Today we speak to Tara Rethore, CEO and Strategic Advisor at Strategy for Real on how to create a remote team strategy. First, she explains how to utilize the mindset of taking a company on an adventure in a strategy retreat. Then, she describes the keys to preparing for and leading a successful remote strategy offsite and a secret high tech tool that she uses to keep her teams engaged.
As a result, her mantra, which I think we all need to adopt, is to Be Open to Ambiguity…something we all need in these times.
Because of the changes in work we’ve experienced this year, the strategic planning process is different on a remote team. In-person Strategic thinking benefits from the energy in face-to-face interactions. In fact, leaders have to avoid the mistake of copying and pasting the strategic planning process that they do in person and think it’s going to be successful online. Given that, in-person strategic planning won’t achieve the same results on a Zoom call. For one reason, it’s because it’s harder to read the room on a video call. Another reason is that video calls are extremely exhausting compared to in-person meetings where the strategic planning process balances the exhaustion with building energy.
Strategic Planning Process:
Leaders have to look at how to plan with a strategic planning mindset and consider the balance of what needs to happen in person, what can happen online, and when to have breakout rooms and personal work. The strategic planning process is really an art now with so many dynamics to consider. Tera says it’s especially important to look at the whole, plot it back, and get the right people in the room.
Strategic Planning is An Adventure
- First, you must think of planning for your strategic plans as a production.
- Second, how do you engage the members?
- Next, what are the different steps along the way?
- Finally, make sure you have a backup plan, in case you are confronted by a wild beast. Be flexible and able to pivot, switch or move, consider calling it early, or regrouping when needed.
Effective Strategic Planning Works through the Five W’s
WHY- Identify the End Result
In order to plan the most effective strategic planning session, start with why. Why are you having this retreat? What does a successful retreat look like? What are you trying to achieve? What do you need to resolve to be successful? Who or What might get in the way? What would it take for them to say yes to this? What would it take for this day to be successful?
Who
Who are the key players in this process? What is their most important part?
What
When creating a remote team strategy, leaders must ask, "what is the outcome we are trying to achieve?"
- What can you be doing to save the conversation in advance? Don’t focus on sharing information but on processing that information and defining clear outcomes.
- During the strategy retreat, what tools will you be using?
- Flip charts during in-person meetings - encouraging people to write their own notes- on paper, and share them on the screen, take pictures of what they’ve written, get a picture of what’s going on in the room
When
Keep it simple: 2-Day Intensive Retreats need to be broken down and simultaneously energizing.
Lizard Brain Solutions, Brian Tarallo
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