Planning For A Successful Organization

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell

“In order to be a good leader, there are two things to remember. Lead from the Front and always set the Example. From these two leadership principles, everything else will fall into place.”

For most organizations, the principal representation of their strategic dimension is their written strategic plan. The plan articulates the organization mission, vision, values, goals, and objectives and the motives behind its decisions and actions. However, written plans should be used as strategic guidelines not as a blueprint that has to be followed. Although there are many ways to construct a strategic plan, to be useful and effective it must answer the following questions:

The above quote embodies how I feel about leadership. Not only do leaders work well with others they also take an initiative to aid others to persevere. Leadership is one of four acceptance pillars of the National Honor Society. Leaders are expected to display commitment to learning, venture to make right choices and work for the welfare of others. I perceive that leadership makes up the other pillars of National Honor Society; character, service, and scholarship. I have always possessed leadership characteristics. Most recently I have showcased leadership through my school and altruistic volunteer work.

In today’s society, there are some people who possesses the qualities of outstanding leadership. Also, in today’s society, there are some people who keep qualities of a poor leader. A good leader is someone who reads and understands their own emotions and recognize the impact on themselves and others. Another thing great leaders do is think and act with optimism, by looking at the positives and not so much on the negatives. Another great strength a good leader has is that he or she knows the strengths and limits of the certain people on their team (Hewertson). Furthermore, a great leader leads by example, set achievable goals, assigns tasks within someone’s strengths, gets the right people on board,

This week explored and learned that there are desirable leadership traits to acquire, that becoming a leader can be a conscious process and that being a leader also means to owe respect and have a responsibility to others.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” Abraham Lincoln. Leaders move their audience, create hope for them is a tough situation, and make sure they know the situation and how to handle it together. Jonathan Edwards and Patrick Henry were great examples of great leadership skills. Both gave speeches that many look at today and to read their speech that they preached about shows how powerful and moving they were to change everyone minds about their decisions is just amazing.

Communication is a very intricate part of a successful strategic plan. Collaboration with the board, executive leaders, management team all the way to front-line staff must be informed what the strategic plan is and how it relates to the mission and vision. The mission, vision, values, goals and objectives of the organization must be organizational-wide dissemination. In order to have an effective and efficient strategic plan one must first select a strategic leader to help decide what their mission and vision will be. “Strategic leadership involves creating a vision and strategy that helps the organization succeed at its mission in both the short and the long term” (Spath, Abraham, 2014).

Ronald Reagan once said, “the greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things, he is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” This quote by our past president, Ronald Reagan, relates to my experiences with leadership. Throughout high school I experienced democratic leadership though playing sports like field hockey and track. I have also experienced leadership during small group projects, as well as being a leader of an organization on a college campus. Through all of these experiences, I have learned essential characteristics and qualities to becoming a good leader. I have also had negative experiences with leadership that have taught me things not to do as a leader. I

I would like to share a few of my experiences successfully leading organizational strategic planning processes. My leadership of those strategic planning processes supported the movement of the organization in the direction that was appropriate for a changing economic environment. My ability to think strategically and develop collaborative relationships contributed greatly to my ability to successfully implement new organizational initiatives as well.

For a goal-oriented person, a strategic plan can set direction and serves as a template for consistent decision making that moves the organization toward its envisioned future (Zuckerman, 2013). On the other hand, Zuckerman (2013), poses a different perspective that states that strategic planning may not be strategic after all, becomes as I explained before, it can become a checklist technique that lacks innovative practices. However, the outcome of the strategic planning process relates further to the mission and vision of those who are developing the strategies than in the planning within itself. Therefore, the reality is that strategic planning can be as straightforward and complex as an organization wants it to be. Therefore, if an organization envisions growth, the proposal needs to provoke that, and if a team is only planning to organize itself; then, the plan can be subtler. Therefore, organization can review plans as often as yearly and can last as long as five

For most organizations that goal is profit and financial gain. In order to achieve this goal there are steps that need to be taken. The lack of these steps often result in a chaotic atmosphere. In an effort to avoid such an atmosphere the Walton Art Center appointed Anita Scism as the President of the organization and challenged her with the responsibility of reviewing the company’s mission statement and attaining the goal of the company. There was an exercise for the company and its members that included a 2-day retreat. In order to prepare for the company event and meet the challenge that was received she needed to employ strategic planning. Strategic planning is used to explore approaches that managers and business owners can use in order to construct resilient organizations. Anita used strategic planning in order to consider different options for moving the company into the future and revamping the mission statement of her predecessor Bill Mitchell. The finances of the company had improved and she found herself in the position of having to reduce the staff for budget reasons. She showed her commitment to the company and others by doing any and every job that needed to be done despite her title or position. This was a really good way to rid the atmosphere of negativity. . A way to remove the negative thinking is the four D’s of strategic planning. The four D’s are Destiny, Design, Discovery and Dream. These are envisioned to take organizations away from negative thinking and into thoughts of strength, aptitudes and opportunities. Anita should look for tasks and games that incorporate the four D’s for the retreat and the reformulation of the mission

One of the most important aspects of leadership is self-knowledge and particularly awareness of your priorities and values. As a leader it is imperative to improve your leadership ability on an everyday basis. Great leaders have great strategic dreams, visions of what could be and what they think should be. In this paper I will be discussing my plan and the theories that support my plan. I will also be discussing my leadership strengths and weaknesses

“Leadership is influencing others by your character, humility, and example. It is recognizable when others follow in word and deed without obligation or coercion”.( Sonny Newman, president of contract manufacturer EE Technologies)

For managers to be successful they have to be able to plan accordingly. Any good manager can understand the importance of planning, because it is one of the most basic functions of managerial skills. A goal has to be established and strategies have to be conveyed to the subordinates. For example, If I’m a manager I will engage