From Top-Down to Team-Driven Nonprofits

[This is the third in a series about nonprofit strategic planning. Find the second post here. Or start at the beginning.]

In many nonprofits, strategic planning feels like something that happens to the staff—not with them.

A few leaders retreat for a weekend. A consultant leads a series of board workshops. Then, one day, a PDF shows up in the staff inbox: “Here’s the plan.”

It may be beautifully formatted and full of big ideas. But there’s a problem: no one else had a say.

That’s the flaw of top-down planning—and one of the key reasons strategic plans fail. If the people responsible for executing the plan aren’t involved in building it, they’re unlikely to believe in it.

Fortunately, there’s a better way. It starts with this mindset shift: your staff and stakeholders aren’t just implementers—they’re strategic thinkers.

Let’s talk about why inclusive planning is essential and how Lean Strategic Planning (LSP) makes it work.

The Pitfalls of Top-Down Planning

Top-down strategic planning can create impressive-looking plans that go nowhere.

Why? Because:

• Staff feel disconnected. The plan wasn’t built with their insight, so it doesn’t reflect operational realities.
• Buy-in is shallow. People support what they help create. If your team didn’t shape the plan, they likely won’t fight to achieve it.
• Opportunities are missed. Your frontline staff interact with clients, partners, and systems every day. If their voices aren’t included, you’re leaving out valuable data.
• Morale takes a hit. A plan handed down from above can feel more like a demand than a shared vision.

In these environments, it’s common to hear phrases like:

“We weren’t part of that decision.”

“That goal isn’t realistic.”

“Nobody even uses the plan.”

The result is a disconnect between leadership, staff, and mission—one that undermines impact.

Why Inclusion Changes Everything

When you engage staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, and donors in planning, something powerful happens:

• Staff take ownership – They see themselves in the plan. They understand it. They care about it.
• Insights get better – You uncover blind spots, operational barriers, and on-the-ground solutions.
• Goals become grounded – Ambitions are balanced with real capacity, making strategy more realistic and executable.
• Culture improves – People feel heard. Collaboration improves. The strategy becomes a unifying force, not a divisive one.

In short: you move from a compliance-driven plan to a mission-driven team.

How Lean Strategic Planning Makes It Happen

Lean Strategic Planning is built around inclusion from the start.

Rather than beginning with a board retreat or consultant-led analysis, LSP starts with questions like:

• What are staff seeing on the ground?
• What feedback are we hearing from our clients?
• Where do donors think we’re headed—and where do they want us to go?

From there, the process incorporates cross-functional planning sessions, risk inventory workshops, and strategy development meetings that include representatives from across the organization—not just the C-suite.

This approach:

• Builds consensus on what matters most.
• Surfaces real constraints (and creative solutions).
• Assigns champions to each strategic imperative—so people are accountable and engaged.
• Encourages dialogue across departments and roles.

Instead of “strategic planning season,” LSP becomes a strategic culture.

It’s Not Just Internal—It’s External Too

Inclusive planning doesn’t stop with staff. It also means involving:

• Clients and beneficiaries – What do they need most? What changes would improve their experience?
• Funders and supporters – What outcomes matter to them? What’s driving their giving decisions?

When you treat these voices as essential, not optional, your plan becomes more relevant, more compelling, and more fundable.

And by showing stakeholders that you listen, you build trust—a key currency in today’s nonprofit landscape.

Making the Shift: What You Can Do Now

If your organization has been stuck in top-down planning, here are a few ways to begin shifting to a more inclusive model:

1. Host a staff listening session. Before setting your next strategic goals, ask your team: What’s working? What’s not? What opportunities do they see?
2. Conduct a stakeholder survey. Invite input from your beneficiaries and donors. Make it short and accessible—and share what you learn.
3. Involve cross-functional teams. Bring together people from different departments or service areas for strategy workshops.
4. Name internal champions. Assign leads for each strategic goal who can keep momentum going.
5. Celebrate small wins. Recognize how staff contributions shape outcomes. Show that the plan is alive—and people are making it happen.

Strategy People Believe In

When people are included in planning, they stop saying “the strategy” and start saying “our strategy.” That shift in language reflects a deeper truth: inclusive planning drives deeper commitment, smarter priorities, and stronger execution.

In Part 4 of this series, we’ll dig into what happens after the plan is created—and how Lean Strategic Planning keeps strategy alive through continuous learning and risk integration.

Until then, ask yourself: Is your plan being carried out—or carried around?

If the answer is the latter, it’s time to invite more voices to the table.