Principals, like any organisational leader, have a few strategic tools they can use to create community-wide change, impact and legacy.
Of all of them, the strategic plan is the real kicker because it sets the collective vision and implementation roadmap for the school community.
Our experience in helping schools to develop these plans is, frankly, unparalleled among other creative agencies.
At the heart of our experience lies deep listening and empathy: we first seek to understand the principal’s vision for the future. Then, we engage with all stakeholders—from alumni to board to community—in creative ways to help them articulate the strategic drivers that will enable the school to succeed in the future.
Engagement, arguably, is the fun part of building a strategy, and it’s hotly contested by consultants of all shapes and sizes.
Our approach is a little different from the traditional focus group or workshop—although we run plenty of these, too. As IAP2-trained professionals, we are well versed in a wider range of engagement techniques to capture the biggest share of community input … like kitchen tables, town halls, listening posts and online platforms.
Where we also value-add is that we are, first and foremost, expert communicators. For 22 years, we’ve breathed life into strategic plans by generating intelligent insights, and then articulating these insights into inspirational words, images and campaigns that look and feel like the community they represent.
The result is a strategic guide that not only helps the principal to achieve their goals—it becomes a manifesto that becomes known and loved by the whole school community.
