01
Problem
The problem
The agency needed a strategy for 2019–2022 that would not be a random list of activities. The leadership team needed to reach a unified position, and the whole staff needed to feel a connection to the strategy.
Strategy engagement
· 2018Estonian National Agency of Medicines — strategy with the whole organisation
Role: Strategy consultant and facilitator
A strategy for 2019–2022 co-authored by the agency itself: monthly leadership sessions, full-day staff sessions, and a strategy the organisation now owns and reproduces without external help.
32
Working days
engagement
9
Leadership team
monthly sessions
1 sem.
Duration
with full-staff sessions
02
Approach
The approach
Designed and ran a two-part process: (1) monthly working sessions with the nine-member leadership team over one semester — diagnosing problems, weighing options, setting priorities; (2) full-day sessions with the staff (multiple groups), where the strategic context was opened up and staff had the opportunity to contribute.
03
Result
The result
Strategy 2019–2022 adopted and owned by the organisation. Staff had a voice and understood the link between their own work and the strategic goals. The leadership team confirmed the process surfaced disagreements that would never have been resolved via email. Best outcome: the next strategy process was carried out by the management team without outside help.
04
What I learned
What I learned
Strategy creation is a communication problem as much as an analytical one. Working with the leadership team is necessary but not sufficient — if staff are not given a voice in the process (not just in the outcome), the strategy remains the leadership's, not the organisation's.