Your company is ready for some strategic planning.

You’re committed to inclusion. You want your employees to have a stake in the action. You want them to feel like they’re making a difference.

So you load your strategic planning committee with people representing every job function in your business. Include them all! The more the merrier!

Big mistake.

In fact, this may be the greatest, most common progress-killing mistake we see companies make when they launch strategic planning processes.

When you overload the planning table, you guarantee inefficiency.

Why? Because you spend more time bringing everyone up to speed. You burn precious time and energy trying to get a common baseline of understanding. Then, there’s no time left to do the real planning.

Employees who were already up to speed get bored and disengaged. Employees who weren’t up to speed get stuck worrying that they don’t get it or they were left out in the beginning. Either way it’s de-motivating.

How many people should be at the table for strategic planning?

When we  guide businesses through the planning process, we tell them, “Include as few people as necessary  to give you the most lift in setting your strategic direction”

That may seem counterintuitive to business leaders committed to inclusion, but it’s the best approach. You can find ways to include others throughout the planning process, giving them the opportunity to provide input and feedback without being a formal member of the Planning Team.

 How do you choose whom to include?

First, you need proper coverage across key areas of the organization. You can’t just have your sales team in there without operations. You can’t have just your operations team there without HR. The point is, you want representation from the pieces that ultimately make up the success of the organization.

That doesn’t mean you have to include all job-functions at the table.

Second, try to bring together a diverse team with different perspectives. For example, you want to avoid filling the table with only “long-timers” who are set in their ways. Also consider people with fewer years’ experience that may have a fresh perspective and be more open to change. Constructive tension to avoid group-think and challenge the status quo is critical to planning. It’s through that tension that you ultimately produce the best plan.

Third, you want to include some of the key influencers that will eventually help drive the change in the organization.  Their understanding and buy in of the plan will go a long way in helping drive implementation.

In short, you want the right mix to bring out the best in the team.  Who you choose to be on the Planning Team is a key early step that will help shape your plan.

The post Selecting the Right People for Your Planning Team first appeared on Collaborative Strategies Inc.

I recently ran across a job posting for an executive-level position at a large corporation.

It made me yawn.

It started with a job summary that had all the typical stuff … the ideal candidate is someone who will coordinate such-and-such and formulate this-and-that.

A long list of “Essential Functions” followed… Oversee the team. Direct activities. Review Operations. Etc. Etc. Blah. Blah. Blah.

The post had plenty of words about what the company’s new employee would do.

Yet, not a single word about WHY a prospective employee might want to apply. Nothing about the company. Nothing about the organization’s mission. Nothing to inspire.

This doesn’t surprise me as I’ve helped close to 100 organizations fill critical leadership positions.

Many organizations begin the search process with an assumption that they are offering prospective candidates the best opportunity in the world. While that may be true, the assumption that “if you post it, they will come” is not.

It’s rarely as easy as a job post.

Organizations, both for profit and not-for-profit, still need to sell opportunities to applicants. If opportunities are sold well, they will attract top talent, minimize bad hires and turnover, and achieve greater business success.

How to begin? We start with our clients by writing a Position Announcement, not the typical, yawn-worthy job description.

A position announcement trumpets opportunity. It sells the job. It doesn’t merely list tasks.

You can’t sell the opportunity without selling your organization. What’s your company’s mission? What’s your vision? Your values? What’s amazing about your culture?

A well-crafted position announcement oozes with life and paints a candidate value proposition. It inspires a prospect to say, “That spoke to me. I want to work there.”

You also can’t sell an opportunity without selling the role. A task list won’t cut it. Imagine the prospect is asking you, “What’s in it for me?” Describe how the role is mission-critical. People want to make an impact. Show them how that’s possible in this role. Show them that your organization is craving their experience and expertise.

What are the goals for this new hire? What will this new leader be asked to transform? How will this individual contribute? What will success look like? And how will they be held accountable?

For some businesses, producing this type of marketing document is hard. Some organizations enter this process without a clear sense of themselves, without a clear mission, vision, values or culture.

Rest assured, it doesn’t all come in a blink. That’s fine. That’s where we come in.

The beauty of our search process is the journey. Our team will take it step-by-step with your team, serving as an extension of your hiring managers or search committee and helping you craft your candidate value proposition. What is critical in developing a top-notch position announcement is also critical in selling products and services, in inspiring existing employees, and, in attracting partners and investors.

So, when you define your role as something more than a list of tasks or activities, when you define roles as part of a meaningful mission, with opportunities for real achievement and an opportunity for the successful candidate to make an impact, you position your company for greater success.

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