06/08/2024
Spending time on developing the strategic direction of a company is one of the most important roles of the Board. Equally important is monitoring both how that strategy is being implemented, and how the operating environment might be changing to affect strategic direction and priorities.
For many though, ‘strategy’ is something that happens once a year or, for some, even less frequently.
Even if your company operates in a stable environment, making time to discuss strategy, at least annually, is an important part of the Board’s role and is critical to the wellbeing and long-term success of a company.
What is the value of an external facilitator?
You and your senior management team know your company, its challenges, strengths and business better than anyone – or at least you should. So, what is the value of an external facilitator to assist with strategic planning and review.
A good facilitator will add immense value to the time you have asked everyone to contribute through:
- improving the quality of conversation by creating a safe environment for directors and senior management to express opinions, ideas and concerns. A good facilitator will quickly identify tensions, if there are any, between board members and can be an objective circuit breaker – calling out poor behaviour and demanding respectful conversation;
- questioning input and asking why particular opinions or statements are made. This questioning from an external facilitator leads to identification of the natural bias, and assumptions that existing board members will bring to matters, and by surfacing them allows broader conversations and new information. This is particularly beneficial for boards who have worked together for many years as questioning from an objective facilitator will challenge group think;
- providing fresh perspective to the challenges and approaches your board has in place. The right facilitator will have their own experience to bring to discussions about how matters might be treated in other companies. This provides a value-add additional voice to discussions.
- meaningfully enhance the rigour and objectivity of the strategic planning process and results. The fresh eyes and objectivity of an external facilitator has the advantage often of building the trust of board members in the process, and thereby in the results, as board members will provide more candid input and feedback.
- being responsible for producing the critical output of a good strategic planning session which is a summary of agreement, and a written action plan.
Too often boards walk away from a strategic planning day without written results, and management will be dragged back into operations as soon as your day is complete so writing up the outcomes can become a low priority. Therefore, having an external facilitator responsible for documenting your agreements and action will turn a good day into a plan for the year ahead.
When is the best time to have an external facilitator?
There are particular times when an external facilitator, and the benefits they bring, is most valuable to board strategic planning:
- when your strategy has not changed for some years or your company operates as per the ‘status quo’ year on year;
- when there are significant strategy shifts needed, because your company is struggling, or because of emerging new regulatory requirements or community needs have changed significantly;
- where there is a change in board membership and a need for realignment on strategy, values or culture, or conversely where there has been no change in board members and there is a need to encourage new views and conversations to overcome entrenched group think;
- where, for whatever reason, your board is not working effectively. When there are obstacles to Directors being frank with each other, or there are board factions or divisions becoming apparent.
What does it look like?
Effective strategic planning requires:
- commitment and engagement of all members of the Board;
- a space away from operational interruptions;
- agreement that conversations are confidential, and contributions are not judged;
- an agreed amount of time to spend in discussion;
- concrete outcomes.
For a discussion on how our experienced governance team at Griffin Legal can assist with facilitating your strategic planning contact us at enquiries@griffinlegal.com.au.