Strategic planning is sometimes left to the executive director. If that’s true for your organization, you may want to rethink this practice. Yes, the director can usually come up with a cogent and relevant plan for the agency. But part of the board’s responsibility is representing the interest of stakeholders and steering the course for the library or nonprofit. Planning is best accomplished by the board-director team, with plenty of stakeholder participation.
When there’s conflict–between the board and director, the board and community, the funders and the board, the director and community–no one should be “going it alone!” A well-developed strategic plan includes all parties with a stake in the outcome. This helps ensure buy-in, is a great communication tool, and keeps the process open and responsive to changing community needs.
Don’t leave planning to one person or one group. It is the board’s responsibility to set direction for the organization. And to do that effectively takes many heads and hands!
Amen Lyn! This practice can also be hard on the director who has to bear the burden of planning all alone!