Progress and Priorities: Revisiting our Strategic Framework
Sue Kraft Fussell, AFA Executive Director
February 2007
It is hard to believe it has been eighteen months since AFA’s strategic framework was developed. For those of us fortunate to be part of the deliberative process that led to its creation, we’d swear we just left the mind-bending conversations that both exhausted and exhilarated us.
We have reached a point in the life cycle of the Strategic Plan where assessing our progress on short-term action items and revisiting (and possibly reprioritizing) projects are in order. Fresh perspective on the Executive Board and pending staff transition highlight this need to pause and reflect on our successes and struggles during the eighteen months we’ve lived with “The Plan.” We have been reminded many times that the Strategic Plan is not a static document. In fact it should not be viewed as a document at all, but rather as a living, dynamic framework that may indeed shift while helping chart AFA’s course over the next five years.
- Advocacy and Influence
- Convener, Facilitator and Partner
- Governance and Infrastructure
- Inclusiveness and Community
- Information, Knowledge and Learning
If we are to enhance our members’ abilities to create fraternity and sorority communities that positively affect students, host institutions, and communities, AFA must focus on these five areas. And as a volunteer-driven organization we must create policies, procedures and systems that allow our organization to capitalize on the volunteer contributions that are critical to our success.
In late 2005 we identified a series of
action plans – 12-18 month objectives that we felt were within our capacity to accomplish. We have made progress in many of these areas, found ourselves challenged to achieve in others, and given ourselves permission to change course when it made sense to do so. A few highlights from across the spectrum:
- We recently launched the AFA/CSCF Fraternity/Sorority Profession and Community Status Survey. This comprehensive survey will serve as the cornerstone of our efforts to better understand and advocate for the profession and ascertain the status of fraternities and sororities.
- The 1st 90 Days workgroup is preparing for the launch of Be. R.E.A.D.Y. – our professional development program created specifically for members beginning their first job. Using a virtual learning model to deliver its eight modules, Be. R.E.A.D.Y. promises to deliver top-notch content and create community among participants.
- We have focused on governance and infrastructure and finalized our five-year financial plan which includes moving forward with the expansion of the Central Office staff. Member categories were successfully changed to best reflect the composition of the Association. Next on the agenda is the implementation of an Affiliate member group discount program, to allow for more chapter/faculty advisors and other volunteers to take advantage of what AFA can offer.
- Associate members have been engaged in new and different ways, and through their feedback have outlined specific action items that will be implemented in the next 6-9 months.
- The website was redesigned to make it more user-friendly and information-rich. Additional modules that will make the site even more robust are forthcoming.
- We have hosted quarterly conference calls for NIC, NPHC, NALFO, NPC and AFA leaders and convened the second meeting of interfraternal leaders in as many years – allowing for relationships to strengthen, trust to be built and important issues to be discussed.
- The concept of advocacy for our profession and individual members has proven difficult for us to wrap our brains around, and subsequently we have not delivered resources in this area just yet. The wisdom of our most veteran members continues to influence our thinking in this area and we will devote time at the March board meeting to discuss what advocacy means to AFA and to our members.
- Similarly, we’ve been challenged to articulate what media-readiness “looks like” for AFA’s members and leaders. While we do hope to complete a media-readiness guide for members this year, our most recent conversations have led us to focus on developing a comprehensive communication plan for the Association that will include internal and external constituencies.
- Changing course was also necessary in the area of the Core Competencies. Our initial goal was to brand all AFA resources within the content areas of the Core Competencies. This was suspended when we realized the original Core Competencies, developed many years ago, needed to first undergo a review, evaluation ,and potential re-statement. A workgroup is currently on course to present revised Core Competencies this spring. Once approved, work to integrate them into all Association resources and services.
- Though some improvement has been seen, more work is also needed to diversify the Association’s membership and leadership. A workgroup has been assembled to continue the important task of identifying the policies, practices and programs the Association needs to implement to be fully inclusive.
Focusing on the accomplishments and challenges from the first set of action plans in some ways overshadows the larger framework from which they were born. It could be said that these action plans have begun to define the Strategic Plan, rather than serving as the means by which we will make progress in the five strategic goal areas. We certainly conceptualized them that way 18 months ago; however, with their 20+ page working document, complete with timelines, task lists and status reports, it’s easy to see how they could eclipse five simple – yet critical – phrases. Nonetheless, they do represent the tangible ways we can make progress toward being a convener and partner, create information and knowledge for members, and advance research to allow us to have more influence.
As volunteers, it can become easy to focus on the task at hand instead of on the bigger picture and how your specific role helps the Association achieve one or several of the strategic goal areas. Doing the latter can and should influence your plan of work. It might help you realize that taking a few more weeks to complete a project or involving different stakeholders could result in an exponentially better outcome. Giving yourself permission to pause and reflect on the importance of a particular project or the timeline for delivery of a resource allows for a reality check and most often leads to a better end result. As volunteers, you should feel empowered to change course when appropriate – it is a sign that you are staying in tune with the dynamic nature of the work at hand, that we don’t exist in a vacuum, and that as circumstances can and do change and we must honor this in the work we are doing for the Association.
We look forward to the March board meeting and the significant discussions and deliberations that the Executive Board and staff will have about the Strategic Plan, its five goal areas, and yes, even the 20+ page Action Plan document. We will emerge not only with a revised and reprioritized set of short term action plans, but most importantly with a keener sense of what is important to the Association today as compared to eighteen months ago. While we don’t envision a radical change of course, we will give ourselves permission to allow today’s priorities to drive the action items of tomorrow.