Strategic Planning Made Simple: Tools and Techniques Taught by Business Coaches

When we talk about strategic planning, we are basically talking about the process of mapping out the direction or vision you have for your business’s future, including your ultimate goals and objectives and how you intend to get there. Strategic planning is just one of the responsibilities held by female leaders. 

For new and emerging female leaders, strategic planning can seem like a daunting and overwhelming prospect, particularly if they have never done this before. After all, this process comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of tough decisions to be made. The good news is that there are a lot of resources out there for female leaders, which can help to simplify and take a lot of the hard work out of the strategic planning process. 

One of the best resources out there that I can recommend is a good business coach. The value of a good business coach really cannot be overstated, because they can eliminate a lot of the trial and error by teaching you all the “tried and true” tips and tricks that they’ve learned throughout their own business journeys. This way, you can cut straight to the chase and start using proven techniques that will set you and your business up for success, rather than having to find things out the hard way for yourself. 

There are many, many different frameworks, tools, and strategies that may be used by leaders when mapping out the strategic direction that you want your business to take. Your business coach will be able to advise you on the best frameworks, tools, and strategies for your business and the goals or outcomes that you are wanting to achieve. For now, though, here is a quick overview of a common five-step process for strategic planning that is commonly taught by business coaches:

5-Step Strategic Planning Process for Female Leaders

1. Identify where you are: Before you can see where you are headed, you first need to be able to see where you are at. This means thinking about the current environment in which your business operates (taking into account things like the competitive landscape and industry and market trends), as well as what your business strategy looks like at the moment. You’ll also want to gather insights like customer and employee feedback, as these will help you to identify areas to target or improve on in your next business strategy. You might also want to carry out a SWOT analysis to identify your current and future strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – all of which will help you to shape your business strategy.
2. Define your goals and objectives: Once you’ve identified where your business is currently at, you will then be able to start thinking about where you want your business to get to. To help you reach this “future state”, you will then need to identify the specific goals and objectives that will help you to get there. Ask yourself: where do I want my business to be in three, five, and ten years? This way, you will be able to start identifying some of the areas in which you need to grow or improve your business, and as an extension of this, the specific goals and objectives that you will need to achieve along the way.
3. Create your strategic plan: Once you’ve identified where you want to go and the goals and objectives that will help you get there, you will then need to document these in your next strategic plan. Usually, a strategic plan will be for the next three to five years. Your strategic plan should set out the goals and objectives you plan to achieve and the specific steps you will take to help you get there. It should also include relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you measure your performance as you work towards your goals, so you know if what you are doing is working or if you need to revisit and readjust your strategy.
4. Implement your strategic plan: Once you have created your strategic plan, the only thing left to do is to start implementing it. To do this, you will need to communicate your strategic plan to key stakeholders across your entire organisation, to ensure that everyone within your team is across the new vision and clear about how they can start working towards the goals and objectives you have set.
5. Continue to revisit your strategic plan: Strategic plans are not designed to be “set and forget”, stationary documents. Rather, they are designed to be revisited as you start working towards your goals and objectives. Once you have started implementing your strategic plan, you will quickly start to identify what is working and what is not, so you can then revise and restructure your strategic plan as necessary based on any areas for improvement that you identify along the way. Sometimes, you will make changes to your original strategic plan, whereas other times, you might need to start again completely from scratch and set yourself a new strategic plan – it’s all part of the process! 

Women’s leadership training can be another invaluable tool for women leaders wanting to enhance their capability and skill set in strategic planning. For this reason, strategic planning is an element that is taught in many of these leadership training programs, to ensure women have access to the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to be able to excel as leaders.

Caroline Kennedy is an award-winning CEO with a track record of leading multinational companies with up to $250 million in revenue. She is also the founder of Empowering Women Leaders: Awaken the Powerful Leader Within – a transformative six-week program designed to help women master the art of leadership. If you’re ready to unleash your hidden potential and become the leader that you were always meant to be, find out more at https://www.carolinekennedy.com.au/womens-leadership-program/.