How to Keep Every Member of Your Organization Connected to the Strategic Plan
Many of us just like to get on the social good bike and pedal away. We like the work. Most of us come into social good at a low level, sitting in a cubicle far, far away from the lofty thoughts and goals that manifest in our organization’s strategic plan. We’re just pedaling, heads down. Sometimes we disconnect from social good altogether because we can’t tell if we’re pedaling hard enough or in the right direction — or even if anyone cares about our pedaling at all.
This is why we must connect every member of the organization to the strategic plan in a way that affects their everyday work life, what they do. That’s how we’ll preserve them as employees by preventing burnout. We must get everyone off of their bikes. They must stand up, measure their work and maintain their enthusiasm. Here are four key strategies to accomplish this.
1. Establish a Reporter
Responsibility for executing a strategic plan is usually obvious: “Bobby Jo, objective No. 4 is yours.”
An overlooked role is the reporter for the plan. This is the person who puts together the strategic plan report at regular intervals. This person should have more interest in producing the report than in the content. This person is not Fox News or MSNBC. This person is the Associated Press. They don’t care what the news is because they’re just reporting it.
When done by the people responsible for doing the work, most strategic plan reporting suffers from dread, avoidance or optimism bias. The reporter only wants to produce the report and is evaluated (at least on this part of their job) only on whether the report is produced accurately. The absence of a dispassionate reporter is why most strategic plans don’t get visited often.
Interestingly, sometimes the reporter can only report, “I was unable to get the information from the responsible party despite repeated outreach.” Compare the CEO’s reaction to that versus the dead air that typically surrounds the strategic plan.
2. Internal Communications for Strategic Alignment
The reporter must have a distribution method that is transparent and consistent, though the report to different groups may have some tweaking for audience appropriateness.
Communication about the organization's strategic plan progress is essential for keeping employees informed and engaged. Where are all the bikes going, and how fast? Are we there already? Are we behind? This includes sharing updates on milestones achieved, challenges faced and adjustments made to the plan as needed.
Every employee should know where your organization is in its execution of the strategic plan. The methods to distribute that information should be myriad and easy to use.
3. Meeting Structure and Cadence
If you’re riding a bike a long way, you need a map. The strategic plan report is that map. Getting off the bike to read the map constitutes a “meeting” in our world. Regularly scheduled meetings provide a platform for team members to discuss progress, challenges and updates related to the strategic plan.
The meeting agenda should be connected to the strategic plan. If the agenda contains items that don’t relate in any way to the plan, should we be talking about them? The first agenda item of each meeting might be, “Where does this fit in our plan?” The answer may be as simple as, “Priority No. 1, Objective No. 3, Project No. 7.” But having that answer focuses the group’s conversation.
These meetings should occur not only at the leadership level but also at all levels of the organization in appropriate groups. By including everyone in the dialogue, from frontline staff to managers, everyone better understands how their contributions align with the broader objectives. They know where they are on their bike trip.
4. Aligning Personal Goals With the Strategic Plan
Employees should have two sets of connected goals. The first set of goals derives directly from the strategic plan. These goals have metrics: How many? By when? How much? Etc. The second set of goals should be about how to accomplish the first set of goals more efficiently: Soft skill improvement? Acquire proficiency in new software leading to better performance? Public speaking improvement? Etc.
By implementing these strategies, organizations can cultivate a culture of alignment, ensuring that every member feels connected to the overarching mission and motivated to contribute their best toward achieving it. Now get on that bike and ride (in the right direction).
The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.
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Katrina VanHuss has helped national nonprofits raise funds and friends since 1989 when she founded Turnkey. Her client’s successes and her dedication to research have made her a sought-after speaker, presenting at national conferences for Blackbaud, Peer to Peer Professional Forum, Nonprofit PRO, The Need Help Foundation and her clients’ national meetings. The firm’s work is underpinned by the study and application of behavioral economics and social psychology. Turnkey provides project engagements, coaching, counsel and staffing to nonprofits seeking to improve revenue or create new revenue. Her work extends into organizational alignment efforts and executive coaching.
Katrina regularly shares her wit and business experiences on her and Otis Fulton's NonProfit PRO blog “Peeling the Onion.” She and Otis are also co-authors of the books, "Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising" and "Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape." When not writing or researching, Katrina likes to make things — furniture from reclaimed wood, new gardens, food with no recipe. Katrina’s favorite Saturday is spent cleaning out the garage, mowing the grass, making something new, all while listening to loud music by now-deceased black women, throwing in a few sets on the weight bench off and on, then collapsing on the couch with her husband Otis to gang-watch new Netflix series whilst drinking sauvignon blanc.
Katrina grew up on a Virginia beef cattle and tobacco farm with her three brothers. She is accordingly skilled in hand to hand combat and witty repartee — skills gained at the expense of her brothers. Katrina’s claim to fame is having made it to the “American Gladiator” Richmond competition as a finalist in her late 20s, progressing in the competition until a strangely large blonde woman knocked her off a pedestal with an oversized pain-inducing Q-tip. Katrina’s mantra for life is “Be nice. Do good. Embrace embarrassment.” Clearly she’s got No. 3 down.
Otis Fulton, Ph.D., spent most of his career in the education industry, working at the psychometric research and development firm MetaMetrics Inc., Pearson Education and others. Since 2013, he has focused on the nonprofit sector, applying psychology to fundraising and donor behavior at Turnkey. He is the co-author of the 2017 book, ”Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising,” and the 2023 book, "Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape," and is a frequent speaker at national nonprofit conferences. With Katrina VanHuss, he co-authors a blog at NonProfit PRO, “Peeling the Onion,” on the intersection of psychology and philanthropy.
Otis is a much sought-after copywriter for nonprofit fundraising messages. He has written campaigns for UNICEF, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen, the USO and dozens of other organizations. He has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, where he also played on UVA’s first ACC champion basketball team.
