Last Updated: 10-22-2023
Every organization and every endeavor requires a strategic plan in order to be successful. Many organizations employ a Director or Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives to develop and advance novel and innovative new strategies. I have a background in strategic initiatives myself and I support the idea of designating a person to spear and steer those initiatives but developing and implementing strategic initiatives is a team effort. And whether those initiatives are innovative and new or common and time-tested, the best strategic initiatives are the ones that support your mission and vision and help you achieve your goals. In short, good initiatives are ones in line with your strategic leadership philosophy. In this brief white paper, I will propose some recommendations for composing the right strategic leadership philosophy for your unique organization.
There is no one-size-fits-all strategic philosophy. The right philosophy for a small community organization probably differs immensely from that of an international corporation. But what is common to each is a well-considered method that prioritizes an organization’s mission and goals. I propose that the best method for composing your strategic philosophy is an outcome-based model that never loses sight of your vision. Without integrity and adherence to our guiding vision, all is lost. Thus, I recommend a method that begins at both the beginning and the end. I call my method a mission-based approach.
The Big Picture: The Beginning and the End
To call this model an outcome-based approach is a little too simple. Outcome-based models can have a number of drawbacks. The greatest drawback is that if an organization is focused solely on its ends, it may disregard the means, and in so doing compromise the integrity of its mission. We all want to accomplish our goals and to do so quickly, but if we lose our core values along the way, is that really a success?
A good strategic leadership philosophy begins with these questions:
(a) What is our mission?
(b) What is our vision?
(c) What are our values?
Few great endeavors begin with a well-articulated mission statement. Our motivation is often passionate and our inspiration, elusive and hard to define. But define it we should. If our project is to be a collaboration, we can’t get far without a shared mission and a clearly articulated mission statement is instrumental to such collaboration. This is where we begin. By a vision, I mean our mission coupled with our short- and long-term objectives. Our mission is where we begin. Our vision is where we are going. Finally, we must consider our values. Who are we as an organization? Who do we want to be? How do we want to be seen by others? Mission, vision, and values are teleological. Together, they tell the story of our organization’s purpose. When we have answered these all-important questions, we can now ask:
(d) How do we get from (a) to (b) without compromising (c)?
Charting that roadmap should be the principle duty of the Director of Strategic Initiatives. But as I mentioned, that trail need not be blazed alone.
The Middle: Where the Work is Done
We hope to make continuous progress toward our desired outcomes. Organizations with a sound mission, vision, and values can achieve this, but growth is not always linear and progress is likely to be made in fits and starts. The growth of any organization is likely going to be similar to that of the stock market. It goes up; it goes down; up again; down again. But ultimately, overall, it goes up.
So how do we execute our vision and turn our philosophy into progress toward our goals? We do it daily in the hard work of our members, of course, but also through careful, well-considered, critical decision-making. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” In fact, a successful organization likely needs to do both, but consider how important great decision-making is and how damaging a single bad decision can be. How many organizations have come undone because of poor public communications? How many organizations have collapsed because they didn’t consider all of their stakeholders? A sound leadership philosophy can significantly reduce the risk of such catastrophes.
When we begin to implement our strategic plan, we come face to face with some of the most intimidating terms in organizational theory: terms like stakeholders, engagement, risk and benefit analysis, and strategic communication. But these terms don’t have to be so frightening. In fact, once we have devised and adopted our mission, vision, and values, we can view these aspects in simple and understandable terms.
By stakeholders, I simply mean all those people affected by our organization and what we do. One of the most important set of stakeholders is ourselves. Our team, employees, volunteers, members. We are certainly affected by the organization because it is, in fact, our organization. So, respect for ourselves and one another, inclusion, and the recognition that we are all part of a team advancing the same goal is crucial. Our other stakeholders include our clients, customers, potential-customers, or community members that we serve, our target audience. Again, it may seem difficult to please all these people. But the best way to appeal to our target audience is to remain true our strategic philosophy. If we commit and maintain our mission, vision, and values, we will attract our target audience.
Engagement is another one of those scary words. It brings to mind all sorts of metrics. How many followers do I have on TikTok, Instagram, X? What do men aged 24-36 think of us? What’s our website's Alexa rating? Perhaps such metrics are key to your organization. Perhaps they mean nothing at all. Rather than getting caught up in abstract numbers, first ask, who do we want to engage with? And how do we want to engage? It might be that your organization needs no TikTok presence at all or it might be that’s the only way you engage. An organization’s director of communications doesn’t necessarily have a monopoly on engagement. Engagement is often a task shared by many members. And successful engagement may look completely different from one organization to the next.
Adaptation, innovation, and risk and benefit analysis are each part of the same whole. As your organization matures, your vision, and your short- and long-term goals may evolve. As it does, your organization may need to adapt to changes, but there are a few simple questions to ask before making any big change: Is this change organic? Are we staying true to our mission and values? Are we staying true to our stakeholders? Organic adaptation is a healthy part of any organization’s growth but compromising one’s mission, vision, and values in order to chase a new market is not. Such a change is liable to rot an organization from the inside out. Innovation, likewise, can keep your organization feeling fresh and exciting when it is organic, but can risk losing important stakeholders if it is not. Likewise, it is prudent to carefully weigh the benefits and risks of your organization’s major decisions, but risk and benefit analysis may not supersede faithfulness to your organization’s ideals.
Some of the riskiest decisions an organization ever makes are its strategic communication with stakeholders. Whether an internal email to team members or a public-facing statement or press release, sound strategic communications are more important than ever and can make or break an organization. Out of respect for the power of strategic communications, I began an unusual practice. As a member of the Office of the President of a major university, as a college faculty member of many years, and as the head of Admissions for a large museum, I have receive hundreds of statements by Presidents, Chancellors, Deans, Directors, and Chairs, and I save them. I note how those statements were received and why. Did a certain Chancellor’s holiday message come off the wrong way? I make a note of it. Was another press release hailed, receiving lots of positive attention? I studied and learned. One of the policies I instituted in my role at a university was that I would run every single social media post by at least one colleague, just to ensure that everything came off as expected. Like engagement, communications need not be the propriety of a sole team member. I welcome and often insist on the feedback of my colleagues before I speak on behalf of an organization.
The purpose of this brief paper has been to make the process of composing and enacting your organization’s strategic leadership philosophy less intimidating and more accessible. Organizational strategy is complex and ever-evolving but at least one rule of strategic leadership is simple and sound: It is your organization; it succeeds by staying true to your unique mission, vision, and values.