I’m often asked what the role of the Board is in the strategic planning process. The most common answer is that the Board is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization and therefore should set the strategy.

Few people would argue that the Board is responsible for the organization’s strategic direction, but does that mean they should a) determine the strategy, b) provide input to setting the strategy, or c) just review and approve a recommended strategy?

To answer that question let’s look at the realties of a Board and try to understand why some organizations would ask this question in the first place.

The Realities of A Board

When we think about our Boards they could be described as well intentioned, partially informed, sporadic decision-making bodies. This is not meant to try and diminish the role or value of the Board. Not at all. However, unless the Board is very operationally focused, (as is often the case in small organizations), and involved in many aspects of the organization, they cannot know the intricacies of the business nearly as well as those who live and breath it everyday.

Additionally, although most Board members are well-intentioned volunteers they have their own work and as such only come together on a sporadic basis (usually monthly) to obtain what is deemed to be the critical information from which to make decisions. This does not diminish the role of the Board members or the time, efforts and commitment they make to the organization, in fact, many organizations would not be nearly as successful as they are if it wasn’t for the sacrifices and work their Board do. The point is this, that the Executive Director and senior staff has a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the organization and its issues, challenges and opportunities than most Board members.

So if understanding the organization is the primary basis for setting strategic direction, shouldn’t the staff set it? Well that depends and it depends on a few things; two of the key ones are organizational size (usually correlates to the governance model used) and learned patterns of behaviour.

Size of the Organization

Most non-profit organizations are small and rely heavily on a volunteer Board to get things done. In many of these organizations the Board is very operational and involved in all aspects of the organization. In these cases, the Board itself often drives the strategic direction of the organization. They are close to the operations, there are few if any staff and most of the work that will come out of the strategic planning process, will be undertaken by the Board members themselves.

In larger organizations that have a staff infrastructure and management team that makes the operational decisions, you find that it is often the management team, led by the Executive Director that drives the development of the organization’s strategic plan. The level with which management drives the process ranges from the staff being involved with the Board in all aspects of the process to actually developing the strategic plan themselves and recommending their strategy to the Board for review and approval.

Learned Patterns of Behaviour

It is easier to see who drives the strategic planning process in both large and small organizations. It is more difficult in mid sized organizations; i.e. have 10 to 20 or so staff? In these organizations there is a greater potential for staff / Board conflict. This potential conflict derives from a lack of clarity over who is responsible for driving the organization’s strategy?

These organizations used to be one of the small ones that had a very operationally focused Board. With the growth of the organization came the infrastructure to support that growth and before you knew it a management team was formed. In these cases the management team often wants to take a more proactive role in guiding the strategy development process. The problem is that the “learned pattern of behaviour” within the organization has always been that the Board develops the plan.

In these situations the model of governance hasn’t kept up with the growth and needs of the organization and the conflict over roles and responsibilities is starting to show. In these situations the organization needs to clarify the Boards and Executive Director’s roles and responsibilities before they start the strategy development process.

So what are the roles of the Board and Executive Director in setting strategy?

Role of The Board

The role of the Board of Directors regarding strategic planning in all organizations is to:

• Approve the strategic plan.
• Ensure that appropriate measures of performance exist in order to understand if the plan is being effectively implemented.
• Work with the Executive Director to ensure that he / she communicates to the Board on a regular basis regarding the implementation of the strategic plan.

 

In small organizations:

• To work with the Executive Director to set the strategy.

 

In large organizations:

• To enable management to drive the strategy development process with Board input to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the circumstances within the organization itself and review and approve the recommended strategy, with or without changes.

 

Role of the Executive Director

The role of the Executive Director regarding strategic planning is to:

• Provide information relevant to the development of the organization’s strategy. This is first, information specific to the organization itself and second with regards to the trends and issues within the external environment.
• Participate in the strategy development process.

 

So What Does This Mean To Your Organization?

The basic message is that your strategic planning process should develop as your organization develops. The roles of the Board, Executive Director and staff should change as the organization grows. If you don’t change your strategy development process as your organization grows you will diminish the value you can obtain from this process.

Ron Robinson is the president of ABARIS Consulting Inc. He can be reached at (519) 472-9788 or rrobinson@abarisconsulting.com. This article is provided free of charge, for information purposes only and is not intended, represented or to be inferred as providing advice. ABARIS Consulting Inc. makes no warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.