(Second in a series of Seven Essential Executive Skills. For the first in the series, click this link: Teambuilding Without Trust Falls.)

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” – Sun Tzu

My best clients lead well. They grow regardless of the economy. They thrive despite challenges.

Sure, they face setbacks. But in the big picture, they are examples of the ability to consistently accomplish the goals they value and pursue.

What do they have in common? They have leaders who think strategically.

What is Strategy?

Strategy, in essence, is a framework for making decisions or setting goals. It is a framework based on defined values and priorities.

Leaders who think strategically have developed this framework for themselves. They are disciplined in its use.

A Plan Is Not Strategy

I believe there is great value in developing a strategic plan. But a plan is not a strategy. No more than having a blueprint is living in a house.

Too many leadership teams content themselves with blueprints. For that matter, too many consultants sell blueprints to leaders who aren’t ready to build.

I don’t know if this is the fault of the leaders or the consultants or both.

A plan may reflect or record a conversation about strategy. But planning is easy. Implementation is hard.

Successfully leading the implementation is where superior leaders emerge.

Leaders who think strategically do these five things:

Strategic Practice #1: Clarify and Build with Values and Vision

Strategic leaders develop a very clear sense of two things:

• Values: What is important to us and why?
• Vision: What are we trying to create and why?

It’s not necessary that your answers to these questions be framed in a way that fits on a bumper sticker, rolls off the tongue or looks good on a website.

It is necessary that your answers make sense to you and provide practical guidance for decision making.

To illustrate, imagine that a leadership team is facing a decision about expanding services into a new geography.

On the face, the idea might be exciting or scary. It might be high risk or low risk. It might have questionable value or high reward. It might be a lot of things.

A strategic leader will ask questions, such as the ones below, by referencing the values and the vision:

• Does expanding / not expanding better help us move toward our vision?
• Does expanding / or not expanding help us better express or stay consistent with our values?

or

• If we expand, how do we do so in such way as to advance our vision?
• If we expand, how do we do so in such a way as to better express or stay consistent with our values?

This can, and should, be applied to goal setting, the development of new products and services, hiring process, staff development and discipline processes, policy development and so on.

By always referencing your values and vision – you start to direct all your energy and resources towards your priorities.

Now you are thinking strategically.

Strategic Practice #2: Cultivate Organizational Self-Awareness

One of the things that I look for when I work with leaders and organizations is the degree of consistency between how they describe themselves and what is experienced.

If there is a high level of consistency, even when describing problem behaviors, there is usually a high probability that we can accomplish a successful change.

However, if leadership in an organization tends towards self-deception, it is difficult to do productive work.

Strategic leaders pay attention to how their leadership is experienced and its efficacy.

They are aware of their priorities, the primary value their organization provides and how.

They keep tabs on, innovate with and continually improve the effectiveness of their operations.

Strategic Practice #3: External Awareness

Strategic leaders pay attention to the environment.

To their industry, to trends, to demography, to the economy, to politics and to what is happening around them.

They don’t make the mistake of not paying attention and thereby getting overwhelmed by external forces.

They also don’t make the mistake of being passive and perceiving they have no ability to position themselves for opportunities or to mitigate difficulties.

The best leaders are watching what happens around them and wonder, “How can we benefit from this?” or “What new value can we bring to others because of this?” or “What do we need to defend against in this situation?”

They engage their environment.

Strategic Practice #4: Engage Both Strategic & Operational Priorities

Some attribute to Napoleon the quote, “An army marches on its belly.” The overt meaning of which is that infantrymen need to be well fed or you will not succeed in your campaign.

The underlying meaning is that you need to pay attention to operations, logistics, the daily and maybe even mundane if you are to achieve any kind of success that will be sustained.

In fact, George Washington’s success in the Revolutionary War is often attributed to his ability to excel operationally and logistically.

Many organizations pursue strategy at the cost of operational excellence or consistency. That’s like allowing your foundation to be eaten away from under you.

There need to be priorities for both.

Strategic Practice #5: Disciplined Implementation

As mentioned earlier, a plan is not strategic. A plan does nothing on its own.

Leaders can choose to be strategic.

To do so, they enforce the implementation of a plan. However simple or large as it may be.

They constantly refer to values and vision. Everything is grounded in and tested by those.

They ensure that leadership within the organization provides accountability and consistency throughout the organization.

They ensure that there are sufficient skill and capacity to implement.

Strategic Thinking Can Be Practiced by Individuals and Teams

Because this is a framework and a process for decision making and priority setting – anyone can learn to be a strategic thinker.

This isn’t a skill only reserved for those few people “born” as strategists.

• What is one practice that would be most beneficial for you to grow in?
• What is one thing you can do to move towards growth?
• What about your team? One practice that would benefit them? What is one step they could take?

As you incorporate these practices into your decision-making habits, you’ll find that you and your team will increasingly become strategic thinkers.

Take good care,

Christian

P.S. Interested in a free resource on team building? I’ve created an e-mail mini-course called How to Quickly Build a High Performing Team. In it, I’ll walk you through the actual concepts and techniques I use to rapidly bring teams to the next level. Click here for access today!

P.P.S. Would you like to talk to me, one-on-one, about how you could rapidly build high-impact leadership behaviors or habits? Or perhaps you’d like to increase your ability to accomplish your priorities, decrease your unwanted workload, boost your profits or do more of what you love?

Guaranteed Growth: 95% of my clients report positive results within the first 90 days of working together. Actually, the reports come from the people who they lead, their colleagues and supervisors. It’s real, quantifiable change. I guarantee it.

Additionally, they report adding between $120K and $1M in new, annual revenue or savings, usually within 12 months.  Contact me to learn more: christian@vantageconsulting.org or 907 522-7200.