The Practice of Relational Strategy
Relational strategy is foremost a practice. It is a way of tending to trust, organizational culture, living into shared values, and the many dynamics that make for effective teams and execution of vision and strategy. Relational strategy can be practiced in more than one role and benefits from at least a small team (two or three) learning together.
What is the role of a relational strategist?
Relational strategist is the name given to a role that was created and first implemented at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) in 2020. It is still a position in the state system there. The role was created and designed explicitly as a full-time position with the understanding that:
The heart of the role is the practice of relational strategy
The role requires close partnership with an executive leader and/or executive team with formal supervision responsibilities
The role assists in tending to variables that often are neglected or otherwise don’t get enough attention from formal leadership.
It can foster needed organizational change conditions.
Key features of the relational strategist role
Position in the Organizational Chart
The relational strategist is meant to flow across teams, making connections and spotting places where alignment and execution can be improved, as well as generally how staff are doing in different parts of the organization. In effect, it increases the ‘’surface area’’ for relationship building. To accomplish this, the relational strategist needs to be in a position where both leadership and staff are equally in their field of view: able to hear and give feedback to supervisors as much as to supervisees. In the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) this meant that the relational strategist sat laterally on the same level as the other directors, reporting directly to the Assistant Superintendent leading the whole office. This allowed the relational strategist to have weekly meetings with directors, hearing how they were doing and/or struggling with, giving feedback to them or a sense of direction based on what the Asst. Supt was offering, or helping work directly within their teams.
Ombudsperson-like Qualities
Traditionally, human resources is structured as the place for employees to go to for complaints, issues, and anonymous reporting. HR is absolutely needed in some cases, but in many moments, what is needed for learning, growth, and culture-building is not arbitration, mediation or resolution (that separates the parties), but rather some form of support that helps the people involved or the organization move forward less formally.
Ombuds or ombudperson roles have a long history of creating a space that fosters integrity and confidential ways of problem solving that run across formal institutional hierarchies. While the relational strategist must abide by all HR standards (e.g. if harassment or abuse is discovered), many of the tiffs or tensions experienced by staff are of other sorts: leaders pulling rank; experiencing microaggressions; personality dissonances; or just people having confusion or working through prior workplace frustrations in the present. The relational strategist takes up aspects of an effective embedded ombudsperson. The role includes ways of tending to feedback and concerns in the natural flow of work while cultivating learning conditions and leveraging strengths in all parties. This looks like a check-in with the person experiencing a need and discerning ways to move forward: anonymous sharing of feedback to a leader; facilitating a breakdown-to-breakthrough type conversation; noting down patterns to be addressed in a whole office space/memo; etc. This role also works consistently in more than one direction. Where there are patterns amongst staff or teams, the relational strategist elevates leadership attention to what they are seeing and hearing, without violating trust or HR standards. Taken together, these actions support organizational health.
Leadership Alignment and Relationship to Formal Leadership (Executive Function)
Relational strategy is a practice for more than the relational strategist. Executive leadership - starting with the CEO or Executive Director (ED) - is fundamental to this design supporting the kinds of changes described. Said differently, the relational strategist is only effective if there is a trusting and meaningful partnership with the formal organizational leader (In the example of ODE – an assistant superintendent is the executive leader of a branch of state government within a larger agency).
Particularly in seasons where the ED is busy with external affairs, the ED relies on the relational strategist to share what the pulse of the org is: how staff are, how strategies are moving, what needs exist, etc. Feedback is shared which may alter the ED’s thinking about mission and planning. While not designed to be a “voice of the people,” the relational strategist often shares with the ED the patterns of what they are hearing from staff, partners, and community.
In spirit, the ED and relational strategist share governance responsibility for the execution of generative vision and strategy. Their partnership supports steady assessment of how to ensure the organization can meet its responsibilities and live into its highest aspirations.
For this to work well, the ED shares with the relational strategist larger landscape developments (e.g. in the field; in politics; etc) as well as direct notes to socialize across the organization. Because of how the relational strategist flows across the office, these sensibilities or directives from the ED can be integrated much more quickly and deeply and relationally. For example, the relational strategist can immediately attend director meetings with their staff and see how messaging is getting presented or socialized. Critical to this partnership is a high level of trust, communication, and alignment on purpose, direction, and strategy.
Culture of Learning and Growth
The relational strategist plays a pivotal role in the cultivation of strong culture. At ODE, the relational strategist helped staff develop and socialize these principles and practices. As an explicit job function, the relational strategist always has an eye out for how these are being embodied and operationalized, offering both direct nudge and encouragement to staff, or sharing with leadership where they see opportunities for improvement or lapses. The relational strategist (along with the ED) is measured by their ability and humility in practicing these values and recognizing their limitations and shortcomings.
Organizations and teams are invited into ‘’learning journeys’’ – as a means to build capacity, knowledge and skill. The relational strategist is a core mechanism to note where there are opportunities for growth and assessing what competencies or knowledge needs to be cultivated. This often comes directly from staff who, without supervision dynamics, are comfortable sharing where they hope to improve. Ways of designing team or organizational learning can vary from – in-house professional development, outside consultants, community partnerships, and even stock agency/institution offerings. Sometimes learning supports are more creative and open: individual assignments to certain staff learning certain things; understanding how program/project implementation is linked to learning and pedagogy; etc. For example, the relational strategist at ODE helped create equity competencies for staff (grounded in real learning supports and performance review) and worked with HR to develop parameters and conditions for generative and charged learning.
Staff Needs and Well-being
The relational strategist holds both the importance of the organizational purpose and mission as well as the humanity of the individual staff that compose it. Staff are both robust and sensitive – it is a dynamic equilibrium to create an environment where many differentiated individuals are rowing together – creatively and fluidly – to cause something greater to happen. The relational strategist seeks to support each person in the organization to feel in purpose, in right role/function, and in right relationship. The relational strategist has multiple meetings every week just to check-in with staff – sometimes these are asked for by staff, sometimes the relational strategist notices something and wants to check-in about it. Often there is something just below the surface, and having the opportunity to talk about it leads to an improvement not just for that staff person but for the whole org.
Strategy
The relational strategist plays an important role in the crafting and implementation of strategies. They often play a double role: sharing what they perceive as the real limitations and existing capacities of the staff or the organizational container – as well as, in conjunction with leadership and staff, seeking to articulate ways to push beyond it. Once strategies have been developed, the relational strategist plays a deep role in their cultivation, comprehensibility, and socialization – understanding what is useful to share, when, and how.
Not an Individual Effort
While all of the above may sound like a lot to put on a single person’s shoulders, it is because the relational strategist sees all this work as the organization’s collective responsibility as well which makes it sustainable. At base, it’s their role to notice, observe and name patterns. After that, they can choose any number of interventions or responses, including (and most commonly), asking for something to be tended to by someone else – especially by the ED or leadership. This requires trust that everyone will move accordingly, but when done well and in concert, relational strategy is then a function of the organization, shared by everyone, and only just kickstarted and fueled by the person with the title “relational strategist.”
Additional organizational health and learning resources are available here.
