Opinion: 10 ways leaders become strategic thinkers

For more than 30 years, strategic thinking has been linked in studies to highly effective leaders.

The need to think strategically in a challenging environment involves several facets.

To wrap your mind around strategic thinking, first picture it as part toolkit of structured problem-solving methods and part mindset. In other words, it’s the leader’s approach and attitude toward a problem that drives its potential solution.

A strategic leader has honed several skills. They will make decisions while also considering how it could impact others. They think across different timelines – current, near and long term – and develop game plans for getting their team from where it is to where they want it to be.

An organization’s strategic plan and its execution are essential, and strategic leaders frequently evaluate ways the plan could fail. They examine their organization, the competition and the broader prospects for opportunities and threats – and then position their plans accordingly.

Strategic thinking is an underrated skill in a turbulent world that needs good decision-makers more than ever. To fine-tune your strategic thinking, stay focused on developing these 10 habits.

1. Define the problem. We can’t solve a problem until we first admit that it exists and define why it’s a problem. Don’t jump to a solution too fast. Write out a one or two-sentence problem description and impact statement first.
2. Don’t make decisions in isolation. Helpful input can come from anyone. One client regularly gathers employee insights four levels down in their organization. The organization benefits tremendously from viewpoints that help accomplish goals and solve operational problems better and faster.   
3. Learn from the questions people ask. Stop discouraging questions by reacting defensively when someone asks a question that you feel challenges your judgment or experience. Most questions are out of interest, not harm.
4. 4. Double-check for autopilot thinking. We can become so comfortable with the ingrained thought processes that we see little need to change them. But being successful in a changing world only means that we understood what used to work. To avoid reaching conclusions by hitting “replay,” look for the hunches or the status quo that’s anchored into your thinking.
5. Articulate a cogent strategy. Too many leaders can’t articulate their strategy clearly, which means that no one on their team can either. Specific strategy creates motivation and commitment. Unclear strategy frustrates everyone.
6. Slow down. Market agility and speed are frequently overhyped today. Strategic-thinking skills take time to apply to a problem, require discipline for successful execution, and speedy changeovers aren’t always that critical.
7. Align your team into a cohesive whole. One CEO I work with doesn’t have a cohesive management team. Each person runs their part of the organization but has little urgency or enthusiasm to achieve company initiatives. It takes a strong, unified team to make plans pay.
8. Be humble. Strategic leaders realize their opinions aren’t perfect and may even be inherently unreliable. They don’t view themselves as too wise to listen to others. They are quick to ask others, “What do you think?” Then they listen so they can learn.
9. Make your strategy explicit. In my experience, leaders commonly overestimate the clarity and impact of their communications. Speak plainly about your plan, and reinforce it at least twice as often as you think is necessary.
10. Be realistic with plans you want others to support. I coached a CEO-client once who repeatedly set lofty goals based on iffy assumptions, and consequently, his people didn’t expect to fulfill his plans. They hid out and made excuses rather than working energetically to achieve goals. Accuracy and realism build critical commitments.    

Leaders can get so involved in repetitive management and operational activities that they don’t acquire skills in strategic thinking. Focusing on good strategic-thinking habits will yield effective leadership and better decisions for improved outcomes.

Consultant, professional speaker and author 
Mark Holmes is president of Consultant Board Inc. and MarkHolmesGroup.com. He can be reached at mark@markholmesgroup.