Strategy Session Facilitation
Effective strategy planning sessions
Developing a coherent strategy with a clear vision and realistic pathways to results requires input from across departments. Getting this input can be challenging.
We hold strategic development workshops that help you with mapping out your strategy planning and big issue identification. We use a recognised strategy system in order to successfully manage the process and create an outcome / goal that is shared by the group. The process fulfils the need to balance three key modes of planning and allows us to develop a planning process within three distinct phases.
Our strategy session outcomes include:
- Creating genuinely agreed goals and strategic priorities.
- The creation of realistic plans to achieve strategic outcomes and the establishment of achievable timescales.
- Evaluation of plans to spot problems and weaknesses ahead of implementation.
- Gaining the input of a diverse group and the consideration of different perspectives.
Our approach to strategy planning
Using methodologies and approaches that enable effective discussions, strategy planning and big issue resolution.
We allow the time and structure to really discuss and debate how the organisation needs to evolve whilst delivering clarity of output.
We have some warm up tools to encourage flexibility and creativity of thought and to also bring a sense of cohesion to allow effective challenge and group working and use facilitation techniques that match the groups preferences.
Our job as facilitators is to make sure assumptions are challenged, more gets ‘put on the table’ and allow for things to get less clear at times, rather than pushing too quickly for an answer or agreement which might have flaws, whilst making sure that clarity then follows.
Case Study
Strategy session for the University of Brighton
The objective of the workshop was to generate provocations for the incoming Vice Chancellor’s strategic planning process.
We were asked in by the Sustainability Team at the University to ensure anther could be an independent input of ideas and challenges from across the university so the participants in the strategy session were from many different disciplines, departments and locations.
Developing the provocations, or challenging questions, that support the strategic process involves thinking deeply about how the University can embed sustainability into all areas of its life, from teaching and research to infrastructure, operations and how sustainability can be part of the universities values and vision.
We structured the workshop into a number of distinct steps to allow a good breadth of creative thinking to occur within the time. The process allowed participants to contribute both in their areas of specific skill and interest, and broadly across the whole scope of sustainability at the University.
The workshop was fast paced to make sure energy levels and input was high but thorough enough to ensure quality of ideas to come through. The design of the process not only ensured that a clear set of provocations were delivered but in addition a significant amount of data was captured on the current state of sustainability in the University and the opportunities and challenges that lie in the path of moving to a truly sustainable University of Brighton.
Here’s what they said:
“I wanted to thank you for a great session, everyone was happy at the end of it. A job well done.”
Anna Stefanaki – Environment Team, University of Brighton
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