Organizations are placing increasing emphasis on strategic planning, moving away from the opportunistic, “shoot from the hip” attitude that used to define many cultures. However, frequently the responsibility for planning is still given to separate groups within the organization, resulting in an elegant plan with little buy-in from the implementors. Thus, much of the benefit of the process – expanding knowledge across the organization, ensuring the inclusion of all relevant information and points of view – may be lost.

Senior management must drive the planning process from the top, validating the vision throughout the company. A cascading process, such as the one shown below, enables involvement from all levels of the organization. Ownership in creation of the plan resides with the Strategic Action Team, formed of key leaders within the organization. The team reports to the Steering Committee, making recommendations and communicating decisions. The Strategic Action Team also identifies areas of the plan that should be delegated to program teams and then coordinates recommendations from the teams.

The membership and focus of the program teams will vary in each organization. At a minimum, a subteam should be formed for critical areas of the plan that require cross-functional knowledge and participation. One possible model involves the creation of a subteam for each “S” in the classic 7S Model: strategy, systems, structure, staff relationships, style, skills, and shared values. Leadership responsibility for the subteams should be given to key, non-executive leaders within the organization, providing an opportunity to grow next-generation leaders while relieving the executive team to run existing operations. (Yet, the executive team must remain involved as visible sponsors of the process.)

By bringing cross-functional, cross-level members to the teams, the organization begins to build capabilities and relationships which will be key to implementing the plan. Team members gain clarity around roles, responsibilities and relationships with other team members. Through participation in the strategic planning process, members at all levels of the organization become committed to driving the change needed to realize the organization’s vision.