The following is an outline for a presentation to Association Executives:
3 Steps to Building a Strategic Culture
- Get Leadership Buy-in
- Have a Living Strategic Plan
- Take Time to Do Strategic Thinking
Getting Leadership Buy-in
- Do your homework. Read Glenn Tecker’s The Will To Govern Well: Knowledge, Trust and Nimbleness
- Start with a President-elect and convince him/her of the three pillars of a strategic culture: Knowledge, Trust and Nimbleness
- Knowledge vs Opinion (data driven decisions)
- Culture of Trust – common agreement on what constitutes success – strategic plan
- Nimbleness – responding efficiently and effectively
Knowledge-based Decision Making
- Become a data junkie
- Discuss issues before they become urgent
- Dialog before deliberation
Dialog before deliberation
- Avoid Robert’s Rules and adopt Bobby’s Suggestions
- Separate discussion from decision making using 4 knowledge based question
- After open discussion, consensus on what to do is easy
4 Knowledge-based Questions: What do we know about…
- The needs, wants and expectation of our members/customers
- The capacity and strategic position of our organization
- What’s going on in the member’s business
- The ethical implications of our choices
Building Trust – delivering on the promise
- Transparency
- Keep members informed about what you are thinking of doing
- Ask members their opinions before decision
- Set expectations and exceed them. Must have an agreement between staff and Board as to what constitutes success (strategic plan).
Nimbleness – The ability of the organization to seize opportunity
- Set boundaries, allow action without asking permission – define customer
- Doing the right things and not the wrong things
- Determine what your association is best positioned to do
Conclusion – Strategic organizations that use knowledge-based decision making, practice transparency to establish trust, and set clear boundaries to guide their nimble governance structure are more attractive to volunteers, more effective in delivering timely services and provide a more rewarding a stable staff experience.