2. Strategic Planning is not a substitute for
effective leadership. Strategic planning is simply
a set of concepts, procedures and tools designed
to help executives, managers, and others think ,
act and learn strategically on behalf of their
organizations and the organizations
stakeholders.
The author uses this definition of leadership as:
“the inspiration and mobilization of others to
undertake collective action in pursuit of the
common good”
This definition suggests that leadership and
leaders are not the same thing. Effective
leadership in public and nonprofit organizations
is a collective enterprise involving many people
playing different roles at different times.
3. Carrying out the following interconnected leadership
tasks is important if strategic planning and
implementation are to be effective:
1. Understanding the context
2. Understanding the people involved. Including onesself
3. Sponsoring the process
4. Championing the process
5. Facilitating the process
6. Fostering collective leadership
7. Using dialogue and discussion to create meaninful
process, clarifying mandates, articulate mission,
identify strategic issues, develop effective strategies,
and (possibly)develop a vision for success
8. Making and implementing policy decisions
9. Enforcing norms, settling disputes, and managing
residual conflicts
10. Putting it all together
4. Additional information concerning Sponsoring the
Process, Championing the Process, Facilitating the
Process and Fostering Collective Leadership follow:
Sponsoring the Process
A. Process sponsors typically are top positional
leaders. They have enough prestige , power , and
authority to commit the organization to undertaking
strategic planning and to hold people accountable for
doing it. They are not necessarily involved in the day-
to-day details of making strategic planning work- the
champions do that-but they set the stage for success
and pay careful attention to the progress of the
process. They have a vested interest in a successful
outcome and do what they can to make sure of that
outcome. They also typically are important sources
of knowledge about key strategic issues and effective
strategies for addressing them.
5. B. Leaders interested in sponsoring a strategic
planning process should consider the following
guidelines:
1. Articulate the purpose and importance of the
strategic planning effort
2. Commit necessary resources- time, money,
energy, money, legitimacy-to the effort
3. Emphasize at the beginning and at critical
points that action and change will result
4. Encourage and reward creative thinking ,
constructive debate, and multiple sources of
input and insight
5. Be aware of possible need for outside
consultant
6. Be willing toe exercise power and authority to
keep the process on track
6. Championing the Process
A. The champions are the people who have primary
responsibility for managing the strategic planning process
day to day.
B. Champions should keep the following guidelines in mind:
1. Keep strategic planning high on people’s agenda
2. Attend to the process without promoting specific solutions
3. Think about what has to come together( people, tasks,
information, reports) at or before key decision points
4. Organize the time, space, materials, and participation
needed for the process to succeed
5. Pay attention to language used to describe strategic
planning and implementation
6. Keep rallying the participants and pushing the process
along
7. Develop champions throughout the organization
7. Facilitating the Process
A. Process facilitators are often helpful in moving a
strategic planning process along. The presence of a
skilled facilitator means that champions can be free to
participate in substantive discussions without having to
worry too much about managing the group process
B. In addition to employing a well-developed set of group
process skills, facilitators should consider the following
guidelines:
1. Know the strategic planning process and explain how it
works, at the beginning and at many points along the
way
2. Tailor the process to the organization and the groups
involved
3. Convey a sense of human and enthusiasm for the
process and help groups get unstuck
4. Press groups toward action and assignment of
responsibility for specific actions
5. Congratulate people whenever possible
8. Fostering Collective Leadership
A. When strategic planning is successful for ,
it is a collective achievement. Many people
contribute to its success, sometimes by
leading, other times by following
B. Collective leadership may be fostered
through the following approaches:
1. Rely on teams
2. Focus on network and coalition
development
3. Establish specific mechanisms for sharing
power, responsibility, and accountability
