Why Every Department Needs Its Own Annual Planning Session

If you’re only doing Annual Planning at the leadership level, you’re leaving execution to chance.

When departments don’t have their own Annual Planning sessions, they end up reacting instead of leading. Priorities get murky. Rocks don’t connect. Scorecards lose relevance. And even your best people spend their days in triage mode instead of building toward the 1-Year Plan.

I’ve seen the difference firsthand. One team runs a tight, focused Annual and crushes their goals. Another skips it and spends the quarter untangling misaligned priorities. Same company. Same vision. Very different results.

This isn’t just about planning — it’s about alignment. If you want execution at every level, every department needs its own Annual Planning session. Here’s why.

What Happens When One Department Skips Annual Planning?
I once worked with a leadership team at a high-growth services company where the Sales department consistently crushed their numbers — but the Operations team lagged behind. It wasn’t about talent. The Ops leader was capable, the team was dedicated, but priorities kept clashing.

Sales had clarity. They had set Rocks, a scorecard that matched the company vision, and a clear line of sight to the 1-Year Plan. Operations? They were stuck in triage mode — no departmental Vision/Traction Organizer® (V/TO®), no aligned departmental Rocks, no clarity.

That leader took notice and took charge. They began running Departmental Annual Planning sessions, and six months later, they weren’t just keeping up — they were anticipating, prioritizing, and proactively solving problems to help achieve their 1-Year Plan.

Why Does Departmental Annual Planning Matter?

It’s not just about getting organized. It’s about alignment, focus, and creating space to think beyond the day-to-day.

If your company runs a 2-day Annual Planning session with the leadership team, every department should follow up with their own Annual — because that’s how the rest of the organization gets focused on the right things.

Departmental Annual Planning isn’t optional. It’s how strategy turns into execution, not just for the company but for every team.

What’s the Process?

Within a week after the Leadership Team Annual, you should schedule a few hours for your Department Annual. Bring together the key leaders or team members on your team that will be important to owning Rocks, and making sure you make progress. Once you run the session, share your Rocks or other outcomes with other leaders to build momentum and awareness.

After your Leadership and Department Annual Planning Sessions, the company should host a State of the Company so all team members can hear about leadership objectives, ask questions, and hear directly from the top about where the company is headed.

This meeting reinforces alignment, builds trust, and connects every person in the company to the bigger picture. It's your chance to share key takeaways from Annual Planning, highlight company-wide Rocks, and celebrate progress. It reinforces the Headlines shared in Department Annuals — so team members hear those messages more than once to ensure that the work done in planning sessions isn’t just for leaders — it’s for everyone.

What Does the Agenda Look Like?

Here’s a sample agenda for a Departmental Annual Planning session. You may adjust the time depending on how many team members you have attending (ideally <10), if the department owns its own V/TO®, or if other activities like Team Health would be beneficial. 

The Cost of Not Planning? Drifting.
That Operations team I mentioned? Before their first Annual, they were reactive and overworked. Afterward, they were aligned and proactive. Their manager told me, “We finally feel like we’re rowing in the same direction as the rest of the company.”

That’s the power of a well-run Departmental Annual Planning session.

Ready to Lead the Change?

Need help facilitating your first session or building a repeatable playbook?

Our Professional Services team offers Annual Planning prep, support, and referrals for full session facilitation — whether you’re leading one department or rolling it out across the entire organization.

👉 Talk to Pro Serve About Departmental Annual Planning Support