4. While an organization can get a good start through the retreat process, producing a strategic plan takes many hours of offline work. As Isaac Newton said, Truth is the offspring of silence and meditation. Here are 50 tips , When you are faced with the most important and strategic decision of your life, where can you go for wisdom? Management retreats provide leaders with an opportunity to regroup, recharge, and recommit to their organizations success. Brings the Senior Leadership Team together for two full days to develop an effective strategy, Highlights the previous quarters accomplishments, Updates and advances our Annual Plan and long-term goal attainment, Allows us to discuss-debate-agree critical topics as a team, Prepares us to overcome any potential obstacles to hitting our year-end goals, Identifies 3-5 Company Priorities, complete with owners and clear success criteria, Identifies clear Individual Priorities for each member of the leadership team, Prepares us to begin thinking about next years Annual Plan, Allows us to identify strengths and weaknesses, Answers the key questions facing our company and industry, Helps us clearly define and communicate our business strategy to the entire organization, Fun ideas for strategic planning are always considered and change up the energy in the room, An individual who enables groups and organizations to work more effectively; to collaborate and achieve synergy. Address the feelings associated with change. Instruct the team that you are giving them a certain amount of time (5-15 minutes, depending on the topic) to think and write down their ideas. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they achieve exceptional performance., The facilitators job is to support everyone to do their best thinking and practice. In this way, attendees can leave the retreat with stronger drive to pursue a small number of strategic points. Some people need to doodle while they think, some need toys like a Koosh ball or rubber Gumby, others need talk time with other participants, and others need to stand up or walk around the room from time to time. Articulate event goals and desired outcomes. By analyzing the highs and lows of your group session, you can ensure the success of future retreats. With the Drivers Model each component is dependent upon the components that came before it. Anytime you bring your team together for a meeting, whether for a few hours or a few days, you are investing time, energy and money. 8. In that case, you may be able to open the brainstorming session up by asking for ideas and allowing people to offer suggestions in any order at all. Step 1: How to Choose Your Facilitator Step 2: The Drivers Model Step 3: Understanding the Building Blocks- The Strategy Document Why do teams typically need shared strategies? The best mix is a combination of staff and board, plus one or two allies who bring a productive outside perspective. A potential merger or partnership In that Audit Track, you get free access to all , Moneyball and the Work of the Strategist Paul DePodesta was recently named the Chief Strategy Officer by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. I made a proposal to a small nonprofit that said they wanted to update their strategic planbut on that first question of why, the answer was because our funders require it and when I pushed, they wanted to do it all in 2 hours. We will create a custom strategy execution cycle thats been field tested by thousands of teams. Our team has helped build strategy for non-profits, government organizations, and private businesses and corporations. Are the barriers phrased in such a way as to encourage strategies for overcoming them? Sure, there will likely be some people in the room who treat your voice like every other voice in the room. Strategic Thinking & Planning Training Courses Online 13. What is the role of a strategic planning facilitator? Unfortunately, if you are like most leaders, your voice comes with considerable baggage. 10. Are the strategies phrased as activities to be accomplished and NOT results to be achieved? Therefore it is essential that you do a quality job every step of the way through the planning process. Strategic Planning: Do It Alone or Hire a Facilitator? - dummies The series Facilitating Strategic Planning includes a pro bono Audit Track with unlimited enrollment. Well done! The success or failure of a strategic planning retreat can lie in the hands of the group facilitator, who must deeply understand the organization that they are guiding. When to Host A Strategic Planning Offsite Retreat Sometimes an offsite planning retreat is a good opportunity to have quality, in-person time with your team to get re-aligned on what will make an impact in your organization. Make sure that this aligns with your mission statement. You can go around the room and ask each person to share a one-word/one-phrase closing statement or share one takeaway or breakthrough they gained during the meeting. The management briefing increases commitment to planning by providing your team with a road map that shows how what is important to them will be covered during the strategic planning sessions. Bruces track record in exceeding client objectives makes me extremely comfortable recommending him to any of our clients regardless of therapeutic area.. Done poorly, it is a waste of time. Sharon's public speaking and facilitation skills are exceptional and I recommend her without reservation." This structured monitoring process is intended to help ensure that the plan moves from paper to implementation. Many discussion topics require moving the group from several individuals, independent ideas to one agreed-upon group decision. Strategic Planning Process It all starts with the right process. Use your right brain for intuition and wisdom, and your left for planning. Created by Dr. Ian MacMillan at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. You may choose to stay late or start early one day, or you may choose to cut or shorten the time allowed for another topic. In a strategy meeting, you need to keep the team on task; using a parking lot can help you accomplish that. Schedule a discovery call with us so we can get to know you and your organizations unique needs. Round robin, freewheeling, group pass and silent reflection are all proven methods you may try. We are a team of skilled facilitators of strategy sessions, strategic planning, and vision setting. A strategic planning retreat can be a very effective way to set or reset the general direction of your organization, but only if it's run correctly. Encourage collaboration and teamwork throughout the strategy session. You would like to encourage feedback on the agenda, pre-session communication, design of the day, homework, and how you performed and handled difficult situations during the session. Steve, Your email address will not be published. More information is available at https://www.OnStrategyHQ.com Download the guide . Be sure to reevaluate and give that participant a chance to share. Developed by the Institute for Cultural Affairs, this suite of tools can be used for a variety of group processes, including strategic planning. As the strategy leader, you have seven activities to which I recommend you pay close attention to build a strong strategy that has full buy-in and commitment. Some people need a little time to think and formulate their ideas. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(116436, '021bd73c-388d-4109-99fa-cbf79dc18246', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Remember to be realistic about what you can accomplish in the time you have available and set the agenda appropriately. However, everyone in your organization will be impacted by the strategic plan. Every era has an industry that epitomizes its values. The strategic planning process goes on as team members continue planning, haggling, communicating with board members, and soul-searching. Will be used if you visit Managementhelp.org Achieve real results from your next strategic planning facilitation session or management retreat with a strategic planning facilitator in Atlanta. There are several ways to provide people the opportunity for involvement in the plan as described in the table that follows. There are pros and cons to each approach. Use a Parking Lot. Nonprofit Blog - Standards for Excellence Institute As a group, do the goals represent all of the key areas of strategic focus for the organization? The ED, who said shes run strategic planning for other orgs, also was very clear on what she wanted as outcomes: not merely a new plan but she had the specific bullets! Some are naturally more dominant and expressive, while others may be more thoughtful and reserved. We have now used him three years in a row since everyone sees the value he adds and trusts his process., 2023 Meeting Facilitators International (416) 461-0715. Use different methods for brainstorming. Strategic planning facilitators are adept at keeping people talking. It is important to honor all ideas, questions, and concerns during a session, and by placing the item in your parking lot, you send the subtle message that all contributions are essential. Sometimes people will get caught up in the moment and continue the debate just to argue. Strategic Planning Retreat Facilitation that Works | LSA Global From there, we can determine if an in-person or online session is best. You can then try to take a second pass around the room if the ideas are flowing freely, or you may open it up to anyone who has another idea not previously mentioned. Andy Robinson works a variety of nonprofits as a fundraiser, facilitator, trainer and community organizer. "Lets brainstorm annual priorities that will move us toward our, Use the brainstorming tips above to identify all viable solutions (see #8). You can then ask each person to take a minute to review their original idea and share it with the team. Owner/CEO, Strategy Director. During a strategic planning retreat, we can help your executive team: Seek a nice location away from the office. With a management briefing, you will have your team identify the most critical issues facing the organization; then they will make adjustments to the planning process as needed to ensure that the process addresses those issues. Capture your ground rules on a flip chart while discussing and post for reference throughout the meeting. Also entails voting with sticky dots. The following person then builds on the original idea, adding a few thoughts. Use structured methods, like The Six Thinking Hats, to help take the emotion out of the discussion. Whether the idea comes from you or a first-year manager, these people will state their agreement or disagreement with the idea in the exact same way, regardless of the source. top of page. Copyright 2015-2023 Standards for Excellence Institute | All Rights Reserved, Find Accredited and Recognized Organization, Find an Accredited or Recognized Organization, Licensed Consultant from the Standards for Excellence Institute. One of our current favorites is Hambrick's Strategy Diamond. Understanding and working with the group dynamics is essential, especially in a large group. Things you buy through links on our site may earn us a commission.