In 1996, Southern Regional Council (SRC) conducted an ‘environmental scan’ with its various stakeholders, including membership and funders, to give context to its strategic planning. The environmental scan looked both inside and outside the organization. Under the leadership of Executive Director Wendy Johnson, SRC also conducted a “comprehensive assessment process”, which included gathering feedback from members of the board, staff and constituency of the organization. “I went to staff,” explains Ms. Johnson, “to talk about their hopes and fears regarding my leadership and what they would want to keep and what they would want to change (systems, policies, programs, etc.). This gave me one-on-one engagement and sent the message to people that their role and opinions were valuable to the organization.”