Strategic planning is a crucial aspect of any organization's success. However, creating your strategic plan is just the beginning!
To ensure success, it's essential to review progress regularly. Organizations that establish a plan to review progress reap the benefits. Set it and forget it seldom, or should I say, never have I seen it work.
Why a Regularly Review Process Matters
Regularly reviewing progress is vital for several reasons:
Accountability: Regular reviews hold team members and leaders accountable for their assigned tasks and goals. When everyone knows that their progress will be assessed regularly, they are more likely to stay on track.
Alignment: Reviewing progress ensures that everyone is aligned with your strategic objectives. It helps to maintain focus on the organization's overarching goals and prevents teams from veering off course.
Growth: Regular reviews facilitate a culture of continuous improvement. They provide opportunities for learning from both successes and failures, fostering a more agile, confident, and responsive team.
Establish Quarterly or Monthly Reviews
To effectively review progress in strategic planning, it's crucial to establish a regular cadence of review meetings. These meetings can be held on a quarterly or monthly basis.
Quarterly Reviews: provide a more comprehensive view of progress over a three-month period. They are best used for more of your long-term strategic goals. Quarterly reviews show how everyone is pacing toward their annual KPIs.
Monthly Reviews: Monthly reviews are more frequent and offer a more granular deep dive into progress. They are beneficial when you have shorter-term goals.
Using Review Meetings to Identify and Remove Roadblocks
Review meetings should not be just status updates; they should serve as a platform for identifying and addressing roadblocks. Here's how to make the most of these meetings:
Review established KPIs: Start by examining the KPIs that were established as part of the strategic plan. Compare actual results with the targets established in the plan to gauge progress accurately.
Identify Roadblocks: Encourage open and honest discussions to uncover any obstacles preventing the achievement of goals. These roadblocks could be related to resource constraints or internal, or external factors.
Collaborative Problem-Solving: Use the collective knowledge and expertise of the team to brainstorm solutions to any roadblocks. Assign responsibilities for addressing these issues and set timelines for resolution.
Follow-Up: After the review meeting, follow up on the action items and track progress toward resolving the identified roadblocks. This ensures that you will continue to move forward effectively.
Conclusion
Regularly reviewing progress is a critical element in successfully executing your goals. By establishing quarterly or monthly review meetings, you can stay agile, adapt to changing circumstances, and ensure that everyone remains aligned with the strategic objectives. Moreover, these review meetings serve as valuable opportunities to identify and remove roadblocks, ultimately driving the team to long-term success.
So, don't just create a strategic plan and forget about it—regularly review, adapt, and thrive.
