Strategic planning requires a significant investment of time and resources. It’s tempting to jump right into the process, especially when your existing plan is expiring or your board starts asking when the next one will begin. But here’s the truth: there’s no value in developing a strategic plan if your organization isn’t ready for it.
Before you commit to planning, take a step back and think about your readiness. Share these questions with your Executive Director, Board of Directors, or Governance Committee. Use them to spark meaningful reflection at your next meeting. You may be surprised by where the conversation takes you.
1. Is our purpose clearly articulated and widely understood?
It’s common for nonprofit organizations to lack clarity around their core purpose. And when purpose is fuzzy, people operate on assumptions. It becomes difficult to make strategic decisions. Momentum stalls because everyone is pulling in a different direction. Core purpose is what guides your strategy. Without it, you’ll find it difficult to develop an effective strategic plan.
Check your readiness:
- Does the organization have a clearly articulated core purpose?
- Does everyone know what that core purpose is?
- Does everyone agree that it’s the ‘right’ focus for the organization?
If you’re not ready: Invest your time and resources in clarifying the organization’s core purpose. You may decide to include this work in the first phase of your strategic planning process. Clarity here is the foundation for everything that follows.
2. Are we ready to make tough decisions about how to prioritize our resources?
A strategy is not a list of every possible course of action. It is a carefully considered decision to follow one specific course of action. Every organization has limited capacity and resources. That means your leaders must be ready to make hard choices about where to focus valuable time, skills, and energy. It’s relatively easy to say “yes” to the things you want to do through strategic goals. But it’s quite challenging to say “no” to current programs or emerging opportunities that don’t align with your strategy. And there is no way to say “yes” without also being willing to say “no”, so if you’re not open to changing your organization’s activities, what is the point of a new strategic plan?
Check your readiness:
- In trying to fulfill our core purpose, do we want to “do it all”?
- Are we ready to shift resources away from existing programs or activities to prioritize strategic work?
- Are we comfortable turning down opportunities that don’t align with our strategic work?
If you’re not ready: Revisit your core purpose. Bringing clarity to that purpose may make it easier to prioritize resources.
3. Do our staff have the capacity to implement a new strategy?
You can develop a great strategy, but it won’t succeed if staff lack the time, resources, or skills to activate it. Many nonprofit organizations run with a small, overworked team. Staff need the time and space to step back from the urgency of daily work in order to implement a new strategy. If they’re already stretched thin, adding new priorities will only contribute to burnout.
Check your readiness:
- Is there time and space in staff workloads for both the “thinking” and “doing” work that comes with a new strategy?
- Do staff have the time and budget to upgrade skills or knowledge if needed?
- Can staff drive change in administration, operations, or programs?
If you’re not ready: Delay your strategic planning until you’ve addressed staff workload challenges. Or, if a new strategy is required to address staff capacity, you may consider a full or partial program hiatus to give your team room to transition.
4. Does our organization need a new strategic plan?
There’s no need to develop a new strategic plan unless you need a new strategy. Having an existing plan with an expiry date is not, on its own, a reason to start again! Sometimes organizations need a new strategy sooner than expected. Other times, a current strategy can serve its purpose for years. If you don’t truly need a new strategy, starting a planning process will only create confusion, waste resources, and stall momentum.
Check your readiness:
- Does our organization have an effective strategy that is moving us in the right direction?
- Have there been significant internal or external shifts that require us to adapt?
If you’re not ready: Be honest about what’s really driving the impulse to launch a planning process. Sometimes organizations turn to strategic planning to solve internal tensions in HR, governance, admin, or operations. In those cases, strategic planning isn’t the fix; you need targeted capacity-building instead.
A final thought: Strategy only works when you’re ready
Strategic planning should never be a reflexive step or a box to check. It’s a powerful opportunity to sharpen your focus, strengthen alignment, and move forward with intention. But only if you begin from a place of true readiness.
If your purpose is clear, your leaders are prepared to make tough choices, your staff have the capacity to act, and you genuinely need a new strategy, well then, you’re in the right place to build something meaningful. And if you’re not there yet? That’s okay! Knowing what to shore up first means that when you do embark on strategic planning, you’ll be set up for success.
Nic Gagliardi is a nonprofit governance consultant with 20 years of experience helping boards and executive leaders build stronger, more effective organizations. Want some support with your strategic planning process? Connect with Nic for a friendly chat about your readiness and goals.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent those of CharityVillage.com or any other individual or entity with whom the authors or website may be affiliated. CharityVillage.com is not liable for any content that may be considered offensive, inappropriate, defamatory, or inaccurate or in breach of third-party rights of privacy, copyright, or trademark.
