How to Build Strategic Thinking Into Regular Nonprofit Board Meetings

How can we incorporate strategic thinking into our regular board meetings?

Strategic thinking is not a once-a-year activity, but a position for a board to routinely take, by posing questions and having a discussion about future possibilities in a focused manner. Topics that are a good fit for strategic thinking are public perception of the nonprofit, future funding to pursue, impact measurement and improving service.

Each item in the discussion section of your agenda should relate to your strategic plan, but strategic thinking requires advanced preparation. If your board is new to strategic thinking, try this exercise with one agenda item per meeting:

In advance of the meeting, the Chair picks one discussion item, and asks each of the board members to create one question in advance of the meeting that raises a question that causes a shift in thinking about future possibilities. The purpose is not to come up with the right answer, but rather to build the habit of asking questions that cause the group to consider new perspectives. The Chair then includes the questions in the board package, so that board members have a chance to think about the questions, and come prepared to discuss them. Some examples of strategic thinking questions are:

• What would we do differently if we received a large, unexpected gift?

• How can we be a nonprofit that other nonprofits want to partner with?

• What is something we are positioned to do that no other nonprofit is currently doing?

• How can the board embrace ideas in the face of uncertainty?

• Which segment of our donor/funder pool has the most potential to grow in the future?

Embedding strategic thinking into regular board meetings helps nonprofit boards stay future-focused, align discussions with strategy, and make better decisions in an uncertain environment.