Strategy, in many traditional settings, has often been treated as a meticulously crafted script—one that leaders expect to be followed word by word. As noted by Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her article Smart Leaders Focus on Execution First and Strategy Second, "Strategy can be viewed as a literary effort to craft a complete script and then hand it over to actors who enact it word by word." This rigid approach assumes that a plan will unfold precisely as envisioned, disregarding the unpredictability of real-world execution.

How many times have we seen a school spend months crafting the “perfect” strategic plan, only to have it gather dust within a year? It happens more often than most leaders would like to admit. The reality is no matter how meticulous the planning process is, the future is unpredictable. Overplanning can actually hinder progress rather than drive it.

The assumption that a rigid, multi-year strategic plan will keep a school on track stems from traditional business and government planning models, where long-term stability was once the norm. Many schools have adopted this approach, believing detailed, multi-year roadmaps provide clarity and direction. However, this ignores one fundamental truth—change is inevitable. Shifting government policies, evolving educational practices, emerging technologies, and unexpected societal changes mean that what seemed like a brilliant roadmap today might be irrelevant tomorrow. Instead of striving for perfection, schools need to embrace flexibility and agility.

The Power of Agile Thinking in Schools

Execution is where strategy comes to life, yet many school leaders fall into the trap of overemphasising planning at the expense of action. The reality is that strategy and execution are not separate processes—they must be developed in tandem.

Schools that focus too much on a theoretical roadmap often struggle with implementing meaningful changes, while those that integrate execution into their planning process tend to be more adaptive and successful.

Corporate organisations have long recognised the limits of rigid long-term plans. Many have turned to Agile methodologies—a way of working that values adaptability, short-term wins, and continuous improvement over exhaustive planning. Schools can take inspiration from this approach to keep their strategies dynamic and responsive.

However, Agile teams are not without their pitfalls. Agile teams can become reactive rather than strategic when a clearly defined strategy has not been crafted or effectively communicated.

Schools risk pivoting too frequently without a guiding vision, making decisions based on short-term pressures rather than long-term goals. This can lead to confusion, wasted effort, and disengagement among staff who feel they are constantly shifting focus without a clear sense of direction.

An Agile team in a school setting might consist of key leadership members, department heads, and even teachers and students who work in short, focused bursts rather than waiting for an annual review cycle. To avoid the common pitfalls, these teams must ensure that their agility is anchored in a well-communicated overarching strategy. This allows for rapid feedback, course correction, and real-time responsiveness to challenges while maintaining alignment with the school's long-term vision.

Scrums and Sprints: Faster, Smarter, Better

The traditional school strategic plan often locks leaders into long-term, immovable goals. But what if schools operated in sprints instead of rigid milestones?

In Agile frameworks, a sprint is a short, defined period (often two to four weeks) where teams focus on executing a specific initiative. At the end of the sprint, they assess progress, adjust, and plan the next step. Imagine applying this to school strategy:

• Instead of committing to a three-year goal that may become obsolete, schools set quarterly or term-based objectives.
• Leadership teams meet regularly in scrums—short, structured meetings to discuss progress, obstacles, and next steps.
• At the end of each sprint, leaders assess what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to change.

This keeps strategic initiatives moving forward while allowing for real-time adaptation.

Rethinking KPIs: Lead vs Lag Measures

Another problem with overplanning is the reliance on lag measures—metrics that tell you what has already happened. Traditional strategic plans often focus on outcomes like graduation rates, student enrolments, or financial performance. While these are important, they don’t help leaders steer the ship in real-time.

Agile schools shift focus to lead measures—the actionable inputs that predict success. For example:

• In risk and compliance, track early incident reporting and policy adherence rates rather than waiting for significant breaches to occur.
• In HR, staff engagement levels, professional development participation, and early burnout indicators should be monitored to proactively address retention challenges.
• Instead of waiting to see if student retention drops, track early engagement indicators (e.g., participation in extracurricular activities, student survey responses).
• Rather than focusing solely on end-of-year financials, monitor real-time budget efficiency and enrolment inquiries.
• Instead of relying on standardised test results, track teacher innovation in lesson delivery and professional development as predictors of student learning outcomes.

Lead measures allow schools to adjust their course before they run into trouble rather than scrambling to react when it's too late.

Thinking in 30-Year Scenarios Instead of 5-Year Plans

While traditional strategic plans often focus on a three-to-five-year horizon, some of the most effective schools think in 30-year scenarios instead. Instead of viewing the future as a straight line, schools can adopt the concept of Time Cones, a model used in futurist strategic planning. This approach acknowledges that while we can predict some near-term changes with reasonable accuracy, the further out we look, the more uncertainty expands.

Using Time Cones, schools can frame their long-term thinking in layers:

• Core Certainties (0-5 years) – Changes we can anticipate with high confidence, such as demographic shifts, curriculum reforms already in progress, or planned infrastructure projects.
• Probable Trends (5-15 years) – Larger societal and technological shifts that will likely influence education, such as AI-driven learning models or changes in teacher workforce demands.
• Emerging Possibilities (15-30 years) – Disruptive forces that could radically reshape the nature of schooling, such as the rise of decentralised education models, advanced human-machine collaboration, or alternative credentialing replacing traditional degrees.

By thinking in scenarios rather than rigid plans, schools can prepare for multiple possibilities, ensuring they remain relevant no matter the future. Instead of being locked into a single path, leaders can position their schools to adapt as different futures unfold.

While traditional strategic plans often focus on a three-to-five-year horizon, some of the most effective schools think in 30-year scenarios instead.

This doesn’t mean predicting every detail of the future but rather exploring different possibilities and ensuring the school is flexible enough to adapt to multiple outcomes. Schools should ask:

• What will learning look like in 2050?
• How will artificial intelligence reshape the role of teachers?
• What future skills will students need to thrive?

By thinking in scenarios rather than rigid plans, schools can prepare for multiple possibilities and be ready to embrace the future.

Actionable Steps for Schools to Ditch Overplanning and Stay Agile

If your school is stuck in the cycle of creating and abandoning strategic plans, here’s how you can break free:

1. Adopt an Agile Mindset – Shift from long, rigid planning cycles to iterative, responsive decision-making.
2. Use Sprints to Test Strategies – Implement initiatives in short bursts, evaluate results quickly, and refine as needed.
3. Hold Regular Scrums – Keep strategy discussions active and adaptable rather than revisiting them once a year.
4. Measure What Matters – Focus on lead measures that predict success rather than lag measures that only tell you what happened.
5. Think in 30-Year Scenarios – Prepare for a range of futures rather than locking into a single pathway.

Final Thought: Embracing Progress Over Perfection

A strategic plan should be a living document, not a static blueprint. Schools that embrace flexibility, adaptability, and agility will always have a competitive edge over those stuck trying to execute a perfect plan.

Rather than asking, “How can we perfect our strategy?” the real question should be, “How can we make our strategy adaptable enough to thrive in uncertainty?”

The answer isn’t more planning—it’s better responsiveness.