The Most Important Audience for Your Strategic Plan

Who is the most important audience for your strategic plan?

Some people will say it’s your funders and sponsors - because the entities investing in you need to know you've thoughtfully determined how to accomplish the big, bold goals you've set.

Some people will say it’s your individual donors and volunteers - because these close supporters are investing their personal time and energy in you and they need to understand what that investment is helping produce.

Some people will say it’s your community and stakeholders - after all, we're here to serve our folks or advance certain causes, and it's critical that our community members - and various stakeholders - know what we're doing and how we're working to support them.

Some people will say it’s your board and top executives - since they need to be on the same page about the organization's strategic direction, planned investments, and intended outcomes.

All of these audiences are important - and have a role to play in co-creating or providing input to our plans. And it's essential that we communicate with them effectively.

But too often, strategic plans are created only with these audiences in mind - and they leave out the most important one.

The most important audience for your strategic plan is your staff.

Strategy is only successful when the human beings who have to execute it know what they are supposed to do and what it means for the future of their organization.

When staff don't understand the strategy - or have questions or different interpretations of it - then it's significantly less likely to be executed well (or at all).

When we design strategy with our staff as the "end user," we do a better job of:

• creating clarity,

• improving alignment,

• giving permission to focus on what's most important, and

• seeing the results that come from an inclusive, trust-based, and well-coordinated organizational culture.

Ready to rethink how you articulate your strategy - and who it's for - to achieve better results? Send me a message to get started.