This means engaging the board, the staff, and your customers in a challenging process of organizational self-discovery. And as anyone who has been involved in a process of self-assessment or planning knows, the quality of the process becomes every bit as important as the discoveries themselves. Before embarking on self-assessment, leaders must know why the organization is undertaking it, who should be involved, and how the process can be designed and managed to ensure that it is effective and rewarding. Many, sometimes all, members of the organization participate at various points and in differing roles. This first phase is devoted to organizing the process, gathering necessary internal and external information, and launching self-assessment.
Management is responsible for moving the process forward.
This phase is centered around asking and answering Peter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions. Participant Workbooks and informational reports are distributed, followed by broad participation of board and staff members in facilitated group discussions or a retreat. There may also be opportunities for the board and the staff to take part in customer research and depth interviews in either Phase One or Phase Two. This phase leads to board approval of the organization's vision, mission, goals, and supporting budget, as well as to management s development and implementation of objectives and action steps. The board chairperson presents the plan for board approval.