Strategic Plans: Effective Collaboration with External Stakeholders and Staff

Strategic plans bring challenges for effective collaboration with external stakeholders and staff. Are you CATERing to your participants? Are you Facilitating with FINESSE?

Strategic plans bring challenges for effective collaboration. The single biggest disruptor is participants staking out positions for their own political purposes. The source of the disruptor is often supporting external stakeholder positions or staff preferences. This article briefly looks at successfully resolving disruptions when developing a strategic plan.

Two Approaches for External Participation

Involving stakeholders (including customers) and staff is a helpful way to bring a full perspective to the strategic planning process. The related question is when and how to accomplish the involvement successfully.

Good arguments can be made for doing it initially to shape the plan. This usually comes in the form of a pre-event survey or brainstorming sessions. The board of directors and the facilitator then use the information to frame the strategic planning sessions.

Good arguments can also be made for bringing in the outside involvement near the end as a fine-tuning exercise. In this case, the board of directors forms the strategic plan as the organization’s policymakers. The fine-tuning from external input helps to avoid aspects that may be “non-starters” for implementing the plan and starts pushing buy-in from the organization.

When to Involve External Stakeholders

A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization with a vested interest or stake in the activities of a business, organization, or project. Stakeholders can have a direct or indirect influence on the activities of an organization. Their support is often required for success. Involving stakeholders in the strategic plan recognizes the political reality of the board of directors.

Stakeholder involvement produces less disruption when done before the board develops the strategic plan. Mature boards often feel connected to their stakeholders well enough to avoid external involvement early in the process.

When to Involve Staff

The argument against involving the organization’s staff is that strategic direction is the realm of policymakers. The staff's role is to execute the plan. This argument ignores the strategic plan is the foundation of the organization's management system. The strategic plan is, by definition, part of the integrated whole.

If there is an agreement to include the staff, the next questions are related to which levels and when to incorporate them. All levels of the organization should be included. The most efficient approach is to survey everyone and have one or more brainstorming sessions with executive management or senior staff.

Staff involvement should be done up-front to minimize disruption and with reverence to the board of directors’ obligation as the organization’s policymakers. Staff should not participate in the board’s development, deliberation, and debate of the plan. Staff should re-engage near the end of plan development to assist with the details of how the plan will be implemented.

Addressing Disruption from Stakeholder and Staff Participation

All facilitators should do the basics well. In addition, there are five ways to move your facilitation from good to great. These five ways are associated with the mental model CATER – Communicate, Ask, Trouble, Exercises, and Rhythm.

Overcoming disruption is often (and surprisingly) easier for higher-level strategic plans than for lower-level activities closer to implementation, such as business cases, capital-plan prioritization, or master plans.

Gaining consensus is much easier when facilitators remember that strategic plans are the highest level of organizational plan, have the longest timeframe for a mission and vision perspective, and have the least amount of immediate implementation details. Time is on your side.

Several techniques can be used to mitigate disruption:

• Rely on the board chair and other influencers to work offline to mitigate the issue.

• Remain as flexible as possible with word choice.

• Refocus the participants on the more tangible action items, not the word choices.

• Include study initiatives as a form of incremental progress for controversial projects.

• Remind participants that it is only a plan.

• Establish a culture of “I can live with it” rather than complete agreement.

Moving Forward with Strategic Plans

Strategic plans bring challenges for effective collaboration. The single biggest disruptor is participants staking out positions for their own political purposes. The source of the disruptor is often supporting external stakeholder positions or staff preferences. This article briefly examines when and where to involve external stakeholders and the organization’s staff. Six helpful tips for mitigating disruption are provided.

For more on using the CATER approach to facilitating strategic plans, contact JD Solomon or pick up a copy of Facilitating with FINESSE.

---

JD Solomon Inc. provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation solutions at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.

JD Solomon is the author of Communicating Reliability, Risk & Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss’s Boss to Understand and Facilitating with FINESSE: A Guide to Successful Business Solutions.

Five Key Enablers for Project Managers to Be Effective Communicators

The five key enablers for project managers to be effective communicators are only as strong as the weakest link. Project managers should work concurrently to master all five.

These are the five key enablers for project managers to be effective communicators. Like a chain, these enablers are only as strong as the weakest link. Project managers should work concurrently to improve all five enablers.

Understand Soft Skills and Hard Skills

Hard skills are technical in nature. These skills are essential for effectively performing specific tasks or functions. Some of the most common hard skills are data analysis, engineering design, computer programming, financial analysis, and web development.

Communication skills, teamwork (collaboration), adaptability, time management, and emotional intelligence are some examples of soft skills. Soft skills are also known as people skills or social skills. The key to relating well with others usually starts with understanding yourself.

Differentiate Between Three Major Communication Models

The three conceptual communication models are the Linear Model, the Interactive Model, and the Transactional Model. Each model progressively builds on the previous one. These models help optimize effective information exchange in different contexts.

Develop Specific Communication Approaches

An approach refers to a way of doing something. The choice of approach depends on the context, the specific goals or challenges at hand, and the available resources. Different situations may require different approaches. People and organizations often adapt and combine various approaches to achieve the best results.

Philosophies are for philosophers, theories are for academics, and approaches are for practitioners.

When it comes to business communication, different approaches are needed for emergency response, day-to-day operations, strategic issues, collaborating in teams, and communication with the public.

Apply FINESSE and CATER

FINESSE is a cause-and-effect communication approach for strategic issues. This approach helps project managers communicate as trusted advisors to senior management, the board of directors, or other decision makers. FINESSE is grounded in the Linear Model.

CATER is a mental model for team collaboration. This approach helps facilitate teams of professionals from different disciplines addressing the same problems. CATER is often used in collaborative efforts such as root cause analysis, business cases, risk management plans, reliability or quality assessments, material plans, and strategic plans. CATER builds on FINESSE. The approach is grounded in the Interactive Model.

Sort Through Thousands of Communication Tips

Technical professionals benefit from a formal communication approach that considers the unique requirements of their role, provides consistency, and allows for continuous improvement. A formal communication approach helps navigate various scenarios and effectively adapt.

Charlie Lau had a different approach to hitting a baseball than did Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams. But both approaches produced great hitters in the right contexts.

Dave Ramsey's “Baby Steps" approach differs from Suze Orman’s or Warren Buffett's for managing money and financial independence. However, all three approaches work in different contexts.

The main point is that there are thousands of communication tips. Not all tips apply in every situation. The context and the communication approach need to be established first. Then, the relevant tips can be applied.

How Project Managers Apply It

Understanding the five enablers is one part of the solution. The next two important parts are training and application. Our not-for-profit, Communicating with FINESSE (CWF), helps project managers with understanding and training. CWF's before- and after-action tools assist with building confidence and improvement.

---

JD Solomon Inc provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation solutions at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.

---

JD Solomon is the author of Communicating Reliability, Risk & Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss’s Boss to Understand and Facilitating with FINESSE: A Guide to Successful Business Solutions.

Environmental Lawsuit Asserts Going Fishing Requires an NPDES Permit

Shrimp boats at Oriental, NC. A recent lawsuit would have required NPDES permits for everyone who fished.

The Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected arguments that North Carolina shrimpers violate the federal Clean Water by discharging their bycatch overboard. The three-judge panel affirmed a previous lower court decision from September 2021 that the plaintiffs appealed, the NC Fisheries Reform Group. The most interesting aspect is that such a lawsuit would be filed in the first place.

The Environmental Lawsuit

The NC Fisheries Reform Group argued that bycatch being thrown back into the water is a pollutant. They further argued that disturbing sediment with trawl nets is dredging. The group contended that either requires commercial shrimpers to obtain a Clean Water Act permit.

The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA)

The CWA’s definition of “pollutant” reads, in part: “The term ‘pollutant’ means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.” {§ 1362(6)}.

The plaintiff asserts that bycatch is a "pollutant" because it is within what it claims is the ordinary meaning of "biological materials." A "discharge of a pollutant" includes "any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source." § 1362(12). Putting these definitions together, the theory is that dumping bycatch back into the ocean from a boat after being hauled onboard by nets plausibly amounts to an addition to the ocean.

The Appeals Court Ruling

According to the Court of Appeals, the theory “sounds plausible. And, viewed in isolation, we might well agree. Faced with a statute, we typically determine the text’s meaning based on the ordinary understanding of the language. And considering only the statutory text, (the plaintiff) makes a plausible case for why returning bycatch to the ocean fits within the ordinary meaning of a “discharge” of “biological materials.” Yet, in appropriate cases, we have been instructed to consider, as a background rule, other legal interests that contextually inform our understanding of a statute’s meaning... These background principles influence our reading of a statute, sometimes even moving us to interpret a provision differently than we might otherwise.”

"The Act forbids the unpermitted discharge of a pollutant. Returning bycatch to the ocean is not discharging a pollutant, so throwing it overboard without a permit is not forbidden by the Act,” Judge Julius Richardson wrote in the court’s opinion. “Likewise, because the trawl nets merely kick up sediment already present in the Sound, their use does not discharge any pollutants either. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of the complaint.”

Consequences on Commercial and Recreational Fishermen

The ruling came as an immense relief to all types of fishermen.

Judge Richardson commented that his daughter would be in violation if the plaintiffs’ arguments prevailed if she caught a fish with a minnow and threw it back.

"This is more than being accused of polluting our own waters," said Jeff Styron, whose family business, Garland Fulcher Seafood, is based in Oriental, NC. “That’s the last thing our fisherman want to do – this is where we make our living.”

Where Is the EPA?

“Here, the EPA is not asserting such a power. In fact, it’s not asserting anything since this is a citizen suit between private parties," the court notes. "But the plaintiff is suing precisely because the EPA has not acted. Their suit is designed to compel EPA action.”

Impact of Programs and Major Projects

On the surface, this ruling may not seem relevant to infrastructure programs and major projects. The connection is that the case demonstrates just how silly lawsuits can be. Plus, it's worth reflecting that the suit made it to multiple layers in the court system and the associated costs and time on working people doing their ordinary work. Needless to say, it would have been even more fun had EPA taken an active role in the craziness.

The primary sources for this article are the decision by the Fourth District Court of Appeals and “Court rejects allegations of NC shrimpers polluting waste" (August 25, 2023) by Maureen Donald.

---

JD Solomon Inc provides solutions for program development, asset management, and facilitation solutions at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Subscribe for monthly updates related to our firm.

---

JD Solomon is the author of Communicating Reliability, Risk & Resiliency to Decision Makers: How to Get Your Boss’s Boss to Understand and Facilitating with FINESSE: A Guide to Successful Business Solutions.