In my first year at any institution, I spend time understanding the history, the culture, the challenges and opportunities, what people take pride in, and what folks collectively see as needing to change immediately. I study the artifacts and meet with internal and external stakeholders. As I engage in this process, I really get to know the organization. I also spend time understanding the community of which the institution is a part.
With these key learnings and insights from stewards of the organization and others committed to the mission, I begin to assess where I can be most impactful. If the institution’s strategic plan is current and with no significant events requiring changing course, I commit to continue executing the plan. Only twice has this occurred for me. Usually, I find myself entering institutions that are at the tail end of their strategic plan. So, this provides an opportunity to take stock with the campus and dream together with students, faculty, staff, and friends and supporters of the college.
I enjoy strategic planning work. It energizes me. I am a builder and I enjoy doing, in addition to dreaming with others. I also enjoy the process of creating strategic plans. Hearing people share and debate provides different insights than those from one-on-one meetings, departmental, or affinity group meetings. Hearing people respectfully evaluate opportunities or identify blind spots from an idea is energizing.
No strategic planning process is complete without identifying benchmarks, setting performance goals, and figuring out the enablers and inhibitors to getting to our goals. Listening to stakeholders make meaning out of baseline data, set the bar for where we want to be and how we get there is a very gratifying process. These are also different ways of getting to know an organization.
Most importantly, the strategic planning process helps me as a leader appreciate the work already done and identify the next summit we envision climbing together.
