Ask Coach: Making Your Team Part of Strategic Planning, Part 2

By Rich Anderson, executive coach with HTG Peer Groups

Q: How do you invite your team to be part of strategic planning?

Coach: Instead of “invite,” “engage.”

My Boxer Shorts And The American Revolution

In my first installment of this series, I referenced the tart pair of boxer shorts I received as a Christmas gift.  On the seat of said shorts was printed the coiled rattlesnake made famous by the yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag designed for the American Revolution. However, the historic “Don’t Tread on Me” caption was replaced by “Silent But Deadly.” I am using these shorts and the American Revolution (from the Declaration to the Constitution) to help answer your question.  In that post, I addressed your leadership team and your vision. In this second installment, I will look at how to help engage the broader team.

Heated Thrashing Debates - Provide An Opportunity To Participate

Our Founding Brothers were a tight band of brothers, but did they ever disagree! They did not passively rest in a state of feigned harmony. Led by the mouth of John Adams, they “invited” each other to “engage” in long, heated debates focused on a constructive resolution of the problems they faced. As representatives of their different states and constituencies, they knew the people back home were looking to them to engage. Sharp disagreement over issues was a hallmark of our nation’s founding — from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to the adoption of the Constitution in 1789.  

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