Designing a better strategy through collaboration and co-design

At The Strategy Group, we understand that strong strategies are not crafted in isolation. The most effective outcomes emerge when strategy is designed collaboratively, meaning they’re co-created with the people responsible for implementing and living its outcomes.

While co-design is often associated with product or service design, its value in strategic contexts is equally powerful. For strategy designers, the goal is to create direction and alignment by drawing on the collective intelligence and lived experience of diverse stakeholders.

This article examines how strategic co-design operates in practice, the barriers that can hinder its success, and the mindsets and methods that foster more inclusive, outcomes-focused collaboration.

Rethinking collaboration in strategy design

Strategic collaboration is about designing purposeful engagement that aligns people around a shared goal, surfaces diverse perspectives, while building a foundation for ownership and follow-through. Research shows that diverse teams solve problems faster and more creatively, particularly in complex or uncertain environments, making a strong case for embedding inclusive practices in strategic work.

In strategic design, the strength of collaboration lies in the blend of different mindsets: operational, policy, community, and executive, coming together to interrogate assumptions and generate fresh thinking.

Strategy is no longer a top-down exercise. It’s shaped by those closest to the challenge.

The common barriers to strategic co-design

Despite the benefits, co-design in strategic settings presents a unique set of challenges. One of the most common is ensuring the right people are in the room. Individuals may be overcommitted, unclear on the value of their contribution, or hesitant to participate due to role hierarchy or power dynamics. These issues are amplified when workshops bring together a mix of senior leaders and frontline staff, where perceived judgment can limit honest participation.

Another barrier is the mindset participants bring into a session. Without thoughtful facilitation, people can default to reactive or operational thinking: solving today’s problem rather than exploring systemic opportunities. This is why the early moments of a workshop matter. Well-designed opening activities that prompt divergent and creative ideation can help shift participants into a different mode of engagement. One example is asking participants to design something intentionally useless or absurd: an exercise that loosens mental constraints and encourages a more open perspective.

Inclusivity is also essential to successful co-design.

When sessions are designed with psychological safety in mind, where we create space for all voices to be heard, regardless of level or confidence, participants are more likely to contribute meaningfully. Small group discussions, anonymous feedback tools, and informal settings (even something as simple as having snacks and removing rigid formality) can all help to level the playing field.

The role of the strategy designer as facilitator

Strategy designers play a critical role in guiding co-design processes. Unlike traditional consultants who may arrive with a set answer, strategy designers enter with a hypothesis, an open mind, and a clear process for engaging others in shaping the outcome. This requires a balance between being informed and being adaptable.

This also includes managing conflict or divergence. When participants raise differing perspectives or push in a direction that may not align with evidence or context, facilitators can use prompts and structured frameworks to explore the thinking behind those ideas and help reframe them constructively. The objective is not to steer toward a predetermined conclusion, but to help the group stay aligned with the purpose and create a shared sense of direction.

Importantly, strategy designers must remain aware of their own biases and preferences, constantly checking whether their facilitation style is supporting exploration or unintentionally narrowing it.

Embedding impact through iteration and feedback

The impact of strategic co-design is measured not just in the workshop room, but in what follows. Strategy must be tested, refined, and iterated upon, just like a product would be. In many organisations, strategy development ends with a plan on paper but fails to include mechanisms for learning, feedback, and adjustment.

A more effective approach involves prototyping parts of the strategy (for example, piloting a new operating model or testing a customer journey shift), gathering real-time feedback from those affected, and adjusting based on what works.

Ultimately, designing strategy through collaboration is not a nice-to-have. It is essential to build relevant and future-fit solutions. The Strategy Group works with clients across sectors to enable this shift, from traditional planning to participatory design, because we know that when people shape the strategy, they’re far more likely to believe in and deliver it.