January 4, 2024 | By David M. Wagner

For many nonprofits, forming strategy is a lot like setting a New Year’s resolution: lots of wishful thinking, not much follow-through.

It doesn’t have to be that way. I’m no expert on keeping New Year’s resolutions…but whether you’re thinking about setting a new strategy for your program or organization, or just want to see your current plan put into action, these 10 tips can keep you on the right track.

1. Cultivate shared ownership. Don’t limit input on strategy to your board and people in leadership. Include more stakeholders, including those responsible for implementation, to improve both the quality of your strategy and the commitment of the partners you’ll need to carry it out.

2. Craft a compelling vision. The most inspirational visions strike a balance between bold, long-term mission outcomes and achievable, nearer-term goals.

3. Develop an executable action plan. A vision without a plan to bring it about isn’t a strategy; it’s a wish list. Build out the roadmap to guide your team to success.

4. Set realistic milestones. Set checkpoints to measure progress along the path to realize your plan. Create realistic schedules and budgets for milestones by tapping into the knowledge of those who will do the work, or who have done it before.

5. Assign clear accountability. Ensure follow-through on goals and milestones, even shared ones, by assigning primary responsibility to individuals who agree to be held accountable for delivery.

6. Foster alignment between individual and strategic goals. Strategies falter when teams view them as being disconnected from their day-to-day jobs. Show teams and individuals how their roles contribute to strategic outcomes and help them craft their goals accordingly. (If there’s a real disconnect, revisit resolution #1.)

7. Root oversight and decisions in strategy. Boards can help executives focus on long-term outcomes by putting strategic goals at the center of board meetings and performance reviews. Executives can do their part by communicating how their decisions support the program’s or organization’s strategic outcomes.

8. Create the right culture. Some strategic goals require a shift in organizational culture. Communicate, demonstrate, and reward new norms to take team culture in a different direction.

9. Demonstrate inclusivity. Internal and external stakeholders will be more willing to devote their time, talents, and treasure to your strategy when they feel like a part of the team. Go out of your way to ensure they feel seen, heard, and like their voices matter.

10. Embrace feedback systems to keep your strategy current. Every strategy is predicated on guesses, however well educated, about future conditions. Create a culture of feedback to track changing conditions and results, and to adjust course, gradually, when needed.

Resolve to make strategy matter for your program or organization in 2024. I work with nonprofit leaders to not only develop meaningful strategies, but also to put them into action. Get started on your path to greater mission outcomes with a free consultation.