Initiative planning involves representatives from the stakeholder groups it seeks to empower. It also seeks to include other stakeholder groups that are invested in the initiative’s outcomes. Prioritizing the involvement of stakeholders is crucial. These are stakeholders who are directly affected or have a direct role in the initiative. This approach is well-recognized as central to successful initiative planning.
Initiatives often represent discrete projects that are unique to the organization. The change needed to achieve the goals of the initiative typically requires leadership. It also involves stakeholder input, feedback mechanisms, and business processes. Training is also essential to ensure the goals are understood and shared. An initiative is unlikely to realize its goals if internal processes, values, and business systems are unaligned.
Having an effective initiative plan will not make a poor idea successful. It represents a significant first step in validating ideas. It helps build alignment and mobilizes joint efforts in the pursuit of a shared vision.
Symptoms of poorly planned initiatives include the following (not exhaustive):
- Confusion about goals
- Unclear or conflicting priorities
- Difficulty evaluating performance
- Barriers to resolving conflict
- Un-sustained progress (often in ‘fits and starts’)
- Misaligned project efforts
- Poor strategy-to-goal fit
The following Initiative Planning Canvas includes fifteen strategy areas to help your team to improve the initiative’s strategy-to-goal fit thereby strengthening the:
- Project’s feedback loops,
- Team’s learning curve, &
- Quality of the initiative’s outputs
The organizational culture determines which initiatives will be supported. It also determines which ones will have their impact reinforced and sustained over time.
Often ignored, a poor fit between the initiative and the organizational culture can result in the following (not exhaustive):
- Low goal commitment
- Low strategy commitment, &
- Low value alignment
The combination of these three can impact:
- Employee morale,
- Ability to embrace change, &
- Performance on parallel efforts
Initiative Planning begins & ends with leadership with the support of assets, processes, and strategies in-between.
The alignment of values and efforts is strengthened by organizational culture. As a feedback loop that helps find, evaluate, and pursue shared values the organizational culture also establishes:
- Which initiatives have credibility,
- Will be supported, &
- Which ones will be successful
The alignment between inputs and outputs, between strategies and aims, and between each part of the Initiative Plan is crucial.
The organization must align the initiative planning tools. Without this alignment, it should not expect alignment among the project staff, leadership team, employees, and other stakeholders.
Travis Barker, MPA GCPM
Innovate Vancouver
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