Finding a Challenge Strategist
Finding a Challenge Strategist
The 100-Day Challenge team operates outside of traditional departmental silos. Instead of reporting to a single supervisor, the team is commissioned by a multi-sectoral group of leaders. To prevent the confusion of “reporting to everyone,” we identify one individual to serve as the team’s primary anchor: the Challenge Strategist.
Deep Dive Video
What Makes an Effective Challenge Strategist?
The Strategist is the “convener-in-chief.” They must possess the convening influence required to bring diverse stakeholders (e.g., the Mayor’s office, SAPS station commanders, and NGO directors) to the table.
Seniority
They should be senior enough that their meeting invitations are prioritised.
Influence
Beyond a job title, they must be trusted and respected across different organisations.
Partnership
They will be your primary ally in removing bureaucratic roadblocks.
Three Pathways to Identify Your Strategist
You have three options to secure this leader during your first week:
You (or Your Co-coach) Take the Lead
If you already possess the necessary influence to convene local leadership, you can assume the role of Challenge Strategist yourself.
Advantage: You can send out invitations immediately (ideally by “Week -3”), giving your future team an extra week of momentum for their 100-day sprint.
Engage your "Nominator"
If you do not have the positioning to convene senior leaders, start with the person who recommended you for this training. They may step into the role themselves or designate a senior colleague to do so.
Note: If you are unsure who nominated you, contact the World of Impact team for guidance.
Map the local GBVF Ecosystem
If the first two options are not viable, you must identify the heads of public, non-profit, and private organizations that influence GBVF outcomes in your community.
Identify the “Hub”: Use a stakeholder map to find the leader most connected to others in the ecosystem.
For a list of suggested leadership stakeholders to engage with, click on the link provided
Consult Locally: Speak with those familiar with local leadership dynamics to identify the 5–7 critical stakeholders who must be involved.
The stakeholder map is a sketch of the relationships between the stakeholders on the list. It may show relationships of power between them. Do they play well together or not? How central are they to the Challenge? The video outlines what this might look like. You can creatively sketch out your own version of this.
The Challenge Strategist: Cultivating and Enabling Environment
The success of a 100-Day Challenge depends on more than just a plan; it requires a specific “enabling environment.” The Challenge Strategist fosters and protects the three hallmark behaviors of the 100-Day methodology:
Collaboration
Breaking down departmental silos to solve problems collectively.
Innovation
Encouraging the team to test new, creative ideas without fear of failure.
Execution
Focusing on rapid action and tangible results rather than just planning.
To create the enabling environment Challenge strategist should:
- Listen more than tell: Allow the team to lead the “how” of the work.
- Remove obstacles: Use your seniority to clear bureaucratic red tape that slows the team down.
- Provide “Psychological Safety”: Ensure the team feels safe to try new approaches, even if they don’t work the first time.
- Be a Protective Shield: They protect the team from “business as usual” interference or conflicting instructions from different stakeholders
- Be a Strategic Bridge: Translating the team’s grassroots progress into high-level updates that satisfy leadership’s need for accountability.
- Be an Advocate: Ensures that the team’s innovations are recognised and supported by the community’s GBVF leadership ecosystem.
Questions the Challenge Strategist May Have for You as Coach
Why exactly is this role needed? After all, the team will have a trained 100-Day Challenge Coach to guide them.
The roles are complementary but distinct. The Coach is the expert in the 100-Day approach—they guide the team’s rhythm, facilitate innovation, and keep the process on track. However, the Coach has no formal authority over the team members’ time or their departmental priorities.
The Challenge Strategist provides the institutional weight that the Coach cannot. While we aim for “power with” the team to inspire innovation, there are moments when “power over” is necessary. If team members become distracted by ‘business as usual’ or if departmental silos begin to block progress, the Coach can identify the problem, but only the Challenge Strategist has the authority to intervene, refocus the team, and re-establish the Challenge as a non-negotiable priority.”
What is the extent of a Challenge Strategist’s decision-making power?
The Challenge Strategist serves as the Guardian of the Mandate. While the 100-Day Team owns the “how” of the work, the Strategist holds ultimate accountability for the project’s viability. The decision-making power at the extreme the nuclear decision but there is also decisions the Strategist should not make.
1. The “Nuclear decision” to Aborting the Project – The most significant decision a Challenge Strategist can make is to “pull the plug” on a project. This is a rare, last-resort action taken in consultation with the Coach and Leadership Group. It is appropriate only when:
- The “Walking Wounded” Scenario: It becomes clear that the project has lost its momentum and most team members are no longer motivated. It is more effective to end a failing project than to let it continue without impact.
- Legal or Ethical Risk: The project’s actions pose a threat to the safety of GBVF survivors or the reputation of the participating departments (SAPS, Health, etc.).
- Strategic Irrelevance: Major external shifts (such as new national directives or resource reallocations) make the project’s specific goal no longer relevant to the National Strategic Plan.
2. Decisions the Strategist should not take.
Influencing vs. Deciding: Respecting Team Autonomy. To preserve the innovation that makes 100-Day Challenges work, the Strategist must avoid making operational decisions for the team. Instead, they should influence through asking critical questions and challenging assumptions. The decisions NOT to take includes:
- The “Bar of Success”: The team must set their own 100-day goal to ensure they have psychological ownership of it.
- The Work Plan: The team decides which actions to take. (The only exception is if a planned action creates a severe legal or ethical risk).
- Internal Leadership: The team should be empowered to elect or endorse their own Team Leaders.
What is the minimum time commitment required to be an effective Challenge Strategist?
We recognise that senior leaders manage immense portfolios. The role of the Challenge Strategist is designed to be high-influence, low-bandwidth. They are not there to manage the work; they are there to provide the mandate.
To fulfill their obligations, they only need to commit to the following “Minimal Viable Actions”:
1. The Design Phase (Before the Day 1)
- Convene the Leadership: Chair a 90-minute design session with local community and agency leaders to define the Challenge focus and select the 8–12 “doers” for the team.
- Formalise the Mandate: Approve a “Challenge Note” (drafted by the Coach) to be sent to the team, outlining their mission, authority, and next steps.
2. The Start-up & Motivation Show Up (Day 0)
- Attend the beginning and end of the Team Start-up Workshop. Your presence alone signals that this work is a priority. Lead with Curiosity: Instead of giving orders, ask the team questions like: “I noticed you set a goal of 80%—tell me how you arrived at that number?” This reinforces their ownership of the project.
3. Light-Touch Accountability (Ongoing)
- Weekly Coach Check-in: A 5–10 minute call, email, or WhatsApp with the Coach to identify any “red tape” you need to clear.
- Bi-Weekly Team Leader Sync: A brief check-in with the Team Leader every two weeks to ask: “How are you doing, and what can I do to help?”
- Leader Updates: Once a month, send a short “Success Note” (drafted by the Coach) to your fellow senior stakeholders to keep them engaged and supportive.
4. Milestone Engagement (Days 50 & 100)
- Refresh Workshop (Day 50): Attend a brief segment of the mid-point workshop to troubleshoot obstacles and keep energy high.
- Scale-up Workshop (Day 100): Attend the final session to celebrate results and discuss how to sustain these new, efficient ways of working within the permanent system.
Total Estimated Commitment Time: Approximately 2–3 hours per month, excluding the initial design session.
To help you secure leadership buy-in, we’ve put together a quick guide on the Challenge Strategist role — covering their decision-making ‘superpowers’ and the realistic time required. If your leader wants the full picture, you can grab the download here to share with them.
