Strategic Planning
Where are you now?
Strategic planning offers a moment where organizations can explore which values need to be centered at all times and which aspects may be held in more flexible ways. We are committed supporters of our partners, and we approach these broad-scale activities as active listeners.
When we facilitate this kind of work, we take on the roles of:
Cheerleader, who says “yes and…”
Critical friend, who asks “what about…?”
Facilitator, who suggests “let’s try…”
Paisley has been leading thoughtful sessions with faculty and decision-makers since 2015. The feedback following these sessions is consistently positive, and she always responds to suggestions by making tweaks in her next offering.
Set sight on where you want to go.
Leading a group requires a healthy balance between following a plan and embracing the unanticipated. Too much planning can lead to missed opportunities, however too much improvising can result in spinning wheels.
External thought partners can facilitate new perspectives within your team by reframing questions in ways you might not have considered. With advanced training in data collection and analysis, we have the skills and tools to facilitate generative sessions with you and your team.
What might strategic planning include?
Wild Way Consulting begins this work with active listening sessions as we come to know the context in which you are working. We review documentation that orients us to the needs, struggles, and dreams of the organization before developing a customized workplan to facilitate the strategic planning.
Some of the techniques we like to use are described below.
Collaborative Activities
We are firm believers that the hearts and minds of staff and leadership need to be in agreement for a strategic plan to work. Our facilitation experience coupled with our creativity enables us to bring different perspectives into conversation with each other and facilitate dialogue between different levels of an organization. This exchange is absolutely critical in identifying the clashes that could pose challenges in the rollout of an organization-wide plan.
Arts-Informed Methods
We have led enough sessions to know that an open floor for questions seldom yields the fruitful conversation needed to develop a well-considered plan informed by all voices in the group. Wild Way consulting prides itself on bringing fresh and exciting activities into our work that offers multiple entry points into the discussion. Our techniques are designed to connect our heads, hands, and heart and often lead to salient insights that may have been difficult to put into words.
Shared Analysis
A major ethical issue in our field arises when feedback is collected but not used, or is misrepresented. We honour the contributions of those we engage by developing data analysis activities that are approachable, conversational, and draw folks into decision-making discussions. This approach has a significant impact on buy-in and ownership among interested parties, and is key in building trust and accountability within a group.
Action Steps
Wild Way Consulting is in this business to make a difference, which means taking action. The development of a strategic plan can leave us feeling exhilarated, and after the excitement wears off there can be a moment of overwhelm as we realize it is time to do something. We work almost exclusively in large projects and have a knack for identifying smaller, more achievable steps that bring an organization closer to making its grand goals a reality.