How many times have you sat through a strategy session feeling it was a complete waste of time? I recently read a surprising statistic - 70% of strategic planning offsites don’t actually lead to actionable results. Yikes!
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to combine two things I love - speaking/facilitating and helping organizations build strategic and actionable plans. As I drove home after facilitating an amazing group, I reflected on what makes some sessions more successful than others.
Here are some thoughts to keep in mind for your next session:
Offsite vs onsite- if you have budget, a change of scenery that provides distance from day-to-day office life can lead to more creativity, focus and engagement.
Detailed agenda/pre-work - sharing the agenda and/or having a survey or pre-work can help participants prepare for the meeting so they hit the ground running and it also helps the facilitator plan the agenda and steer the conversation.
Use the time wisely - mix the group discussions with breakouts and time for 1:1 connections, particularly if your organization needs help addressing working in siloes or driving deeper collaboration. Work in breaks with healthy snacks!
Make it actionable - all good strategies have lofty visions and goals, but making them actionable is critical. Ensure your session includes discussions and exercises on the actions to achieve your goals. I like the 'Start', 'Stop' and 'Continue' exercise for articulating what the team needs to do, as well as what they need to stop doing.
Schedule check-ins and follow-ups to ensure the ideas turn into actions once everyone leaves the room and returns to their daily work lives.
Have an external facilitator - driving engagement, inclusivity and keeping the conversation on track without bias is critical for optimizing time.
Organizing an upcoming strategy or planning session? Reach out (lisa@ignitecommunications.ca) if you need advice or an experienced facilitator.
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