Leadership: does strategy still matter in times of crisis?

The question we addressed in this meeting was as follows: ‘In these turbulent times are we shifting away from a conventional planning approach? What does this mean for how leaders operate?’

The first speaker was Nick Sinclair, from Community Catalysts, who runs the Local Area Co-ordination network, and the New Social Leaders network. Nick shared a recording of an interview he conducted on this topic with Professor Donna Hall, architect of the Wigan Deal.

The second speaker was Kate McKenzie, from Power to Change, who manages the Leading the Way learning and grants programme for community business leaders in the North East and Yorkshire.

Here are some of the key points made by speakers and in discussion:

• Strategy does matter in times of crisis.  It is not enough to address the immediate presenting problems, important though that is, if we are also wanting to bring about a wider and deeper social change.

• But we need a different approach to planning:

  • When it is difficult to foresee very much beyond the next six months (if that), the plan needs to make more allowance for emergence.  

  • Rather than a set of objectives or targets, the plan should provide an overall vision (a ‘North Star’), and a set of relationships or principles which can guide decision-making and behaviour.

  • It also needs to allow maximum operational autonomy. (It was noted that Mencap, for example, is working towards a model where people at the front end of the organisation can set the strategy for their own work, within an overall framework. In a large organisation this requires a big culture shift).

  • The key elements of the plan should be developed with the community affected by the plan. 

  • The plan should be set out with simplicity and clarity.

  • And it should place significant weight on the process for review, reflection and adaption.  A ‘discover, design, test’ method, capable of being applied quickly to aspects of an organisation’s work may be preferable to an ‘epic’ effort to design a single all-encompassing strategy.  The Human, Learning, Systems approach developed by Toby Lowe and others is felt by many to be very helpful in this respect.

• In summary, a good strategy in turbulent times should be much more about establishing the right culture, to help people ‘do the right thing’ and reflect and adapt, and much less about imposing a rigid work plan.