Trustees - are you thinking strategically?

Trusteeship takes up a lot of time. Trustees are expected to carry the can when things go wrong. They are expected to know about and have ultimate control over what is going on — but not to interfere. Adapted from the new edition of Business and Strategic Planning – for voluntary organisations, this article looks at how trustees can play a useful strategic role.

Here are three ‘games’ that trustees can get caught up in. Recognise any of these?

• Micro-managing – Trustees pore over lengthy reports and spreadsheets about recent performance. Any questions lead to even more detailed reports being produced. Trustee meetings are usually focused on what has happened since the last meeting, rather than the organisation’s future direction and priorities.
• Boundaries are confused – “Governance” and “management” are seen as the same thing. Trustees get involved in incredibly detailed discussions about day-to-day operational business.
• Trustees ride hobby horses – Certain issues get lots of board airtime. Others are rarely discussed. The board only sees a partial picture.

Strategy is all about working out future direction, deciding how we can best use our resources to get the most impact, and setting clear and measurable priorities. As such, strategy should be a central concern of trustees. The trustee board should lead on strategy — their role is to ‘do the steering, not the rowing’. To do this, three things are needed:

A focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’

Management writer Peter Senge talks about a ‘golden circle’ in organisations. The why is our overriding vision, purpose, and values. The how is our direction and how we think we can use our resources to make the greatest impact. The what is about the detail, delivery, and operational practicalities. An effective board needs to focus on the why and how, and be confident about delegating the what.

Time to think

Sometimes you can be too close or too involved in an issue to think and act strategically. Trustees need to be able to see the wood for the trees. They need space to understand what is happening, think about the future, and pose questions that challenge and make people think. The best way to avoid being strategic is to be overwhelmed with day-to-day detail.

Good processes

Discussions and debates about strategy can drag on. There needs to be a clear process and skilled leadership to help people navigate their way through and make clear decisions that lead to action.

Drawn from real experience, here are seven practical ways in which trustees can play a strategic role:

Make time for it

Strategy needs dedicated time. People need space to stand back from the urgent needs of the day and think bigger and deeper. The trustees of one charity changed how they structured their monthly agenda. The first 45 minutes are given over to business updates and monitoring reports. The second 45 minutes are set aside for a deeper dive into a strategic issue.

Own the plan

Usually, a strategy gets written down into a plan. Watch out for S.P.O.T.S. — strategic plans on top shelf. The plan is filed away and gathers dust. Boards need to see the plan as a work in progress. They should keep referring to it, measuring progress, checking it is still relevant, identifying and celebrating achievements, and tackling blocks.

Look outside

Good strategy comes from being in touch with the broader context in which you operate. It’s about seeing what’s on the horizon, spotting trends, and thinking about their implications. Trustees can play a valuable role by encouraging proactive discussion about opportunities and possible threats ahead.

Challenge complacency

All too often we do things because we have always ‘done it like that’. Budgets and work plans get updated on the basis of what we did last year. Strategy is an opportunity to roll this back, reflect on why we do something, challenge assumptions, and constructively evaluate our approach.

Talk about the right things

It is easy to get pulled into detailed issues. The long-standing chair of a charity, faced with major choices about its future role and direction, reflected that his board had spent more time talking about car parking at their main office than how to respond to major challenges ahead. Trustees need to ensure that they are focused on the key issues.

Keep the strategy alive

A good strategy looks to the medium to longer term, but also sets out the short-term actions needed to move things forward. A useful tool is to agree milestones — points on the road that show progress and help move to the next phase.

Embrace change

Strategy usually leads to change — in how we organise and work, and perhaps most challengingly in culture: the traditions, unwritten rules, and practices that hold organisations together. Trustees can play a valuable role in recognising the changes needed to deliver the strategy and supporting managers tasked with implementing them.

Ultimately, trustees add the most value when they lift their eyes from the detail and focus on direction, purpose, and impact. Creating the space, discipline, and confidence to work strategically is not always easy, but it is essential if organisations are to thrive in an increasingly complex environment. These ideas are explored in more depth, along with practical tools and examples, in the new edition of Business and Strategic Planning – for voluntary organisations. The book offers step-by-step guidance to help trustees and leadership teams develop clear strategies, make better decisions, and turn plans into meaningful action. Find out more and order your copy here.