How do you foster collaboration in your strategic process?

1 Define the scope and purpose

The first step to foster collaboration in your strategic process is to define the scope and purpose of your strategy. What are you trying to achieve? Who are you serving? What are the key questions or problems you need to address? How will you measure your success? By clarifying these aspects, you can create a clear and shared understanding of what you are working on and why it matters. This will help you to engage and motivate your team and stakeholders, and to avoid confusion and ambiguity.

2 Identify and involve the right people

The next step is to identify and involve the right people in your strategic process. This means selecting the team members and stakeholders who have the relevant knowledge, expertise, experience, or interest in your strategy. You also need to consider the diversity and balance of your team and stakeholders, and how they can contribute to different aspects of your strategy, such as analysis, innovation, implementation, or evaluation. By involving the right people, you can ensure that your strategy is informed by diverse and valuable inputs, and that you have the buy-in and support of those who will be affected by or responsible for your strategy.

3 Establish clear roles and expectations

Another important step to foster collaboration in your strategic process is to establish clear roles and expectations for your team and stakeholders. This means defining what each person or group is expected to do, how they will communicate and coordinate with each other, and how they will provide and receive feedback. You also need to clarify the decision-making process and authority, and how conflicts or disagreements will be resolved. By setting clear roles and expectations, you can create a sense of accountability and ownership, and reduce the potential for confusion, duplication, or conflict.

4 Use effective tools and methods

To facilitate collaboration in your strategic process, you also need to use effective tools and methods that suit your purpose, context, and audience. This means choosing the appropriate formats, platforms, and techniques for sharing information, generating ideas, analyzing data, prioritizing options, or creating plans. For example, you might use online surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather insights from your stakeholders, brainstorming sessions, mind maps, or SWOT analysis to generate and evaluate ideas, or logic models, action plans, or dashboards to create and monitor your strategy. By using effective tools and methods, you can enhance the quality and efficiency of your strategic process, and make it more engaging and interactive.

5 Build trust and rapport

Finally, to foster collaboration in your strategic process, you need to build trust and rapport among your team and stakeholders. This means creating a positive and supportive environment where people feel comfortable to share their opinions, questions, or concerns, and where they respect and appreciate each other's contributions. You also need to encourage and model open and honest communication, constructive feedback, and recognition. By building trust and rapport, you can foster a sense of belonging and commitment, and strengthen the relationships that underpin your strategy.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?