The 8-Step Shared Power Strategic Planning Process: A Real-World Walk-Through

Most nonprofits approach strategic planning the same way: a small group of senior leaders and board members make the calls, and then the plan gets shared out. Shared Power™ Strategic Planning flips that completely on its head, putting the people a nonprofit serves at the center of the most important decisions. In this episode, Alyssa and Lindsay walk through exactly how it works, step by step. Using a real client example, an organization navigating a complex multi-stakeholder landscape, they break down all eight steps of the Shared Power Strategic Planning™ process: Prepare, Engage, Research, Retreat, Set OKRs, Listening Sessions, Finalize, and Implement. You'll hear how the process works whether you're DIY-ing your plan, working with a facilitator, or partnering with a full-service firm, and what happens when you skip any of the steps.   In this episode, you'll learn: ✅Why deeply involving your stakeholders in strategic planning (before, during and after) is absolutely critical, and how to do it well ✅ Why preparation is really a readiness and culture check, not a scheduling exercise ✅ How to design stakeholder engagement that works for hard-to-reach populations like people living with serious diseases or youth ✅ What three assessments anchor the research phase and how they come together ✅ How a two-day retreat takes you from hundreds of strategic questions to three or four plan pillars ✅ Why listening sessions (often skipped entirely) can change the entire direction of a plan ✅ The role of OKRs in turning aspirational pillars into measurable, staff-owned work If you've ever wondered what it actually looks like to build a strategic plan that centers the people and communities your organization serves, how much time it takes, or what will be asked of you in the process, this is your episode.  🎁 Listener offer: Get $125 off the Nonprofit Strategic Planning Toolbox at strategicplanningtoolbox.com with code CHANGEMAKERCONVERSATIONS