strategy

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People in charities love to talk - we love to share everything that's wonderful about the organisations we lead and work in. And that can often be the enemy of good strategy and good, strategic communication with our stakeholders. Because too often we make our strategy a mix of what we do today and what we're going to change in the future. It's a well-meaning blancmanche - but it confuses our stakeholders and particularly our funders.

If you've read the preceding pages, you won't be surprised to know that the best answer to this lack of clarity is for a charity to have a great theory of change. When you can distinguish and communicate your operating model really clearly and effectively, strategy becomes simply 1) do more or less of what we do today, 2) do new things, and 3) divest old things. It brings a refreshing sense of strategic clarity.

The other thing that theory of change brings is what I've come to call framework learning, which can become a key input to your strategy process. At it's most fundamental, your theory of change articulates how your programme activities deliver the strategic outcomes you care about most for your beneficiaries. Theory of change can help to identify programmes that no longer deliver the outcomes you care about, which should be divested - and it can conversely identify outcomes you say you care about but aren't yet doing enough to deliver.

Sometimes, as leaders we can be too close to the subject matter to plan well strategically. Sometimes we can be guilty of planning in a bubble, without the co-creation of beneficiaries and colleages (believe me, I've been there!). Sometimes, we can see the vision with clarity but not necessarily the path to get there. Often, it can be helpful to have someone else come and facilitate a process - one that we can take part in rather than have to run ourselves.  

I am, first and foremost, a strategist. That's what I did in my previous life in the City and that's what I've enjoyed doing most in my time in the third sector, working with outstanding people to discern and devise strategy. There is nothing I enjoy more than devising and facilitating a workshop to help you unlock your strategic planning.