Send to KindleWho’s in the Planning Process – and When?
Should we involve our team in the planning or should they only be involved in planning the implementation rather than the plan itself?
Some years ago it was popular to include worker level people in executive level planning. The thought was to “get their buy-in.” I never saw this work. In most cases those people did not have enough knowledge about what was being discussed (I’m not referring to their intelligence, just their knowledge and experience) and felt out of place. Also, many workers don’t want to be involved in that level, though that’s open for a whole different discussion.
But, I’ve also learned that those worker level people have something that the executive level often either doesn’t have or has lost, and that’s direct knowledge of what it takes to accomplish a goal.
With that in mind, I found the most success when leaders who are on the planning team solicit, and seriously consider input from their workers. That input is critical in the strategic planning process I’ve developed. That input provides a basis for the elements of the plan that come before goals and objectives.
Goals and objectives are set by the planning team; however, they are not finalized until the planning team members have taken them back to their own areas and received the input of those who are actually going to do the work. Without that input, the planning team is very likely to miss necessary steps and underestimate the time and resources necessary for success.
Now, I know someone will say that the workers will tend to pad the requirements to make it easier on themselves. That’s why I emphasize that planning is a leadership activity. That sort of thing may happen and can’t be eliminated completely, but with leaders who have established trust and good communication, the problem is much less likely to appear.
One more thing. If you have a small team that works very closely together, then it probably is wise to include them all in the planning process. If you do, additional caution is warranted because that extra check and balance for goals is not there. It’s a little easier for the members of the team to agree to things that are not possible just to avoid looking like they’re not “on-board” in front of the rest of the team. Again, leadership!
You should involve the workers in the planning process, but at the right time.
