Introduction

The implementation and success of a strategic plan depends on the support of key stakeholders. This in turn depends on your ability to communicate clearly and persuasively with decision makers and to sell your vision of the future. You must also be able to lead the initiative and sustain strategic direction. This assessment provides you with an opportunity to showcase your strategic thinking and exercise the communication skills necessary to move your strategic plan forward toward implementation.

Note: In this assessment, you will develop a presentation to stakeholders for the strategic plan you developed in Assessment 2.

Preparation

Your strategic plan has been reviewed, and you have been asked to present your plan—including operational recommendations and strategic control mechanisms—at a strategic visioning session with key stakeholders (senior leaders if your plan is organization-wide, community leaders if your plan is for a community health project, or the nurse manager of a specific department or team). This session is the next step in moving your plan toward implementation.

Your deliverable for this assessment is a slide deck of 10-20 slides to supplement your presentation and facilitate discussion of your plan. You may use Microsoft PowerPoint or any other suitable presentation software. Please use the notes section of each slide to develop your talking points and reference your sources, as appropriate.

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

Reflect on the current cultural climate in your care setting.

• What aspects of the current cultural climate would aid in achieving one or more specific goals contained in your strategic plan?
• What aspects of the current cultural climate would present a challenge in achieving one or more specific goals contained in your strategic plan?
• What leadership theories, models, or strategies could help you turn this challenge into an opportunity?

Effectively communicating with internal and external stakeholders and constituencies can help in achieving strategic initiatives.

• How would you communicate the essential aspects of the strategic plan you developed in Assessment 2 to stakeholders or groups, both internal and external to your care setting?

Presentation

• Summarize your plan for achieving 2-3 main goals. Include corresponding metrics, targets, and initiatives to help achieve the desired quality or safety improvements in the care setting.

Note: It may be useful to think about what you hoped to achieve in addressing your care setting’s positive core or specific area of concern in Assessment 1. For example:

• Progress toward achieving the Triple Aim.
• Better patient safety outcomes.
• Lower readmission rates.
• Higher volume of patients and care.
• Increased financial gain.
• Minimizing staff burnout.
• Improved relationship and trust with the community or a specific population.

In addition, remember to consult the literature, research studies, and resources from professional and governmental organizations when developing metrics, targets, and initiatives.

• Explain how you will communicate your plan to those stakeholders and constituencies who are essential to implementing your plan and sustaining strategic direction.
  • Identify the key individuals or groups with whom you must communicate.
  • Identify the cultural or ethical factors, if any, that are relevant to the design of your communication plan, including how key individuals or groups typically prefer to be contacted.
• Describe the actions you will take to align your care setting’s structure, systems, shared values, management style, staff, and skills with your strategic goals.
  • Describe the changes that are needed to achieve your goals.
  • Describe the goals and processes for on-boarding relevant individuals or groups.
• Explain how you will evaluate the success of your strategic plan.
  • Define successful implementation.
  • Describe the successful outcomes for this project.
  • Explain how you will compare outcomes to current performance benchmarks.
  • Explain how you will collect data to evaluate whether you have achieved specific goals and outcomes.
  • Identify your priorities, assuming you cannot accomplish everything.
• Explain how relevant cultural, ethical, and regulatory considerations influenced the design of your strategic plan and strategies for its implementation.
• Explain your role, as a nurse leader, in successfully implementing your proposed plan and sustaining strategic direction.
  • Explain how leadership and health care theories support your role.
• Explain why your leadership qualities and skills will enable you to successfully implement your plan and sustain strategic direction.
  • Explain why you should be the one to lead this initiative.
  • Explain how you have demonstrated some or all of these qualities in past work.