Where do I start?

As a leader today, you are faced with increased strain on your schedule and budget and you have to make constant decisions about where to invest scarce time and resources. You probably are making daily tradeoffs when considering new opportunities or the multiplicity of challenges you encounter.

So, where do you start when you want to grow your organization?

Most often, I will talk with leaders about the need for strategic planning or a capital campaign. This is usually driven by a desire to clarify the vision and goals of the organization, expand a successful program, or build a new facility or program to increase capacity.

Although a new strategic plan or capital campaign can often be a great starting place for growth, I would like to suggest a new starting place for leaders faced with stretched schedules and tight budgets.

Listening

Last month I was at the mall with my son looking for a new pair of shoes. We wanted to find the best store, so we looked for the mall directory. We found the Nike Store on the map and quickly made our way to discover his next pair of dream shoes (i.e., Jordans). I realized something as I stared at that map in the mall. A map isn’t helpful when you don’t know where you are.

That little “you are here” sign orientates you and puts the whole map in perspective. It gives you a point of origin.

When you pause in the midst of the hurried pace of organizational life to reflect and intentionally listen to your stakeholders, you gain clarity about your point of origin. Investing time to listen to your staff, your donors, your board of directors, or your community helps you gain clarity and uncover challenges and opportunities sitting closer than you may have expected.

A friend and former colleague of mine often used to say, “the map is not the terrain”. By starting with discovery, asking deeper questions from real people connected to your mission, you gain perspective on the current terrain up close and personal.

The Power of Listening

By starting with listening to your stakeholders, you begin to gain deeper clarity about your organization and see it with a fresh perspective. A discovery process focuses your attention on what’s most important. Digging deeper through iterative question asking, you gain clarity around adaptive challenges and opportunities that arise through strengths.

Listening and discovery provides a clearer view to make better decisions about where to invest your time and money. Do you need a clarified vision for the future through strategic planning? Are your stakeholders ready to launch into the next capital campaign to expand your impact? Does your focus need to turn inward to development of your team to build capacity for the future?

Listening helps answer the question, what’s next? Slowing down long enough to ask deeper questions and reflect provides a great starting place for you as a leader to discern the best path forward toward growth. After engaging stakeholders and understanding their perspectives and lived experiences, leaders can move forward with confidence.

I'm here to listen

If you find yourself in a place where you want to grow your organization but aren’t quite sure where to start, I would love to connect and start with listening. It is my privilege to walk alongside leaders through the discovery process in order to see your organization transform for a vibrant future.