01/31/2022

A Post-pandemic Strategy for Strategic Planning

Governance experts share strategy suggestions

Governance is governance, as Target founder Ken Dayton famously put it. But governance in the pandemic era is a bit different.

Shifting strategy discussions to Zoom, combined with heightened focus on social justice issues in the past two years, have prompted association leaders to collaborate differently and pay more attention to strategic matters, especially around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). During the first year of COVID, according to the software company OnBoard, boards reported that they were “more effective, more collaborative, and are spending more time on vital strategic issues than prior to the pandemic.”

But the increased (remote) face time that has often come with online board work shouldn’t let associations be complacent. That’s something I explored in a recent Associations Now Deep Dive piece on whether associations should overhaul their strategic plans due to the pandemic. Short answer: probably not, if that plan is well thought through and aligned with your overall organizational goals. But it’s a good time to double-check the processes you use for strategic discussions and the pipeline you have in place for the next group of leaders.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.