Leadership Strategies

🎯 Strategic Planning: Where Should Your Focus Be? As we look ahead, it's crucial to identify the key areas that will drive our organizations forward. We want to hear from you: What area do you believe should be prioritized in your next strategic plan? Cast your vote in our poll below! Whether you're aiming for growth, streamlining operations, fostering innovation, or enhancing customer experience, your insights are valuable. At Leadership Strategies, we're committed to helping you navigate these strategic decisions. Share your thoughts in the comments! What makes your chosen area critical for your organization's success? #StrategicPlanning #SecretsToFacilitatingStrategy #Leadership #BusinessSuccess #Poll #TeamDevelopment #LeadStrat

How many times has this happened to you? You are in the midst of a strategic planning session and arguments break out over the definition of a goal, or whether or not something is truly an objective, or the difference between a strategy and a tactic? Let’s end all this wasted time once and for all! Let’s agree that what we call something doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we have definitions for the key things we need, we consistently apply the definition, and that we agree on a name for it. How do you make this happen? In our sessions, we use the power of verbs to drive agreement and consistency in our clients’ strategic plans. Let’s focus on three items in particular that can easily cause issues: Goals versus objectives versus strategies.   Suggested Name - Definition - Sample Goal - Broad aims that define accomplishment of the mission - Maximize membership growth, retention, and involvement. Objective - Specific, quantifiable, realistic targets that measure the accomplishment of a goal - Increase overall membership from 500 to 650 over the next three years. Strategy - Broad activities required to achieve an objective, create a critical condition, or overcome a barrier - Implement targeted visibility campaign to increase awareness of the organization and its benefits.   Once more, the names don’t matter, only the definitions do. Call them whatever you want to call them. For example, what we call a goal, you might call an objective, or key performance area, or strategic intent. Now here is where the power of verbs can drive consistency and robustness in your plan. ·      Goals start with infinite verbs, that is, verbs that are ongoing (e.g., maximize, provide, maintain). Why? Because a goal NEVER ends. When are you done “maximizing”? Never. Goals are ongoing…by definition. ·      Objectives, on the other hand, begin with quantity verbs (e.g., increase, decrease, reduce). Why? Because, by definition, they “measure” the goal, therefore you must start with a quantity verb. ·      Strategies use finite verbs, that is verbs that imply an ending (e.g., establish, develop, implement). Why? Because strategies have a beginning and an end. Once you “establish” you are done, the strategy is accomplished. By using the appropriate verb, you can be sure that you start with broad aims (goals) tied to your mission, you have measure targets (objectives) that define accomplishment of the broad aims, and you have specific activities (strategies) to drive achieving the measurable targets. Once more for emphasis, what you call these things doesn’t matter. Agree first on the definitions that are needed. Then agree as a team on what you will call them. Then use the power of verbs to drive consistency. (We have an upcoming webinar on strategic planning and other pitfalls to avoid. See the comment section for the link.)   #leadstrat #strategy #effectivefacilitator

Can't make it to DC? Join us in Atlanta for a special appearance by Michael Wilkinson, or attend virtually! 🌟 The Effective Facilitator workshop is your chance to master essential skills that drive results. Secure your seat today: https://hubs.li/Q02VJyLJ0 #EffectiveFacilitator #ProfessionalDevelopment #Facilitation #DC #Training #LeadStrat

It’s strategy season! Time to focus on key strategy questions and common pitfalls to avoid. In this post let’s answer the question: “How do you make sure your strategy gets implemented?” (See the link for a October 30th WEBINAR in the comments.) If you are a veteran of more than a few strategy sessions, you know exactly what typically happens. ·  You spend two or three days at an offsite strategy retreat. You come back excited about the plan and the potential for success. You sit down at your desk and begin to work on it. ·  30 minutes later somebody comes in with something that's urgent. You move your plan aside for a few minutes to begin addressing that thing that is urgent. ·  Two hours later, somebody else comes in with something that's urgent. You need a little more room on your desk, so you push the plan to the corner. But you're going to get back to it. An hour later, something else comes up that’s urgent. ·  Before you know it, the plan falls off the desk, and you don’t even notice it. Until the end of the day after getting all this urgent stuff done, you get up to leave, you see the plan on the floor, you pick it up, put it on the bookshelf, and you never look at it again… until next year. Why? Because it's not urgent. Unfortunately, as Stephen Covey pointed out in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, human nature does what's urgent not what’s important. And, also unfortunately, just about everything in the strategic plan falls in the important/not urgent box. Why? Because it must be important. Otherwise, it wouldn't be in the strategic plan. And it can't be urgent, otherwise it would be done already. Unfortunately, because it's not urgent, it doesn't get done because human nature does what's urgent. So how do you move your strategic plan into the important/urgent box? We have been at this for over 30 years and I want to share with you the best that we know to get your plan into that box. We call it the three-step monitoring process. ·  Monthly, you ask, “Did we do what we said we're going to do?” Focus on your priority strategies. ·  Quarterly, ask, “Are we moving up the ladder? Are we making the progress we intended to make?” Focus on your measurable objectives. ·  Annually, ask, “Are we moving in the right direction?” You don’t want to get to the top of the ladder and realize, “Oops, wrong wall.” Annually review changes in the environment, customer needs, the competitive landscape, etc. to reassess and update the strategic plan. This three-step monitoring process will help make sure all the time put into planning delivers the intended result. If you like what you hear and want to learn more, join us for our upcoming webinar on strategy pitfalls. Look for the link in the comments section. And add your own thoughts as well as to how you ensure your strategic plan gets implemented. Good luck with your 2025 strategic planning! #strategy #leadstrat International Association of Facilitators (IAF)

"Great things in business are never accomplished by a single person. They're achieved by a team of people." - Steve Jobs But here’s the thing: Tools alone don’t build outstanding teams! The true secret? 🤫 ✨Solid foundations ✨A shared vision ✨Unified commitment It’s the soft skills that make all the difference! Essential elements for team excellence: 💡Effective communication 💡Collaborative problem-solving 💡Trust and mutual support Ready to level up your team's performance? Let's chat about boosting those essential skills! https://hubs.li/Q02Vkh0G0 #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork #CollaborationMatters #BusinessSuccess #SoftSkills #Training #LeadStrat

Soo excited to share I received a new certification for Effective Facilitator from Leadership Strategies!! Super thankful for a company who invests in ME as an educator ❤️. #hca #lovemyjob Leadership Strategies

Join Michael Wilkinson and learn how to steer clear of common pitfalls, communicate effectively, and build commitment to ensure your strategic plans succeed! #strategicplanning #webinar #facilitation #LeadStrat #freewebinar #event