Most education organizations today have some kind of strategic plan in place to make it appear that they are moving in a planned direction. My use of the word “appear” is intentional. I have sadly seen too many strategic plans that are clearly just a pretty, glossy document used to say to stakeholders, “Look, we have a strategic plan.” Ask those tasked with leading the education organization about their strategy or strategic plan and you get blank stares. Ask them about the connections between what they do on a daily basis and their strategic plan and you get even more pained looks. Meanwhile, piles of their glossy strategic plans collect dust on desks or are stashed out of mind on bookshelves or in cupboards.
Here are some ideas to think about so that your strategic plan is actually strategic:
- Ground your strategic plan in your context. Base it on a solid understanding of the complex education, social, cultural, economic and political context in which your organization is operating… not the context in which you wish it were operating. Your strategic plan needs to identify and respond to changes going on around you, rather than ignoring those changes. It needs to acknowledge new competitors coming into the market, new technologies that will change how you operate, and political and economic shifts that will have an impact on your outcomes.
- Make your strategic plan realistic. Base your mission and vision on an honest assessment of your organization’s current capabilities and resources. What capabilities do you have and NOT have? What resources (people, technological, financial) do you have and NOT have
- Use your strategic plan as a living, breathing document NOT as a static, frozen showpiece. Strategic planning is not something you do once every five years and then forget about. Rather it needs to be connected to the daily operations of your organization. Coach employees, especially your leadership team, to use the strategic plan to help them make decisions about how they spend their time and resources. Use the plan to keep the organization on track, moving towards the vision, or to determine if that track needs to be adjusted in response to internal or external changes.
- Give your education organization a challenge. Your strategic plan should not say, “Continue doing what we have been doing for the past x number of years.” That complacency will get you into trouble very quickly. Your strategic plan should be ambitious, with goals that stretch the organization to grow, change, improve and innovate. Education organizations that stand still actually fall behind, because no one else is standing still.
Strategic planning is not an activity to do just to make you or your organization look good. It is fundamental to running a healthy organization that can navigate challenges, innovate, grow and thrive. Make your strategic plan strategic.