Our leadership team wants to bring our department heads into our annual planning session so they feel included in the goal-setting. Why do you limit the session to just the executive team?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Limiting the session to the true leadership team is non-negotiable. It is natural to want to include middle managers to make them feel valued, but doing so during an annual planning session is a mistake that will dilute your results.

A successful planning session requires a high level of trust, vulnerability, and rapid decision-making. The larger the group, the slower the process becomes, and the harder it is to have open, raw discussions. When you introduce middle managers into the room, your executive team will naturally hold back to maintain a united front, and the middle managers may feel hesitant to challenge their bosses.

Furthermore, your leadership team must define the vision and the strategic direction first. Once the V/TO® and the annual plan are locked in, your job as leaders is to cascade that vision down to the rest of the organization. This cascade gives your department heads a clear framework to build their own departmental Rocks. They will feel included and valued because they have clear, aligned expectations, not because they sat through a grueling two-day executive planning session.