Aligning on group direction: how to decide what you want & how you'll get there

The following responds to questions raised in our structure and strategy workshops from members of groups that are either newly formed, or have not adopted alignment on a clear direction. This resource was developed from recommendations included in organizer-developed resources, and from activist insights. Included in the below article are suggestions for formulating a vision and mission, determining your group values and conduct, forming a theory of change, pointers for facilitating meetings and community testimonials for holding a strategy process.

Starting the alignment process

A great place to start is agreement that your group wants to collectively build something.

Responsibility for facilitating this process should be shared by at least 2 people. Throughout the process, you should think about leadership development in addition to the process of building your group. Rotate responsibilities where possible to skill up members.

Conditions that support alignment

1. Alignment on purpose and vision

Agreement on what we want to achieve together is a clear condition for group alignment.

2. Clarity on decision-making operations

Agreement on how decisions will be made is critical to group alignment. Please see the following wiki pages related to decision making: consensus decision making (suggestions for small groups) and modified consensus decision making (suggestions for large and small groups).

3. Focus and boundaries

Exactly what are we trying to align around? What are the decisions that need to be made? What’s on the table? What’s off the table? Define clearly what you hope to achieve in the alignment process (i.e. writing vision, mission and theory of change statements and implementation of a decision making process).

4. Trust

Issues around trust need to be dealt with directly, otherwise they will impede the group's work.

5. Group Expectations

Agreeing on expectations for group process and behaviour are fundamental for team alignment.

Alignment step 1: Visioning where we want to go together

A vision statement explains what your group is aspiring to achieve. They are short phrases or sentences that convey your hopes for the future.

Questions to brainstorm in the beginning stages of forming vision statements

• What is the dream for our community?
• What would we like to see change?
• What do we see as the community's major issues?
• What do you see as the community's major strengths and assets?
• What do you think should be the purpose of this organization (or effort)?
• Why should these issues be addressed?
• What would success look like?

Have members write down some sentences that summarize the main ideas from these discussions. Ask for feedback and adapt the statements.

A good vision statement is  :

• Understood and shared by members of your group
• Broad enough to include a diverse variety of perspectives
• Inspiring and uplifting to everyone involved in your effort
• Easy to communicate (i.e. no more than 3 sentences).

For example...

“A world of fair, inclusive and caring societies, where white supremacy and patriarchy are things of the past and where people can live free from colonialism, exploitation and inequality, in all of its forms.

A world where our societies operate in respect of the resource limits of the earth and support the survival of all forms of life. Where no population extracts and consumes an inordinate amount at the expense of others and one where all people, wherever they live, are protected from the effects of climate change and resource depletion.”

-The HUB’s vision statement

For example...

“A world with sovereign and thriving Indigenous Peoples and cultures leading climate justice for all.” 

-Indigenous Climate Action

The following exercise by Mob Lab can be used to formulate your vision statement as a group:

1) Give everyone a sheet of paper and things to write/draw with (or asked folks to take notes or draw in front of them if virtually meeting). Have each person draw their vision for the future. This is intentionally left vague, with no time frame, to allow participants to define the scope of the vision. Maximum 10 mins for the drawing exercise.

2) Everyone presents and talk about their drawing or writing (2 minutes each). While this is happening a facilitator takes notes on flip chart or virtual post-its capturing the highlights of what people say.

3) Once everyone has presented all images are posted on the wall (or virtual board) together. Ask participants what similarities they see. These should be big picture themes related to the long term vision.

4) From discussion, identify biggest themes and write them as statements that describe the long term vision for the campaign where everyone can see and access it.

Want an alternative to the above exercise? Check out the following exercises by ACT tools: 'future travel' exercise & magazine article exercise.

We suggest revisiting your vision at least once a year to reflect on how your team is engaging with it. See the following vision assessment tool from ACT.

Alignment step 2: Defining what you'll do and why

Mission statements describe what the group is going to do and why it's going to do that. In other words, what you'll do, why, and for who. Your mission statement reminds members why you’ve come together. A good rule of thumb is to restate your mission with your members at least once a month. It helps to keep members aligned and motivated.

Mission statements should be:

Concise. Longer than vision statements but generally still short. Outcome-oriented. Explain the fundamental outcomes your group is working towards. Inclusive and broad. Not limited in the strategies/sectors that may become involved. For example...

“Stand.earth challenges corporations and governments to treat people and the environment with respect, because our lives depend on it.”

-Stand.earth

Alignment step 3: Determining what is important to your group and how you'll work together

By this stage if you haven't already, it would be helpful to choose a decision making framework that you'd like to use together. Please see the following wiki pages related to decision making: consensus decision making (suggestions for small groups) and modified consensus decision making (suggestions for large and small groups).

If you've never tried to implement a decision making framework, we suggest starting with Adrienne Marie Brown's 'proposal-based' method , as follows:

a) "Identify the area where a decision is needed and have an exploratory conversation to find out where the group's preferences and concerns are." Say yes to all ideas in the brainstorm stage.

b) "Based on that conversation and any additional research, one person or sub-group can develop a proposal that represents that discussion,"

-Structure a proposal that says what you want to do, why it serves the mission or the group. Give people time to review proposals!

c) Review the proposal together and make a decision.

-Get responses to clarification questions, stay open to amendments but generally the exploratory discussion process prior to proposals should prevent many.

Possible outcomes at this point:

A: Everyone feels good and affirms the proposal

B: People feel mostly good, offering small amendments until the proposal is affirmed. You can use tools like "thumbs up" to measure agreement."

C: People have major changes or a different direction.​​​​​​​

Defining values and principles for a code of conduct

Values and Principles are used to define what is important to your group and how you engage in the work. Principles represent an objective reality that transcends cultures and individuals. For example, fairness, integrity, and honesty. Values are beliefs and opinions that people hold regarding specific issues or ideas. For example, we value authentic relationships and the rights of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior, and informed consent.

Why do you do this work? What motivates you personally?

What is most important for us for a good team environment?

What behaviours do we need to take individually and as a team to support and live our values?

Alignment step 4: Moving your ideas towards strategic action

Once your group is aligned on where you want to go, why, and how you'll get there, you can move towards defining more concretely how you'll put these into action via your strategic process.

As described by Ella Baker , a strategic process is meant to define your approach (the milestones and tactics) used to achieving change. Before beginning your strategic process, you need to define your theory of change (TOC). See our definitions page on theory of change for an overview.

Your theory of change is your hypothesis about how to organize your resources to affect those who hold the resources/power to solve the problem. Figuring out how to achieve a strategic goal – or even what goal is worth trying to achieve – requires developing a theory of change.

A theory of change as defined by Marshall Ganz is a tool to understand your strategy and how (or if) it will work. Being able to articulate a clear theory of change statement is a prerequisite to an effective campaign.

When crafting a TOC the targets, planning and outcomes do not have to be precise. However, there is at least a minimal sense of direction coming out of this. A key question when determining a TOC is: who holds the resources and decision-making power needed to achieve that goal?

The general format for a TOC is: if we do (TACTICS) then (STRATEGIC GOAL or CHANGE) because (REASON). 

Next step after alignment: your strategic process

Once you've completed the above steps, you can begin to define the strategy you'll use to put your alignment into action. Please see the following wiki page for information on these next steps: What is the right way to come up with a campaign strategy?

Community testimonials

Emily Thiessen (CJ Victoria and Our Time Vancouver) : "When we did [our strategy process], we ended up just skipping Theory of Change entirely because we had to cut something (and it was fine) but if we did do it the plan was to set goals for the year first and then come up with a theory of change *for* each goal. I've found before that things get mushy and vague when we've *started* with Theory of Change. We did: 1. agree on the process 2. asset mapping 3. power mapping 4. campaign goals 5. timeline."

Caitlin Chan : "The general strategy for Theory of Change first is that filtering out is easier than adding in after. Perhaps, depending on the group situation, maybe starting in a specific root (goal) and sprouting out makes more sense."