As strategy planning experts, we often get asked how to run a strategic planning meeting, and let me tell you, great strategic meetings don’t just happen by accident. You need to have someone committed to the process of facilitating a strategic planning session and carefully think through the purpose and outcome, plan all the details in advance, and do the challenging work of running the meeting. This is where an excellent virtual planning facilitator comes in handy! They can help you better define your strategy, create a winning annual plan, and leave with an action plan to get your annual initiatives done.
To facilitate a planning session, there is a lot of hard work that needs to be done. These same techniques should be used for in-person sessions and virtual strategic planning sessions with your management team. While you can run a strategic planning session on your own, it's often better to bring in expert facilitators to get the highest return on investment. Trust us; it's too valuable of a meeting to try on your own! You don't want to waste your team's time away from their "day job" or burn payroll by not maximizing your collaboration to define an effective business strategy for the entire organization.
At EWYWTB, our consultants are trained strategic facilitators and play a key role in the strategic planning process. They are planning experts that help you get the most ROI out of your meeting with their expert facilitation skills. We've facilitated hundreds of successful Strategic Planning, Annual Planning, and Quarterly Planning sessions for our clients, and we want to share some of our expert insights with you so that you can scale up your company.
Strategy planning (and expert facilitation) is key because longer-term strategic priorities drive the shorter-term goals, projects, and actions with complete organizational alignment. Note to strategic CEOs: one of the main reasons CEOs choose to bring us in to run their sessions is so that they can fully participate and implement their 5-year plan template. It's impossible for a CEO to effectively facilitate a session with all of the stakeholders and fully participate at the same time. And the CEO’s contribution and participation are extremely important to reach the desired outcome. Session facilitation is an extra burden that is better placed on another team member or an expert facilitator. If you're a CEO, you should learn how to be a good facilitator with tips and tricks or consult with us to see if hiring an expert makes sense for you.
STEP 1 - Think
If you're looking to run a successful strategic planning meeting, you need to start by thinking about the purpose and outcome of the meeting. You don't want to just wing it and hope for the best. You need to ask yourself some important questions like what is the purpose of this meeting? Who should attend? What work should be done beforehand? What are the specific outcomes we want to achieve? And most importantly, do we need a plan B for a potential 2023 recession?
To make sure everyone who attends the meeting comes with shared goals and expectations, it's a good idea to create an Objective Statement that aligns with your mission statement. This statement should consist of three parts: the action you're going to take, how you'll go about doing it, and why you're doing it. For example, if you're planning a Quarterly Planning Session, your objective statement might look something like this:
TO: Conduct an effective strategic planning session
IN A WAY THAT:
Brings the Senior Leadership Team together for two full days to develop an effective strategy
Highlights the previous quarter’s accomplishments
Updates and advances our Annual Plan and long-term goal attainment
Allows us to discuss-debate-agree critical topics as a team
Prepares us to overcome any potential obstacles to hitting our year-end goals
Identifies 3-5 Company Priorities, complete with owners and clear success criteria
Identifies clear Individual Priorities for each member of the leadership team
Prepares us to begin thinking about next year’s Annual Plan
Allows us to identify strengths and weaknesses
Answers the key questions facing our company and industry
Fun ideas for strategic planning are always considered and change up the energy in the room
SO THAT: We finish this year strong and set ourselves up for a strong start to next year.
Just remember, setting expectations up front is critical for your strategic objectives. Good luck with your planning!
STEP 2 - Plan
If you're planning to have a strategic planning session with your team, it's important to make sure that you're prepared ahead of time. After all, these meetings take up a lot of time, energy, and money, so you want to make sure you get the most out of them. Here's a quick checklist of things you should consider when preparing for your meeting:
First things first, set the date for your meeting as soon as possible to make sure everyone on your team can attend. It's always harder to schedule things at the last minute. If this is a recurring meeting, make sure everyone has it on their calendar and protects the scheduled time.
Next, select a facilitator who can manage the agenda, prepare the content (slides/visuals), and run the session. If you pick someone on your team who will attend the meeting, make sure to clarify their role and occasionally ask for their opinion if necessary. If you choose someone from outside your team, make sure they understand their role and responsibilities.
Choosing the right location is also key. Holding the meeting in your own conference room may not be the best idea, especially if you're trying to avoid operational interruptions. Consider taking your team off-site if you can for more focused, productive planning sessions.
Don't forget to choose a meeting coordinator who can handle logistics like travel arrangements, room bookings, and preparing the participants with any necessary pre-work or homework for the session. Make sure they're detail-oriented and can create a strategic planning checklist for future meetings.
When preparing the meeting materials, refer to your Objective Statement to create an agenda that's realistic and achievable. Less is more when it comes to slides, so keep them short and simple, and always make sure they're written for your target audience. Consider revealing information one bullet point at a time, especially if you have more than six points on a slide.
Finally, email the meeting agenda and pre-work to attendees at least two weeks before the session. If you consider the pre-work essential, let the team know that it's mandatory, and require them to return it in advance or bring copies to the meeting. Make sure all last-minute details like lunch, technology, and attendance are confirmed with the meeting coordinator.
Remember to be realistic about what you can accomplish in the time you have available and set the agenda appropriately. Your facilitator should also keep the team focused on having the right discussions needed for your organization. Understanding and working with group dynamics is essential, especially in a large group. You can find more details about virtual strategic planning sessions in this related article.
STEP 3 - Execute
So, you’ve made it to Step 3 of strategic planning facilitation: it’s time to actually run the strategy session. And let me tell you, this is where the real work comes in.
As a facilitator, your job is to enable groups to work more effectively and achieve their goals. You need to be a neutral party, not taking sides or expressing any particular point of view. Instead, you should be advocating for fair and inclusive procedures that help the group accomplish its work.
Your role is also to contribute structure and process to interactions, so the group can function effectively and make high-quality decisions. You’re there to support others as they achieve exceptional performance, and to encourage full participation, promote mutual understanding, and cultivate shared responsibility.
In short, your job is to make things easy for the group, but unfortunately, facilitating a meeting is anything but easy. It requires a ton of energy, focus, quick thinking, and patience.
If you’ve followed the first two steps of this virtual strategic planning facilitation process (Step 1: THINK and Step 2: PLAN), then you’re well-prepared for the session ahead. But that doesn’t mean the hard work is over.
Running a successful strategy session requires careful planning and execution. You need to create a safe and productive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. You need to keep the group on track and focused on the goals at hand, while also being flexible enough to adjust your approach as needed.
So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to do the hard work of facilitating a virtual strategy session. With the right mindset and approach, you can help your group achieve great things.
Use these 15 tips to keep the strategy session moving in the right direction.
1. Set ground rules: At the start of your meeting, take a few minutes to discuss everyone's expectations for full participation, tangents, interruptions, and phone/computer use. This conversation can help establish an environment of accountability and commitment to the meeting. Write down the ground rules on a flip chart for everyone to see and refer to throughout the meeting. Try starting off with a fun icebreaker to get everyone energized!
2. Trust the process: You've put in the time to plan out your meeting, so stick to the game plan. Even if things seem a bit disjointed or confusing, remind your team that there's a method to the madness and ask them to trust the process. Use a slide deck and agenda that have been tested and proven to work.
3. Be flexible: If a topic requires more time than you thought, it's okay to deviate from your time plan. Just make sure the extra time is used for healthy debates and not beating a dead horse. Involve the team in deciding how to make up for lost time, whether that means staying late, starting early, or cutting back on another topic.
4. Celebrate progress: Take time to reflect on your accomplishments and breakthroughs, and acknowledge team members for bringing up tough subjects. Check in with each other along the way to keep everyone engaged and motivated. After breaks, recap what's been accomplished and where you are in the agenda.
5. Use icebreakers: Icebreakers are great for getting everyone's brain working and energy level up. Try starting every meeting with a round of good news or victories. This gives team members a chance to share information and get to know each other better.
6. Encourage full and equal participation: Recognize that everyone has their own personality and preferred work style. Set the expectation for full and equal participation, and give the team a chance to discuss how they will achieve it. Call on individuals that haven't spoken up, and design the meeting to include opportunities for everyone to contribute.
7. Use visual aids: Use a combination of flip charts, whiteboards, PowerPoint/Keynote, and handouts. Don't overdo it with distracting animations or graphics. Mix it up to accommodate different learning styles, and use your body language to make everyone feel heard.
8. Use different brainstorming methods: Try round robin, freewheeling, group pass, or silent reflection to produce a comprehensive list of potential ideas, solutions, or plans. Brainstorming should increase participation, reduce inhibition, stimulate ideas, increase creativity, and be a group process.
Here are some general rules that you should keep in mind no matter which brainstorming method you choose:
Focus on quantity and try to come up with as many ideas as possible.
Welcome all ideas, even the crazy ones. Don't judge or criticize anything just yet.
Use short phrases and bullet points instead of long explanations.
Build on other people's ideas - even if they seem wild and out there. You never know what might spark a great idea!
Don't worry about explaining the rules in detail. Just say something like, "Let's brainstorm some ideas that will help us achieve our long-term goals. Remember, no judging - let's just get as many ideas out there as we can."
Now, let's take a look at a few specific brainstorming methods:
Round Robin: Start by asking someone to share one idea. Write it down on a flip chart or whiteboard. Then, ask the person sitting next to them to share an idea, and so on around the room. Try to give everyone a chance to contribute at least one idea. If things are going well, you can go around the room a second time or open it up to anyone who has another idea.
Freewheeling: If you have a group that's comfortable sharing ideas in any order, this method can work well. Simply ask people to share their ideas as they come to mind, and chart them on a flip chart or whiteboard using short bullet points.
Group Pass: Give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to write down one idea. Then, pass the paper to the person next to them, who will add a few thoughts and pass it on again. Keep going until everyone gets their original piece of paper back. Then, ask people to take a minute to review their idea and share it with the group.
Silent Reflection: Some people need a little time to think things through. In this method, give everyone 5-15 minutes to write down their ideas. They can use sticky notes or a sheet of paper. If you use sticky notes, ask people to read them out loud one at a time and group similar ideas together. If you use a sheet of paper, you can use the Round Robin method to share and chart the ideas.
9. It's important to have a "parking lot" for ideas that are off-topic but still valuable. You can use a whiteboard or tear sheet to make it visible to everyone, and refer to it at the end of the session to move unresolved items to an action item list. This helps keep the meeting on track without losing any great ideas.
10. Dealing with difficult people ahead of time is crucial. You can have a conversation with them before the meeting, explaining your concern and asking for their help in creating a healthy and productive environment. Setting ground rules at the beginning of the session is also a great way to discuss expectations for politeness and tone during the meeting.
11. Keeping the energy high is important to keep everyone engaged. You can plan ways to keep the energy high, such as working in pairs, doing puzzles, or having mini-presentations. Remember that the room's energy is often a notch or two below that of the facilitator, so keep your personal energy high as well.
12. Reaching a consensus is vital for many discussion topics. Consensus means an acceptable resolution that everyone on the team can support. Make sure all ideas are evaluated, and everyone’s perspective is heard. Structuring a process for team decision-making is a critical facilitation skill.
Here are some things you can do to make team decisions:
Brainstorm a bunch of ideas with your team, and try to come up with as many possible solutions as you can. Get creative!
Once you've got a bunch of ideas, try to group them together and link similar ones. This will help you organize your thoughts and make things easier to understand.
Use structured methods like "The Six Thinking Hats" to keep emotions out of the discussion. It's important to stay level-headed when making big decisions!
Make sure everyone in your team is participating in the discussion, and that everyone is actively listening and applying their listening skills.
Set a time limit for each potential solution so that you don't spend too much time on any one thing.
Work together to narrow down your options to just a few, so that you can focus on what really matters.
If you're having trouble reaching a decision, don't be afraid to call for a vote. This can help you see how close you are to reaching a full agreement.
If there are one or two people who are holding out, try to understand what their objections are and how firm they are. You may be able to address their concerns and come to a resolution.
If someone is just arguing for the sake of arguing, try asking them if they will lose sleep over the proposed resolution. Sometimes people just need a little push to get on board.
Remember that not everyone will get everything they want out of the final decision. But if you create an environment where everyone has had a chance to give their input, you're more likely to reach a successful outcome that everyone can support.
If you're running a virtual strategic planning session, check out this link for some extra tips on how to make the most of your planning session.
13. Make sure to jot down and publish the Who-What-Whens after each meeting. This means noting down who's responsible for what and when it's due. Don't just end the meeting without any action items or else you'll be stuck in a loop of unproductivity. Make it a habit to review the action list at the end of each meeting and confirm them at the beginning of the next one.
14. Finish your meetings with a bang! It's not just about getting through your agenda, but also recognizing the team's hard work and contribution. Recap the decisions made, go over the action items, and confirm the next steps. Give everyone a chance to share their thoughts and feelings as they leave the meeting. Ask them to share a one-word or one-phrase statement, or even a takeaway from the meeting.
15. Finally, always ask for feedback. No one's a born pro at facilitating meetings. You get better over time and with experience. The best way to improve is to ask for feedback. You can ask the team to share a bright spot and an area for improvement at the end of the meeting. You can also send an email afterwards asking for feedback or talk to a few trusted advisors one-on-one.
Best of luck with your next strategic planning session. We’d love to provide more insight or discuss facilitation with you. If you are interested, please connect with us.