Inclusive Strategic Planning with Renee Rubin Ross [Episode 400]

When strategic plans fail to achieve lift-off, it’s usually because the process that was used to create them was flawed.

I recently had a conversation about this with board and strategy expert Dr. Renee Rubin Ross, author of Inclusive Strategic Planning for Nonprofits, and it pushed me to think more deeply about something I see over and over again.

Inclusion isn’t a value statement.

It’s a design decision.

And it’s not optional if you want a great strategy that actually gets executed.

Let’s ask the real question.

When a strategic plan stalls out, what’s actually broken?

Not because people are bad.

Not because staff lack commitment.

Not because boards don’t care.

It’s usually because the people who are expected to carry out the work weren’t meaningfully included in building the vision.

Renee said something in our conversation that I think is the heart of it:

“Who is involved in building the vision and building the goals really matters.”

Without the right people in the room, motivation drops.

When motivation drops, capacity drops.

When capacity drops, implementation stalls.

It’s not a personality problem.

It’s a systems problem.

And, systems create behavior.

One of the most useful frameworks Renee shared is her concentric circle model:

Deciders – the group ultimately responsible for final decisions

Builders – the group that helps create the vision and goals

Sharers – stakeholders who provide input and perspective

This framing adds clarity.

Inclusion does not mean 40 people wordsmithing a sentence.

It means being intentional about who participates at each stage AND making that visible.

More detail doesn’t equal more clarity.

Clarity comes from defining roles.

And when people understand their role in the process, something powerful happens.

They lean in.

One of my favorite moments in our conversation was when we talked about why inclusive planning increases energy.

Renee said:

“If you feel like, wow, someone consulted me on this, I got to weigh in, so I feel more motivated.”

That’s the mechanism.

Motivation is not a personality trait.

It’s a byproduct of meaningful participation.

When someone is handed a finished plan, they feel managed.

When someone helps build the plan, they feel responsible.

That shift alone can change your return per dollar invested in strategic planning.

Because here’s the truth:

You don’t need to convince people.

Let the process do the convincing!

This is the biggest mistake I see.

Leaders announce decisions.

They rarely explain the process behind the decision.

But boards, staff, and stakeholders are not evaluating the decision itself.

They’re evaluating whether the decision-making process was any good.

When people understand:

What information was gathered

Who was consulted

What trade-offs were considered

How capacity was evaluated

They relax.

Even if they disagree with the final outcome.

Confidence in process builds trust in results.

I loved Renee’s approach to visioning.

Not 10 years.

Not 20 years.

Three years.

Enough time to be meaningful.

Short enough to be real.

Her guided question during retreats:

It’s three years from now and you’re celebrating. What are you celebrating?

That question does something subtle but powerful.

It moves people from anxiety to ownership.

Nonprofit leaders often operate at capacity.

Sometimes beyond it.

If you ask, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

You’ll get exhaustion.

If you ask, “What are we celebrating three years from now?”

You’ll get direction.

I often think about the idea of skin in the game.

The people who experience the consequences of decisions make better decisions.

When staff who will execute the plan help build it, they bring constraints, creativity, and operational reality into the room.

When new team members sit next to veterans in a facilitated discussion, something happens:

Experience meets fresh eyes

Caution meets creativity

History meets possibility

That’s how alignment forms.

And alignment unlocks capacity.

Inclusion is not consensus.

Inclusion is clarity about participation.

When people are clear on their role in shaping the future, motivation rises.

When motivation rises, execution improves.

When execution improves, opportunity expands.

And that’s why who builds the plan matters.