Strategic Planning Without Micromanaging the CEO

Board directors are often concerned about how they can be involved in strategic planning without overstepping their roles. There is a shift away from three – to five-year time horizons and lengthy planning processes toward strategic frameworks articulating organizational priorities and business plans that blend operational and programmatic goals along with financial forecasts and robust annual plans with clear timelines and metrics. Explore now.

However, a board that is focused on its oversight responsibilities must to be involved in defining strategies, analyzing the strategic actions taking place, knowing that there will always be situations that require a lot of attention from the Board and establishing an appropriate monitoring plan for the strategy. This article discusses ways to accomplish all of this while allowing the Board to participate in strategic discussions and be productive to them.

Our article on how to facilitate an annual board-level strategic planning meeting is among the most popular posts on this website. The discussion addresses a problem that is frequently raised in this space where the board must decide between implementing the company’s strategy as well as its own strategy. This is a critical discussion because it is a matter of perception. If the Board believes that its role is to approve any plan put before it, it could be in danger of becoming a “rubber-stamp” board. To avoid this, it is a good idea to have an upfront conversation between the board and management on the key strategic problems they believe are the most important. This will enable the board to assist in framing the issues and management to be open to suggestions from the board that hones and refine the problem framing.

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