Drive Growth with Strategy
August 24, 2023 | By David M. Wagner
“Growth” can be a messy word for nonprofits.
Many businesses – of the for-profit variety – intentionally seek out growth. More profit, more revenue, more market share.
Some nonprofits are driven by their board, their leadership team, or their funders, to grow their impact.
But organizational growth doesn’t always have to mean “more” of something. In fact, sometimes the way to grow is by doing less of something.
Organizational Growth
One way to conceive of organizational growth is as a process of always getting better. In this way, it more like “personal growth” or “professional growth.”
Why focus on improvement, especially if things are currently going well?
For one thing, the world around is us constantly changing. Adapting may not be a choice, but a necessity. For another, organizations that aren’t growing are likely not very innovative. Statis is not a great way to attract funders, supporters, and staff.
Driving Growth through Strategy
Growth, like any form of change, takes intention.
We use strategies to reflect our intentions for our organization. But using strategy to drive growth requires finding a balance between reflecting where your organization is today and where you want it to be in the future.
Too many strategic planning efforts stop at the visioning phase and stop short of connecting vision with a realistic plan. The result is an unaligned strategy: unrealistic goals that exist entirely apart from how the organization works today.
Other strategic plans over-emphasize continuity. These “cop-out” strategies read like lists of everyone’s job descriptions, and pin success on continuing to do those jobs well.
True growth comes from using strategy to answer three questions:
What do we want to start doing?
What’s not working that we should stop doing?
What’s working that we’ll continue doing?
If your strategy makes clear how your organization will grow from where it is today to the vision you aspire to, real change is possible.
Striking the Balance
How can you ensure your strategy leads to organizational growth?
Make sure your stakeholders are involved in the planning process. A culture of feedback is key to building – and maintaining – growth in your organization. The people inside and outside your organization can provide an honest assessment of what’s working and what opportunities you have for improvement.
One “tell” that there is alignment between strategy and action is when your team’s professional development and performance goals are tied to your strategic goals. A recent acquaintance pointed out the importance of that connection: “strategy shouldn’t be an extra thing that staff have to do, it should be the only thing they’re doing.”
Ensure your organization’s continued success by always improving how you carry out your mission. We’ve helped dozens of leaders amplify their teams’ impact through a smarter approach to strategic planning that drives lasting growth. Take the first step by setting a free consultation with me today.