Wikimedia Foundation Strategic Leadership Essential

The Foundation, with the help of a great many Wikipedia contributors have developed a sound Strategic Plan with five complementary objectives that are reasonably clear, concise and measurable. But the biggest knock on Strategic Plans is that once they are developed, they usually collect dust while the enterprise the strategy was developed for returns to business as usual. Strategies fail, not because they are poor strategies, but because the enterprises (all levels) to which they apply don’t understand them and don’t execute against them.

It is evident in a great many discussions on Wikipedia—policy, guideline, process and content—that many of the participants in those discussions, collectively the enterprise known as Wikipedia, are either unaware of the strategic objectives or even worse, don’t think they apply to them or the discussions they are involved in. This can be fatal to the successful execution of the strategy.

Here’s where I think it is essential that the Foundation take a serious leadership role in promoting all the strategic goals extensively throughout the encyclopedia and its underlying policies, guidelines and processes. The Foundation must ensure that the strategy, and more specifically the complementary nature of all five strategic objectives, is always top of mind for all contributors and readers as they navigate the pages of Wikipedia. Equally important, the Foundation must continually remind participants in the Wikipedia enterprise that they play The critical role in executing the strategy and achieving strategic success.

The methodology for doing this is less important—banners, sidebars, infoboxes, et. al—can all be exploited to further the strategy. But what is critically important is that relevant aspects of the strategy—objectives, progress, significant initiatives, etc. are always being displayed on discussions, histories, talk pages, policy and guideline pages, etc. A long time contributor or newcomer or even anyone contemplating becoming a contributor should never be able to lose sight of the strategy.

This will take leadership from the Foundation, who must resist those who chose to ignore the strategy and would prefer not to even know it exists. If the Foundation and the Wikipedia community want to achieve strategic success as outlined in the current Strategic Plan, then that strategy cannot be left to collect dust. It must be executed by the community and for the community to do so, it must be top of mind at all times. This is the leadership I believe the Foundation must take to ensure Strategic success.

Thinking about strategy is only useful if the results are implemented top-down. If the Foundation does not take action (of some sort) there is no point in thinking about strategy. That is basic.

Given the nature of the Wikimedia enterprise there is not all that much that the Foundation can actually do, but probably more than it is doing now. - Brya 06:04, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

Management by suggesting and hoping does not work: Instead, management requires direct leadership to develop "implementation plans" to turn broad goals into tangible milestones, which can be tracked on "en:milestone charts". Setting the strategic goals is an important first step, but there must be active leaders, to convert the goals into actual front-line results. Wikipedia is not an "adminocracy" of busy mop-sweepers who, suddenly, become experienced leaders of implementing major changes in Wikipedia (or other project) structures. Specific leaders must be designated, within the total management structure. Recall the major activities of management:

• Planning - such as strategic planning
• Organization - to define workable structured groups
• Control - by defined lines of control and responsibility
• Staffing - to assign leaders and workers into specific roles
• Directing - to remind people of the tasks (or milestones) to be accomplished.

Getting experienced people to participate, as assigned leaders, is crucial to turning wishful goals into actual front-line results.