Effective Leadership: Understanding and acting on your strategy

1. Effective Leadership: Understanding and acting on your strategy Seth M. Finestack, MS, CPF Wipfli CPAs & Consultants sfinestack@wipfli.com - @CultureRev – 952-548-6706 Region 8/10 Conference May 13-15, 2014 Boise, ID

2. Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. Dwight D. Eisenhower

3. Learning Objectives • Learn to use community needs and organizational assessments to clarify strategy • Understand how vision- and community-driven strategy is an integral concept to sound leadership • Know where to start, and how to best lead

4. Agenda • Warm-Up • Eagle’s View of Strategy • Leadership and Vision • Long-Range Goals • Engagement and Action

5. Warm up Find 2 people you don’t know, introduce yourselves, AND exchange business cards: • Name, Job, Agency, and Town • Why you are in this session? • What do you NEED to find out? • What is one good leadership idea you BRING to the discussion?

7. Strategy language for leaders A sensible and appealing picture of the future Vision Leadership Creates Long range goals and a logic for how the vision can be achieved Strategies Specific steps and timetables to implement the strategies Plans Management Creates Plans converted into financial projections and goals Budgets

8. Who leads alone?

9. Building a coalition • Identify a Guiding Coalition – internal and external members to help lead strategic planning and action • Choose people you trust (on every level) • Who thinks a little ‘differently’? • What program and operations knowledge are needed? • Who needs to not be involved (because …) • How to address staff who are not chosen –emotional and logical

10. Convening a coalition • Convening: gathering together, inviting people in is a KEY task of the leader • Authentic convening requires of the leader: • Hospitality, welcoming • Respect for the diversity of the group • Trust in the wisdom of the group • Willingness to listen deeply with an open mind • Willingness to let go of the outcome and of control

11. Now what do we do together?

12. What’s a “burning platform”? • STRATEGIC needs assessments are not demographic data points and funding reports • You need “firepower” to Change the status quo Gain new support Achieve momentum Become sustainable again…

14. Strategic needs assessments External focus first: on clients, community and collaboration • Information and opinion gathering • Storytelling • Engagement Internal focus next: on strategy, structure and systems • Information and opinion gathering • Where are the hot spots • Engagement

15. Decision making The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision. – Maimonides

16. Strategic decision matrix

17. More strategy language for leaders “MVV” – Cornerstones of organizational planning, direction, and culture • Mission is PURPOSE – the reason for opening the doors in the morning • Valuesare the PRINCIPLES within which we behave – how we treat our clients and each other, how we do business • Visionis our hope for the preferred FUTURE, our desired destination organizationally and as a community

18. Who can articulate: • Agency Mission (Personal Mission?) • Agency Vision (Personal Vision?) • Agency Values (Personal Values?)

19. Vision and leadership A transformational leader will develop a plan of action, mobilize the workforce, and unleash power by vocalizing the core values of the system. – Robert E. Quinn, Deep Change, Discovering the Leader Within

20. Shared vision • For a vision to be compelling, it must be developed with your stakeholders. • Shared vision: • Allows people to go above and beyond • Increases buy in, reduces enforcement • Increases creativity and solutions • Is a very messy process

21. Shared vision • Imaginable • Desirable • Feasible • Focused • Flexible • Communicable John Kotter, Leading Change

22. Whose vision is it? • Wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever • To become a world leader at connecting people to wildlife and conservation • People everywhere will share the power of a wish • A just world without poverty

23. Shared vision process • Convene your Guiding Coalition • Build a plan to engage the community and agency in the burning platform (Poverty): • External Factors - Community Assessment • Internal Factors - Organization Assessment • Communicate your “burning platform” • Gather input from the community about hopes for the future • Articulate your “shared vision” • Communicate far and wide

24. What about this?

25. Strategies and strategic thinking

26. More strategy language for leaders • Long-Range Goals are high-level actions to reach the desired destination (Vision) • The Board is supposed to determine these • Short-Term Goals are measurable, intermediate actions taken to reach the long-range goals • Outcomes are the result of the work • Indicators are the measurements

27. Long-Range Goals Leadership challenge Board of Directors

28. Long-Range Goals Board with Guiding Coalition Decide on Goals & Outcomes • Guiding Coalition • Community/Staff Engagement • Gathering Needs • Leading to a Shared Vision • Understanding Outcomes • Drafting Goals • Guiding Coalition • Community/Staff Engagement • Sharing Vision & Goals • Driving Commitment • Taking Action • Measuring Outcomes

29. Long range goals for CAAs • Develop 3-5 Long-Range Goals that are externally focused based on areas of need and expertise • Everything you are doing or will do should fit into a Long-Range Goal (there is only one agency plan) • Develop 1 Long-Range Goal that is internally focused: how we do business here

30. Sample long range goals • Strengthen community capacity and collaboration to meet residents’ basic needs • Develop community capacity to ensure all low-income children receive a high-quality, well-rounded education, including early childhood programming • Expand community and agency capacity to ensure safe, decent, affordable housing for all families and individuals

31. Vision to plan to action SharedVision gaps Agency Assessment Community Assessment

32. Leadership challenge • Plan sits on the shelf • No one knows about it • Systems are not aligned • We just added it on top of what we already do • Resistance and the status quo are too strong • Leaders/managers don’t model change • The culture “eats” new ideas

33. Autonomy • Focus short-term goals on people and programs that can actually achieve them • Provide the goal and the resources; get out of the way Mastery • Choose to be great at some things, not everything • Only spend time and money developing capabilities in those things! Purpose • Link all short-term goals directly to the vision and mission • Be serious about “contribution motive” – link people and jobs to goals Progress • Involve people in defining goals and outcomes • Measure and keep score • Reward small wins, and really celebrate big wins (dramatically)

34. Leadership’s job rganization What is theplan to implement?  Do we havethe right resources? What does the solution look like?  What are the issues? Engagement.     Do I have the skills and support to succeed?  How is my job changing?  ndividuals  What’s in it for me/us? Why are we doing this?

35. Leading vs. managing change It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transitions. Change is situational: the new boss, new office, the new team roles. Transition is the psychological process people (including you) go through to come to terms with the new situation. — William Bridges, Managing Transitions

36. Phases of transition

37. Origins of resistance Reinforce and Reward Teach, Train and Enable Communicate and Lead

38. Do’s and Do not’s for change

39. Time for collaboration Collaboration is vital to sustain what we call profound or really deep change, because without it, organizations are just overwhelmed by the forces of the status quo. – Peter Senge

40. Today’s take-aways • How to integrate community needs and organizational assessments in leading strategy • Understand how a shared vision can sustain sound leadership • Ideas for where to start, and how to best lead through change

41. How we can help • Consulting • Strategic Planning • Wage Comparability Studies • Process Improvement • Organizational Development • Growth and Change Implementation • Succession Planning • Professional Coaching • Products • Human Resources Policy and Procedure Template (HRPro) • Strategic Plan Analysis Tool • Training • On-Site Training • Webinars • Outsourcing • Staffing • Benefits

42. For more information on how we can help Visit the Wipfli Booth for more details or email gfpbd@wipfli.com

43. Please connect with me: www.linkedin.com/in/sethfinestack www.facebook.com/WipfliNGP @CultureRev

44. Bring me to your agency Seth M. Finestack Senior Manager sfinestack@wipfli.com 952-548-6706

45. Evaluation! Please turn in your evaluation as you leave. We love your feedback! Thank you!