Strategic Planning – An Act of Love for Your Community
A book that has really shaped my thinking over the last year or so has been bell hooks All About Love. In this book, she leans on Erich Fromm’s definition of love which is, "the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." As I began to embrace a love practice in my own life, I recognized love as the willingness to change. bell hooks goes on to say, “When we are loving, we openly and honestly express care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment, and trust.” I thought this was so enlightening as many groups and organizations desire their communities (internal and external) to feel belonging, which I believe is connected to the act of love as laid out by bell hooks.
To love, to change, is not easy but it is necessary.
On a personal level, I’m recognizing how hard and messy changing can be, especially as I work to change behaviors that are deeply rooted and long practiced; however, I’ve come to realize that I need to change because these behaviors no longer meet my needs and they are no longer serving me. As our world continues to evolve, it’s important that we take the necessary steps of changing and evolving as well so that organizations can sustain and remain responsive. When I’m working with teams and organizations around strategy, I ask them, what are you willing to be responsible for? Who must you be responsible to? Who, first and foremost, should feel and experience the benefits and positive impacts of your work? In light of recent federal funding behaviors, how might we need to shift and change the way we obtain resources?
One of my current clients has been reflecting on how they shifted and changed to being more community-focused. Their commitment, respect, responsibility, and care for their community has elevated them to be a trusted resource within their community and among their peers. Are they perfect? Of course not. But their willingness to change and their subsequent strategic effort to center their community in their work has provided them with enough leverage to be resilient and effective.
I believe strategic planning can be an act of love for your community.
Figure 1: From Medium.com article, "Why the Beloved Community?", 2018
It starts by listening to their needs and understanding their dreams and desires deeply (respect). When you develop goals and objectives that you are willing to commit to, this lays out how your organization will change. There is also recognition that achieving these goals and objectives will take time, at least three years, so that you can work towards them with adequate care and consideration. Then, you develop action plans. You may also build trusting relationships with partners, who are also a part of your community, to help you fulfill your promises and commitments.
You identify measures of success to share and report out your progress toward your commitments - this builds trust.
If you’re ready for change, to take loving action for your community, reach out to our team at The Spark Mill. We’d love to support you in making that change happen.