Hidden Threats | Associations

Hidden Threats:

Twelve subtle factors which can ruin a planning session!

By, Donnelly K. Eurich, CAE, CMP

Every gathering of individuals which assembles to achieve common objectives has its own distinctive group dynamics. Each board or committee has its own unique blend of personalities, politics and priorities. Sometimes these elements can add synergy to a meeting, but often they can present obstacles to success. As a facilitator, your job is to manage these factors and guide the organization toward its goals. The twelve points below are some hidden threats which can easily derail the success of a planning session.

Board Indifference - If the Chairman or Executive Director insists on holding a planning retreat without effectively explaining the need and value of the session, the board may simply acquiesce and go through the motions at the meeting. You must have each participant buy into the need for, and purpose of, the retreat for it to be successful.
Board Impatience - There always seems to be one board member who thinks the planning session is moving too slowly or that a particular step the facilitator is emphasizing is unnecessary or a waste of time. It is important that the Chairman, Executive Director or Facilitator ask the impatient member to trust the process and participate constructively. If that member succeeds in placing doubt about the process into the minds of others, the session can quickly disintegrate and lose its value.
Competing Activities - Avoid scheduling golf or some similar activity immediately before or after the planning session. Golf before the session will tire everyone out, and golf after the session will have the entire group distracted and in a hurry to finish, unconcerned about results. Make the planning day just that. A dinner or reception should be timed to give 60-90 minutes after the scheduled session ends to permit people to relax before dinner and to give bonus time to cover any last details if the session runs long.
The Know It All - Every group seems to have one individual who thinks he/she knows more that the facilitator, wants to dominate the meeting, be the center of attention or criticize every step saying “we always did it this way”. The facilitator must subtly acknowledge the person’s “expertise” to feed their ego, but not lose control of the meeting. Offering an answer such as, “Yes that is an option I have used before too, but I thought this method would be best for this meeting today.”
Inadequate Preparation - The meeting planner must make sure the planning committee has all the materials needed to make decisions and provide an overview of the organization. Copies of financial statements, newsletters, educational session promotions, membership statistics, etc., must be available. If the organization has conducted a recent membership survey, that should be included as well. You don’t wantthe committee to balk at making a decision during the planning session because they feel they don’t have adequate information. It is their job to make policy decisions that day and they need adequate resources to do so.
Planning Committee Too Large - Some organizations have up to 40-60 board members. A perfect strategic planning committee consists of 12-16 persons, ideally representing all factions of the organization’s membership or constituencies. With larger groups, it can be difficult to gain consensus on issues, and the process of hearing multiple overlapping opinions from members who insist on being heard, even if only to agree with a previous point, can be time consuming and counter productive.
Planning Committee Too Small - If you can only get 4-6 persons to attend the planning session, you are better off to reschedule when more persons can participate. Within very small groups, one dominant personality can control the entire process, and the strategic plan becomes that person’s personal agenda. Also, there is not enough diversity of thought to permit sound discussion and debate. Outsiders will criticize the process as being insider driven and not representative of the organization’s membership or constituents.
Staff Driven Agenda - The strategic planning process is the board/committee’s vision of those priorities the organization should establish and achieve over a designated time period. Staff is present to answer questions and provide technical input. The Executive Director should not be dictating the topics for discussion nor participating in the policy setting process. Inside a weak planning committee, an opinion from the Executive Director can instantly become the position of the committee. One wants the committee to drive the process, not staff. Far too often, the staff’s view of what is important varies greatly from what the volunteer leadership wants to achieve.
Session Too Short - A comprehensive A to Z planning session will take 6-8 hours. If the group tries to accomplish too much in too short a time period, steps will often be eliminated to save time or the process will be rushed and the results unsatisfactory. Make sure the planning committee knows what time commitment they must make. Invest the time to let the process unfold and you will see a much better result.
Split Planning Sessions - I have worked with several groups who wanted to begin one day and finish up the next day. This scenario presents several problems. Often some of the first day participants cannot attend the second day session, and some new participants will join the session for the second day only. This lack of continuity leads to rehashing previous decisions as the new members try to catch up with what has transpired to date. Most people are very busy and cannot commit two successive days to such a session. You are far better off holding a one-day, eight hour session than two, four hour sessions on consecutive days.
Our Last Planning Session Was Terrible - Often, several members of the planning committee will have experienced a previous planning retreat which did not go well. They are convinced this session will be more of the same. Overcoming this initial negativityand skepticism is critical. The Facilitator must work hard and quickly to make the session fun and productive and explain why this process will yield a different result.
The Board Must Take Ownership Of The Plan - The worst thing that can come out of a planning session is a comprehensive, lengthy, un-achievable to-do list for the staff to implement. The board and leadership must champion each organizational objective with assistance from the staff. Update progress on achieving your objectives at each subsequent board meeting. By keeping board members engaged in the success of each organizational goal and objective, the plan has a better chance to remain a living document which is followed and implemented.

Donn Eurich, CAE, CMP is a speaker, consultant, facilitator and association manager. His management company, Eurich Management Services, LLC, (www.eurich.com) manages five non-profits in Michigan and the Midwest. He has written a popular guide on learning to facilitate www.strategicplanningkit.com and offers consulting and facilitation services at www.TheFacilitationPro.com.