Creating a strategic business proposal
School Senior Leader Level 7 Apprenticeship
AIM & OBJECTIVES
Aim
To clarify the purpose, scope and expectations of a strategic business proposal at senior leader level and to begin shaping an appropriate proposal grounded in your organisational context and strategic priorities. Objectives
ā¢Understand the purpose of the strategic business proposal within the Level 7 Senior Leader apprenticeship and its role in demonstrating senior leadership practice (K3, K14, K16).
ā¢Distinguish between a strategic business proposal and an operational or project plan, recognising the importance of systems thinking and organisational impact (K5, S2).
ā¢Identify a strategic issue or opportunity within your organisation that could form the basis of a viable and credible proposal (K3, S19, B3).
ā¢Recognise the role of evidence, stakeholder influence and professional judgement in shaping strategic recommendations (S3, S20, B3).
What is this session about?
This session is not about how to write a strategic business proposal It is about how you operate as a senior leader when you are required to make and influence strategic decisions
The strategic business proposal is simply how that leadership practice is evidenced later
Check inā¦
How clear are you right now about what your strategic business proposal might be?
Choose from 1 to 3.
1 being totally unclear and 3 being absolutely certain.
Why this mattersā¦
It serves to remove the immediate pressure to just āarriveā with all of the answers
Demonstrates that judgement develops over time
Challenges potential āfalse confidenceā driving poor proposal choices
The assessment plan does not ask whether your proposal was implemented - it asks whether you canā¦
ā¦frame a strategic issue of organisational significance
ā¦use evidence and analysis to justify choices
ā¦make defensible choices under constraint
ā¦influence stakeholders beyond your formal authority
This session is aboutā¦
ā¦clarifying what a strategic business proposal really is at a senior levelā¦
ā¦andā¦
ā¦beginning to locate where yours might sit within your organisational system.
Breakout room 1
ā¢ Introduce yourself to the group
ā¢ Discuss the following prompts and prepare to give feedback
Breakout room 1
ā¢ Introduce yourselves, your role, what has brought you here?
ā¢ Share/discuss one or two things that have stood out from the slides so far.
ā¢ What feels most challenging about developing a strategic proposal at your level?
ā¢ What pressures or constraints immediately come to mind?
Be ready to share some feedback when we return to the main room.
Breakout room 2
ā¢ What constraints come up repeatedly across your discussions?
ā¢ What feels hardest about thinking strategically rather than operationally?
ā¢ What makes issues feel āstrategicā rather than simply important?
Be ready to share some STRATEGIC feedback when we return to the main room.
Cultural Political
What constraints came up repeatedly?
Structural Reputational
Otherā¦?
Letting go of detail
Uncertainty
Otherā¦?
What felt hardest about thinking strategically rather than operationally?
Time boundaries Influence without authority
Organisational impact
Crossboundary effects
What made issues feel āstrategicā rather than simply important?
Long-term consequences
Otherā¦?
Values, risk or reputation
What makes a strategic issue āstrategicā?
It affects more than one part of the organisation
It involves competing priorities or trade-offs
It carries risk, reputational or ethical implications
It cannot be resolved through operational control alone
You do not need to do this yetā¦
ā¦butā¦
ā¦you need to know it exists.
At Gatewayā¦
500-word summary of your strategic business proposal
Agreed with both your employer and tutor
End Point Assessment (EPA)
4000-word (+/-10%) full strategic business proposal
A real organisational issue with the support of senior leaders/board/governors etc.
Evidenced, justified and defensible A presentation, based on your project proposal
You do not need to work on any of these documents yet
This session is about what kind of proposal is appropriate, not how to write it.
Soā¦
ā¦how do I test whether what I am thinking about is a viable strategic business proposal?
Strategic Viability Lens
Organisational significance
Strategic choice Senior influence
Consequence and risk
Organisational significance
Does this issue affect more than one function, priority or outcome?
Strategic choice
Does this require trade-offs, options of judgement, rather than a single correct answer?
Senior influence
Would progress depend on influencing senior leaders, boards or external stakeholders?
Consequence and risk
Does this carry financial, reputational, ethical or longterm implications?
An exampleā¦
I am going to introduce a new IT system ā¦insteadā¦
I am going to reshape how digital services support long-term organisational strategy
In summaryā¦ Strategic
proposals are defined by the consequences they create across the organisation, not simply by their size or scope.
Breakout room 3
ā¢ Each person briefly outlines a possible strategic issue they are considering
ā¢ As a group, use the four lenses to explore:
ā¢ Where the issue feels clearly strategic
ā¢ Where it might currently be too narrow or operational
ā¢ Offer challenge, not solutions
ā¢ Each person briefly outlines a possible strategic issue they are considering
Breakout room 3
ā¢ As a group, use the four lenses to explore:
ā¢ Where the issue feels clearly strategic
ā¢ Where it might currently be too narrow or operational
ā¢ Offer challenge, not solutions
Todayās takeawaysā¦
ā¢A clearer understanding of what makes an issue appropriate for a strategic business proposal at senior leader level.
ā¢A practical way of testing whether a potential idea is genuinely strategic rather than operational or tactical.
ā¢An appreciation of why rushing into decisions or early drafting can undermine strategic judgement and proposal quality.
Reflectionā¦
ā¢ Which aspect of the Strategic Viability Lens feels strongest for your current proposal idea and which feels least developed at this stage?
ā¢ What assumptions are you currently making about your proposal that may need to be tested, challenged or evidenced further?
ā¢ What pressures, constraints or stakeholder expectations are most likely to shape how you frame and influence your strategic proposal?
AIM & OBJECTIVES
Aim
To clarify the purpose, scope and expectations of a strategic business proposal at senior leader level and to begin shaping an appropriate proposal grounded in your organisational context and strategic priorities. Objectives
ā¢Understand the purpose of the strategic business proposal within the Level 7 Senior Leader apprenticeship and its role in demonstrating senior leadership practice (K3, K14, K16).
ā¢Distinguish between a strategic business proposal and an operational or project plan, recognising the importance of systems thinking and organisational impact (K5, S2).
ā¢Identify a strategic issue or opportunity within your organisation that could form the basis of a viable and credible proposal (K3, S19, B3).
ā¢Recognise the role of evidence, stakeholder influence and professional judgement in shaping strategic recommendations (S3, S20, B3).