Strategic flexibility

Aidan Rave argues that the best strategies are built to last but designed to flex

In boardrooms across sectors, a familiar tension plays out: how firmly should we hold onto our strategy? And how much should we flex when the ground shifts beneath us?

It’s not a trivial question. Over the past few years, organisations have had to contend with seismic and often simultaneous changes: policy upheaval, regulatory reform, workforce shortages, funding pressures, digitisation demands, public expectation shifts and more. All of which challenge not only how organisations operate, but how they think.

So how flexible should a core strategy, or its supporting frameworks, really be?

More than you think, but less than you fear.

What strategy is (and isn’t)

Let’s start here: a strategy is not a static five-year plan locked in a drawer; it is not a Gantt chart with fixed milestones. It is a framework for choices, a coherent response to a shifting environment, built around a clearly defined purpose.

A good strategy should be:

• anchored in the organisation’s mission and values
• focused on clear outcomes and priorities
• informed by the operating environment and internal capability
• adaptive in how it is delivered.

It is the difference between direction and detail. Purpose should endure. Plans may not.

The role of core and supporting strategies

In many organisations, the ‘core’ strategy—the overarching vision and strategic aims—is accompanied by a series of supporting strategies: estates, digital, workforce, people, EDI, sustainability, research, communications. These are essential in giving more specific expression to the broader direction. But they must operate in symphony, not in silos.

And this is where flexibility becomes essential. Because no matter how watertight your strategies, they are only as useful as they are relevant.

A digital strategy that doesn’t reflect rapid shifts in AI and user expectations? A workforce strategy that doesn’t flex for generational shifts or labour market constraints? A people strategy that ignores current equity and culture challenges?

Each becomes not a tool for success, but a barrier to it.

What should trigger a strategic review or refresh?

Not every context shift demands a full rewrite. But all strategies should have built-in mechanisms for reflection and recalibration.

Triggers that should prompt a refresh might include:

• significant policy or funding changes
• underperformance against strategic goals
• shifts in the needs or expectations of your stakeholders
• major technology disruption or service redesign
• structural changes such as mergers or new partnerships
• evolving governance or regulatory frameworks.

Smart organisations don’t wait for crisis to rethink strategy—they embed regular review points, horizon scanning and stakeholder listening into governance rhythms.

The risk of over-flexing

Of course, strategy shouldn’t become so malleable that it loses meaning. Excessive pivoting can lead to confusion, fatigue, and loss of direction.

The goal isn’t constant change. It’s purposeful evolution.

Hold firm to your outcomes. Be open about your delivery routes. Be willing to let go of what’s no longer working—and double down on what is.

Designing strategy for dynamic environments

In today’s landscape, the best strategies are:

• living documents, not dusty PDFs
• framed by purpose, not process
• powered by insight, not assumption
• owned by the whole system, not a few authors
• reviewed often, not just at year five.

It’s no longer enough for a strategy to look good on paper. It must be built to last and designed to flex—capable of absorbing new information, responding to complexity, and guiding decisions even when conditions change.

Strategic alignment

Successful strategy development hinges not only on aligning tangible organisational assets and resources but also on weaving them seamlessly with deeper tacit factors that can be harder to pin down.

Human resources, financial and physical infrastructure, organisational structures, and formal governance frameworks provide the essential scaffolding for delivery, but without alignment with culture, values and leadership behaviours, even the most well-resourced strategies risk faltering.

True strategic impact arises when policies and processes reinforce shared values, when governance is attuned to cultural dynamics, and when reward systems empower competent, values-driven individuals. By harmonising the tangible and the tacit, organisations create strategies that are not just operationally sound, but deeply resonant, resilient, and sustainable.

It is an essential but often-overlooked part of a board's job, once a strategy is set, to test and keep monitoring organisational alignment to its delivery.

The bottom line

Your strategy is your organisation’s story about the future. But every story needs editing when the plot thickens.

If your context has shifted but your strategy hasn’t, this may be the moment to take stock.

Whether it’s a light-touch health check or a more fundamental strategic reset, the smartest organisations treat strategy not as a product, but as a practice.

And those are the ones best equipped to lead, no matter the terrain.