As leaders grapple with our increasingly complex and uncertain world littered with rapid and unforeseen changes in technology, climate, global economics, demographic movements and political systems, the urgency of improving their strategic thinking skills looms large.
Leaders can no longer rest in a steady state of incremental change – they have to be able to think strategically, always on the lookout for opportunities presented by the new complexities, to ensure that their organization remains relevant, sustainable and of value. They further recognise that Strategic Thinking is not a once-per-year exercise for the strategic planning retreat, but must be an ongoing state of mind for them and their teams. The environment in which we operate changes daily, and so the Strategic Plan must be responsive to such changes during execution. The ability for leaders to think strategically is what makes the difference in ensuring that Strategic Plans are well-executed i.e. desired short, medium and long term results are achieved.
What is Strategic thinking? It is basically a cognitive process that views complexity from a broad perspective, generates insights, and considers options for application all in the context of helping the organization to thrive in the long term. It is a precondition for robust strategic planning, which is a structured approach to defining the long-term strategy in terms of the interrelationship between objectives, key metrics to measure success and provide focus and accountability and action plans to implement the key strategic initiatives.
It’s simple enough to say “we need to think strategically”, but the real issue is that it’s not easy, as Strategic Thinking requires:
- A mindset that is open, curious, courageous and willing to question the status quo.
- The development and honing of skills that are different to the ones that most leaders have practiced in their operational functions.
- A big-picture future-oriented perspective focused on factors outside of the organization
- Ability to look at things differently, look at different things and come to different conclusions
- Time and space, which is in desperately short supply for most leaders
In my experience, there are 4 key skills that Strategic Thinkers need to hone:
- Reflective thinking
- Rigourous Questioning
- Systems Thinking
- Strategic Visioning
1. Reflective Thinking:
This the ability to view situations past and current objectively and dispassionately, looking for the insights, lessons and pitfalls. It’s the skill of viewing other industries, for example, to see what they might be doing that you can apply to your industry. It’s the skill of reflecting on history – and by that I mean distant history in other parts of the world e.g. ancient empires of Rome, Egypt, China, India. It’s the ability to look and reflect on the lessons from the natural world and how it orders itself. Formal practices such as journaling are critical in building this skill. The daily discipline of reflecting at the end of the day on what has happened and what you learned builds your reflective skills. Confucius is reputed to have said:
“By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest.
Second, by imitation, which is easiest.
And third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
2. Rigourous Questioning:
The ability and willingness to ask tough, challenging questions of ever increasing complexity requires courage to buck the status quo. It is less important to find the answer, than to ask the right question, for, as is often said in philosophical enquiry, “within the question is the answer”. If you are not getting the answers you seek, try asking different questions.
Questions should be open-ended, and, for strategic thinking, broad in scope. They are about exploring, learning, growing. Some of the best questions are those that engender more questions. Be willing to ask questions that make you and your team uncomfortable. Visible squirming or deafening silence are great signs that you are on to something! And be willing to sit silent, mouth shut, whilst your questions are being pondered.
Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker says: “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask”. Seek to ask better and better questions.
3. Systems Thinking:
The skill here is to “connect the dots”, so that you view the system as a whole. It requires the ability to see relationships and interactions from different angles, to make meaning in the context of uncertainties and changes that challenge your traditional theories and practices, and to connect what you may have previously viewed as unrelated. It is very helpful to develop your story-telling skills, in which you look at a situation and weave meaning and sense into it – at least from your point of view. This taps into the creative, right side of your brain, and is likely to allow new insights to emerge.
4. Strategic Visioning:
This is the ability to envision the future unencumbered by the past. It means to let go of what has happened (even as you learned key lessons from your reflective abilities) and to view the future as a blank slate. Lots of “what if?” exploration here! No holds barred. No judgements! No buts, as in “yes that sounds great but …”. This skill is not just about wishful thinking about some utopian future – it is the ability to discern and distil potential futures that are applicable to your business, and consider how you might enable and create such futures. It is helpful here to think in long time frames e.g. 20 years out, or even 50 depending on your industry. This breaks the tendency for incremental thinking based on your current state.
Building these skills requires regular, disciplined practice. The main challenge experienced by my clients is time – overburdened by operational issues, which do have to be taken care of, tactical thinking tends to be the default. How does one fit strategic thinking into an already overloaded to-do list? Here are a few ideas:
- Spend 15 minutes per day journaling. Put it in your calendar, mark that time as “unavailable” and just do it.
- Devote 1 morning, or afternoon – a good solid 3 hours – for strategic thinking. Stay away from the office. Go for a hike, or a drive, or sit some place you will not be disturbed and read, reflect, question and explore possibilities.
- Make the monthly Strategy Review with your team a standing meeting, and include a Strategic Thinking exercise high on the agenda (suggest first item so that you don’t run out of time).
- Take time on your vacation to untether yourself from the business. Travel is a wonderful way to open space for Strategic Thinking – as you wait for your flight, think about what the strategy of the airline seems to be, observe people’s behaviour, question why travel is the way it is. Reflect how people in other cities and countries do things differently – what might you learn? Resist the temptation to judge. A key learning from my trip to India a few years ago was our guide saying at the start of the journey: “Things work in India, they just work differently”. This freed me to look at India through different lens.
Strategic Thinking is a valuable skill for you to develop. It will vault you ahead of your competitors, and will open possibilities for new customers, better customer experiences, excited, inspired team members and success, in whatever way you define success in your business (which may actually change when you build those strategic thinking muscles).
Here’s another blog on this topic: 3 ways to overcome the problem that 96% of leaders have
And here’s the link to my Guide: Your Journal Your Best Friend for Starting Your Day with Joy
