How Successful Associations Implement Strategy

After a year of intensive research, generative discussion and planning, your board of directors has approved an ambitious, multi-year strategic plan. Staff and volunteer leaders celebrate, excited to witness the impact and results of this critical strategy-setting work.

But here’s the reality: even the most well-crafted strategic plans fail without a clear and actionable implementation strategy. The hardest part isn’t the planning—it’s making the strategy a living, breathing part of the organization.

Strategists have long studied the importance of implementation as a critical part of strategic planning, finding that between 67% and 90% of organizations see their well-crafted strategic plans fail due to poor execution.

Though startling, these statistics actually uncover a key opportunity for organizations: with a dedicated focus on implementation and execution, any organization can amplify and maximize the impact of their strategy. 

So, what distinguishes these high-performing organizations from those that struggle to execute their strategy? Surprisingly, the successful execution of a strategic plan is not tied to an association’s size or resourcing.

In fact, in our work with associations, we’ve found that those most successful in executing their strategies have laid the groundwork for implementation early on during the strategic planning process. 

A critical part of this foundation is securing buy-in across the organization—ensuring a shared commitment to the strategy, the solutions it offers, and the accountability for measurable outcomes. With strong support from volunteers, staff, and leadership, associations can then focus on data collection and tracking success metrics.

In this blog, we will reveal:

• Three key questions to help lay the groundwork for implementation during strategic planning.
• Three critical success factors to support successful implementation.

How Associations Lay the Groundwork for Successful Implementation

In your strategic planning efforts, you conducted member and nonmember research, collected input from your board and staff, and reviewed your previous strategic plan. All of this information was synthesized into a concise and aspirational strategy document.

Does all of this, on its own, result in a roadmap that guides your association’s critical day-to-day work? Actually, no. In our experience, despite all of this effort, many organizations can’t make the progress they set out to achieve. Why is that?

While the work of developing and implementing strategy are completely distinct exercises, successful implementation planning begins before the strategic plan is even finalized.

For example, an association we partnered with in the education sector explored a goal of improving the quality of life for all students in the United States. While this is an impact the organization aspires to affect, it was not directly in their sphere of control. This posed a significant challenge: how could the association identify meaningful metrics to track progress toward such a broad goal and, more specifically, define their unique role in achieving it?

Without considering the implications of implementation work during the strategic planning process—such as identifying clear success metrics and aligning resources to achieve the organization’s goals—even the best-intentioned strategic plans risk losing momentum and failing to make a tangible impact.

To avoid these common pitfalls, successful associations typically ask the following three questions during strategic planning to effectively lay the groundwork for implementation:

1. Have we identified our “North Star”? Is the strategic plan centered around tactical activities? Or, have we established a long-term, overarching vision or “North Star” that guides strategic choices and direction? The strategic plan should contain the “why” and the “what,” but the “how” comes later during implementation. Without a truly strategic framework, activities become disconnected across the association, and implementation efforts will likely result in wasted resources. A North Star doesn’t just guide strategy; it also supports engagement for members and staff, providing a clear, shared purpose and meaningful cause to rally around.
2. Are we being bold, or are we settling for the status quo? Strategic planning is the opportune time for associations to make bold choices. Such choices might be evolutionary or revolutionary. This process involves creating clear and focused priorities and objectives given what the association wants to achieve. It is critically important for associations to remain agile and nimble, be highly adaptable to changes in the market, and have the boldness to address these changes head-on. Rather than choosing what is safe or familiar, successful associations use their strategy as a guide for where to invest resources—or where to let go. Settling for the status quo within a strategic plan can ultimately lead to external disruption, misalignment or a fragmented focus within an association.
3. Are the goals identified in our strategic plan within our sphere of control and influence? This may seem obvious, but all too often, we see associations set lofty goals outside of their sphere of control and influence. It is important for associations to identify and leverage their key strengths in order to strike the right balance between ambition and success. While some elements in the strategic plan may be outside of an association’s direct control, there are still ways in which the association and their members can influence key outcomes. By focusing energy and resources on these areas where meaningful control and influence are possible, associations can drive progress toward their strategic goals.

The Way Forward

Now that your association has effectively laid the groundwork for implementation during the strategic planning process, implementation has only just begun! Successful associations excel by focusing on three critical actions: securing stakeholder buy-in related to the strategic plan, making strategic investments in data collection, and clearly defining how to measure success.

Successful associations recognize that their strategic plan is not a static document that sits on a shelf. Rather, the strategic plan should be woven into the day-to-day operations of an organization, involving annual reviews and quarterly discussions of key outcomes. The first step to embedding the strategic plan across the organization is securing widespread buy-in, ensuring it becomes integral to the work of volunteers, staff, and leadership alike.

How do you do that?

• Talk about the plan regularly. As leaders of an association, you can’t talk about the plan enough! Fold the vocabulary of the plan into everyday discussions so that it becomes second nature for all staff—including those who weren’t part of the original strategy-setting efforts. This involves bringing the plan into key spaces: in board rooms, focus on high-level KPIs and outcome progress; in staff meetings, review operational KPIs and adjust tactics to drive strategic outcomes; and in broader member communications, emphasize how their investment in the organization is fueling tangible progress toward the goals of great value and care.
• Go beyond board and senior team buy-in. Sometimes, CEOs spend so much time building support from the board that they don’t focus on the stakeholders who are critical to executing the plan. Staff at every level of the organization should understand:
  • The organization’s “North Star” - What vision is being set for the organization, and how does this strategy help achieve that vision? How is leadership communicating this vision to ensure that all stakeholders understand their role in achieving it?
  • How do individual jobs line up with the implementation of the organizational goals - How does each team member’s role contribute to the larger strategic objectives outlined in the strategic plan? How is performance being tracked to ensure individual contributions are driving the organization closer to its strategic goals?
  • How to maintain and pivot strategic goals during times of turbulence and change - What practices are in place to monitor external changes in the market and ultimately make informed decisions about pivoting or re-prioritizing goals during times of turbulence?
• Make the plan highly visible to members. Members should see the priorities come through clearly and consistently in your messaging to them and in the work of the association. Volunteer leaders of committees, councils, and task forces should see clear alignment in the plan, desired strategic outcomes and their work.
• Socialize the implementation framework. Ensure that the implementation framework to be used is clear, data-driven, and supported by key stakeholders. Aligned with project management best practices, at McKinley Advisors, we use the RACI model, and develop a plan with our clients to socialize this framework with stakeholders prior to implementation.

Identify Metrics to Measure Strategic Success

With widespread buy-in from volunteers, staff, and leadership, associations should lastly prioritize data collection to measure progress and adapt where needed. Rigorous data collection and analysis, whether through qualitative interviews, a quantitative survey, or even market research, uncover key changes in the marketplace, including shifts in member/customer needs.

However, it’s not just about gathering data; it’s about making decisive, timely choices based on what the data reveals and connecting those choices to clear measures of success.

For example, our research with associations increasingly reveals that members are seeking guidance on how AI and other emerging technologies impact their respective professions. If delivering an exceptional member experience is an integral part of your strategic plan, understanding and addressing these evolving needs is crucial to ensuring you successfully execute that plan.

How often does your leadership team discuss success toward the desired outcomes of the plan?

In our work with associations, we often find that organizations struggle to clearly identify the metrics needed to measure strategic success.

This critical step involves defining key outputs and success metrics, as well as creating targets or goals aligned to those measurements. Organizations often leverage annual research efforts to measure particular KPIs (such as member satisfaction) to measure the success of the strategic plan.

Next Steps

Is your strategic house in order? For any association looking to improve their approach to strategy, we recommend the following steps:

• Find a skilled facilitator who can support your association’s strategic planning process to ensure you have laid the groundwork for successful implementation.
• Consider ways to prioritize and sequence the work of the strategic plan so that you can appropriately resource all the objectives and goals to be done across three to five years.
• Follow a data-driven implementation framework that is aligned to project management best practices. At McKinley, we provide expert guidance to help associations turn their strategic goals into actionable outcomes. This tailored approach ensures that your strategic plan drives measurable impact for your association.

For more information about identifying the appropriate metrics and tracking success against those metrics, download our guide, How to Measure Success using Metrics and Dashboards.

If you need help developing an actionable strategic plan, get in touch to find out how we can support you.