I’d wager most people have been asked repeatedly what their plans are for the upcoming year – and what the backup plans are if the original plans don’t happen. It’s understandable – planning during a pandemic is difficult. We can’t foresee the future in normal times, not to mention the added unknowns our current global environment brings us.
However, since our plans have been tried, tested and tried again, now seems like a perfect time to refocus attention on the association’s strategic plan. There are few industries or professions untouched by the massive changes happening in our world – does your strategic plan still reflect your vision in this new environment?
For many reasons, this is a good opportunity to re-evaluate an existing strategic plan or create your next plan. With the breadth of new technologies that launched or expanded in the past year, it’s economical to gather together virtually without the expenses of an in-person meeting. Consider investing some of those savings into hiring an external facilitator, particularly for those associations creating their next, new, strategic plan. External facilitators have many benefits, including presenting an outside perspective to question, pushing and encouraging boards to think about things in a new and insightful way. Growth doesn’t happen without change – why not leverage the opportunity to reframe goals and strategy with an outside perspective?
In the last year, many associations have restructured existing programs, launched new programs or even decided to sunset programs no longer meeting member needs in an effort to provide learning opportunities for members while cutting expenses. Does your strategic plan reflect these large shifts? Should it? There’s no way to know without having these important discussions to reflect, assess and plan.
Members of many associations are more engaged than ever before. Without travel or other ways to connect, members are actively participating in webinars, virtual conferences and online communities in recent-record levels. Tap into this engagement to identify what these engaged members are looking for long-term. What worked in 2019 didn’t work in 2020 – will either approach work moving forward? With the slow but steady move toward regaining in-person events, what do these members want to see as continued support year-round from your association? There’s no way to know if we don’t ask, and there’s no better time to ask for these insights than when you already have your members’ attention.
Now that you’ve decided to revisit your strategic plan and have collected your membership’s insights, how do you move forward with the refocusing or creation of your plan? If you’ve decided to leverage the insights from an external facilitator, you’ll want to work with the individual you’ve selected on how to best approach the process as there are many ways to both revise or create your plan. It’s important to bear in mind that your process will look different than in prior years. Shorter, focused meetings will be more impactful in a virtual setting than day-long brainstorming sessions. Collect information in advance, provide insights to your board early for thorough preparation, and plan to come prepared to contribute. Identify one or two board members and task them with ensuring everyone is involved in the conversation as it’s easy to miss out on key insights during virtual meetings when you don’t have the same visual cues someone is looking to contribute to the conversation.
One key role and responsibility of the board is setting the strategy and direction for your association – to “steer the ship”. Take this opportunity to review your association’s identified course, assess if it still brings you to your identified goals, and re-chart, if needed, to ensure you continue your progress towards your association’s vision of success in serving your members.