The Benefits Of A Strategic Planning Workshop Facilitation

By Jessica Cole


Every organization runs with some sort of end goal in mind. These goals are many and sundry, the possibilities are endless, but they are usually achievable. However, there are cases when the organization is merely running in perpetual circles, speeding up and pressing down on the pedal with seemingly no end in sight, in fact very much comparable to a hamster on a running wheel. In order to set this metaphorical rodent free from this rat race, one would need to tailor some strategic planning workshop facilitation.

This workshop is all about having the organization get its act straight. Facilitation in this regard will aid in the assured effectiveness of the strategic planning process. As a result, most major and large scale plans will be well executed and thereby successful.

Organization planning, or perhaps just about any large scale planning, has to do with the refocusing of targets. The associates of the org will have to reassess whether or not the plans they set out for themselves are actually viable, if not feasible. They would then need to set out listings of their SWOT. These involves strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat.

Strengths have to do with their mastery and capabilities, or what makes them strong and able as an organization. It gives them the leverage which other competitors seemingly cant hold a candle up to. Weaknesses are, predictably, the exact opposite. They are what threatens the effective or actual accomplishment of goals. Threats are the adverse elements, either circumstances or other entities, that impede the establishment of objectives.

Strategic plans are not merely created. They are also committed to by those who had implemented them. These are carried out and resolved proactively, by taking all involvements into consideration. Able strategic plans are instrumental, if not definitive, in making strategic decisions.

This planning stage is quite extensive and convoluted. First off, one must learn to identify opportunities, and then craft courses of action around them. Potential problems and roadblocks must be outlined. If ever multiple ones are pinpointed, then the organization would then have to establish their priorities according to their immediate needs. Of course, economics would have to be taken into account. After all, its the fuel that keeps everything, including your organization, up and running. One must therefore learn to effectively allocate all available resources.

This enterprise involves quite a lot of balancing acts. First off, there are the policies and procedures to take into account and completely adhere to. And then there are the abstract objectives and standards of performance to wrap your head around. And only then can you trickle down the more practical considerations, that of your companys programs, schedules, and budgets.

Facilitation is needed for basic reasons. Firstly, it makes things smoother and easier. The objectives of a meeting are already pretty much directed and zeroed in on a particular agenda. Moreover, the facilitator would also be able to contrive some sort of connection within the group, ensuring a continuous flow of information and much needed communication.

Also, effective facilitation ably provides direction and focus. The meeting will not stray into irrelevant and non exigent areas, thereby speeding up the accomplishment of tasks. A good facilitator will be able to draw on communication between participants, and exhort them to communicate constructively. The participants will then be able to question and challenge each other, sort out differences between them, and collate or compromise plans and ideas. With these networking of ideas and information, the objectives and goals of any organization will be speeded up to a considerable extent.




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