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Thinking & Acting Strategically: A Critical Leadership Skill
When hiring or promoting someone into a key executive position, CEOs and board members typically look for candidates with interpersonal effectiveness and the ability to think and act strategically. At the senior level, technical competence is a given. It’s hard to climb the ladder if you are not technically qualified. However, whether you are a full-time executive working on daily issues or a consultant hired to work on a major problem, your ability to think and plan ahead will elevate you above the pack and earn you the respect of your boss or clients. The ongoing challenge for all busy executives is to avoid being consumed by the daily grind of just putting out burning fires and to look ahead.
People who think strategically reassess their business environment periodically. At a corporate level, they evaluate the company’s strategy, customers, competition, and industry trends. At the department level, they analyze the department’s internal challenges and positions. Next, they gather and assess extensive information to estimate the changes that must be made today in order to generate the desired results tomorrow. Strategic thinking is an ongoing process.
Good strategic thinkers:
- Identify relationships, patterns, and trends while noticing patterns…
