Now that we’ve covered a personal view, what is the right planning horizon for your nonprofit?  A lot happened in 2024 and there are a lot of unknowns about what lies ahead.  In light of that, a good question to ask yourselves is how are we doing against our current strategic plan?  If the answer is “I don’t know… it’s in a drawer somewhere” we know that you really didn’t complete a strategic planning process to help guide your organization and that could be okay.  Perhaps you did it to attract new funders, to appease your board, to give the team direction in year one.  Whatever the reason it probably tells you that it’s time to validate what you and the team are working towards to see if you are all in sync or if adjustments are needed.

In the absence of a plan that the whole team gets behind, what I often see is everyone working very hard on their program or personal area of responsibility with a focus on sustaining operations.  Sustaining might be all we can hope for in the current environment, but is it enough to keep you and your team engaged, inspired, and driven to achieve your mission?  If the answer is “no” or “I don’t know”, it might be worth an afternoon or two to get the team together for a little reality check.  Here are some questions to get you started:

• Based on your current and anticipated reality for the coming year (as a start), what can we aim to achieve?
• Is it in line with what we set out to do (and our board agreed to support) in our current strategic plan?
• Is it time to pivot based on changes in the external and internal environment?
  • Even if you, as a leader, think the answer is “no, we’re good to go”, it may be worth a beat to check in with your teams.
  • Do they agree?
  • What are they seeing, anticipating, AND feeling?
  • Is everyone still on board?
  • Should we be aiming higher?
  • Have we taken on too much to the point that we risk losing staff and/or funders due to less than great performance?
  • What are we doing well that we can learn from?
  • What seems harder than it needs to be?
  • Are the needs of those we serve changing?
  • Are funders still on board and what are they planning for the next year (or more)?

Good plans start with good questions.  This article gives you some reflection questions that can help recenter your teams to start the year off right.  Even if you only have an hour or two to spare to have a conversation that covers a few of these questions, giving yourself and your teams the opportunity to reflect, converse, and dream will go a long way towards better collaboration and success in 2025.  As always… If you’d like some help facilitating this kind of conversation, just reach out!   Happy 2025 all!  Let’s make it great!!