadership circle. This step can be challenging and is another aspect that is particularly helpful to have outside support from a strategic planning consultant. Who is involved in the strategic planning sessions?Having formed your strategic planning task force, identified your stakeholders and gathered information from them and then synthesized that information, it is finally time to hold the planning sessions or retreat. Many people mistakenly think these meetings or retreat are what strategic planning is -- but as you can see it is just one step in the process. Who will you invite to these planning sessions or retreat?Internal stakeholders are the group that you will invite to be part of making meaning of the information gathered during the listening tour. Staff and the board at a minimum should be a part of the sessions. Exactly how many people can effectively be involved will depend on the skill and capacity of your facilitator(s). Larger groups can be effectively facilitated with larger facilitation teams and more technology support. Expert facilitators, such as myself, will use a variety of individual, small and large group methods to ensure the conversation provides opportunity for all to engage and conversations are productive. These will also serve to cultivate a culture of openness where every participant feels valued and heard. Balancing Input and Decision-makingNo organization can do everything, nor should it. A process is not complete without discernment and decision making. The group will need to make decisions about what rises to the top in importance and ends up in the plan. In fact, not actually making any decisions is one of the big pitfalls of a poorly run strategic planning process. The group ends up with a plan that is really just a long wish list. When you hire an expert strategic planning consultant as your facilitator, that person will have a variety of methods to help the group with decision making and prioritization. Some considerations are the impact of each idea, what might provide some easy wins, i.e. the “Big Easy” – something that is relatively easy but will have a big impact. Other considerations include:
Effective nonprofit strategic planning process are a collective effortThe strategic planning process in nonprofit organizations demands a collective, inclusive effort, embracing a wide array of voices and perspectives. By engaging a diverse group of stakeholders—from executive leaders and board members to volunteers, donors, and those served by the organization—nonprofits can cultivate a comprehensive and inclusive planning process. This approach not only increases buy-in but also enriches the strategic plan with a variety of insights and lived experiences.
Remember, strategic planning is not just about decision-making; it's about building a shared vision that is reflective of the entire community it aims to serve. By carefully selecting who is involved and how they contribute, your nonprofit can develop a more effective, responsive, and dynamic strategic plan, paving the way for sustained impact and success. |
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Grace Social Sector Consulting, LLC, owns the copyright in and to all content in, including transcripts and audio of the Mission: Impact podcast and all content on this website, with all rights reserved, including right of publicity.
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