I doubt the new strategic plan from the VCCS is on your summer reading list, but here’s why it should be: We all need to see the big picture.

I read reports and plans like this as part of my job in the grants office. When we are considering grant opportunities, we make sure our funding requests align with the bigger goals of the college, or in this case, with the aspirational goals of the entire Virginia Community College System. 

By understanding our common purpose, we work more effectively as teams — as a system of 23 community colleges, down to our small departmental teams right here at Virginia Western. 

This knowledge will empower each of us to contribute more ideas and make important decisions, no matter our role. 

General Stanley McChrystal calls this “shared consciousness,” which he explains in “Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.” I don’t have much interest in reading about military missions, but I did find this book helpful. In fact, leadership author and systems thinker Meg Wheatley has said the U.S. Army is one of the only true learning organizations she has ever known. (“It’s better to learn than be dead,” responded one colonel.) 

Using examples from his time leading the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq, McChrystal argues for (1) constant, transparent communication and (2) horizontal relationship-building throughout organizations. He acknowledges this can be inefficient and time-consuming, but essential for busting the hierarchical, bureaucratic silos that slow us down. He writes: “If [shared consciousness] could work in the military (in many ways the archetypal stratified, ‘need-to-know’ domain) and the auto industry (pioneers of assembly lines and silos), it can work almost anywhere.”

McChrstyal’s core message is this: Adapting and thriving in our unpredictable world comes down to multiple small teams working together (teams of teams), which is all built on trust.

While the future may be unpredictable, the new VCCS strategic plan (called Opportunity 2027) can help us get a better idea of where we’re going — about VCCS priorities and how they will impact our work. As you will see, our strategic goals will require a lot of trust between ourselves, our students, and our communities.

The full Opportunity 2027 plan is 35 pages long.

Stephanie Ogilvie Seagle shares her top five takeaways to help get us started …