What Does it Mean to Think Strategically?

June 14, 2020 Employee Performance and Coaching, Project Management

The best way to get your employees to think more strategically is to ask questions and to push their thinking outside the box. Here are 10 core components of strategic thinking, as well as what you and your employees can do to develop your strategic mindset.

1. Be Forward Thinking

The first element of thinking strategically is the one that most people equate with the idea of strategy: thinking about the future. Specifically, this means looking ahead at what is to come and acting now to improve the outcome of later.

Being forward thinking is analogous to how we often describe playing chess – always anticipating what is to come and planning two (or three) moves ahead.

Here are some questions to help you improve your ability to look forward:

Looking ahead, how do you want this decision/activity to play out? What does that mean for you right now, and the appropriate actions you need to take?
What are the likely future scenarios that this decision will affect? How might their potential outcomes change this decision?
Can the work you’re doing today help you in the future, even if repackaged, or repurposed? If so, how can you organize the current effort to improve a future activity?
Is the problem you are solving now a common issue? How can you leverage your current effort to make life easier down the line?

In short, being forward thinking means anticipating future likelihoods and using that foresight to shape near-term decisions.

2. Recognize That All Problems Have the Same Pattern

Like a good book, every problem or project has a beginning, middle and an end. Yes, there are an infinite number of details within those three phases, however the details are still encompassed by the same overall pattern.

It’s impossible to foresee every detail of complex projects and problems. But it is possible to define what the beginning, middle and end should look like.

By recognizing these patterns (as ones we’ve undoubtedly waded through before) we can make calculated and prescriptive decisions to improve the end results.

To act upon this core principle, ask yourself:

Knowing the goal, how do we go about each phase the right way?
What is the main sequence of events? What are the incremental steps or sub-phases?
What are the key decision points along the way and what information do we need to make those decisions?
What are the main internal/external variables in this situation, and how should we manage each one?
How will we define success? How we will know when we get there? Are we on a path to that success?

There are always details to discuss and to consider but keeping a close eye on the big picture ensures you arrive to the end in the most optimal way.

3. Anticipation of Response, and Positioning the Outcome

The next aspect of strategic thinking is anticipation and positioning. In a business context, like two boxers squaring off in a ring, this means you must continuously evaluate your position with respect to your customer, client or other stakeholders.

Anticipation means analyzing the likely response to an action. Positioning is how you modify your actions to drive a desired response.

For example, consider a scenario in which you need to tell the client there will be a delay in the project milestone. You could just tell the customer there will be a delay and provide a new date. If that’s all you say, however, the likely response the customer will not be a positive one.

Using a strategic thinking approach, you would anticipate that the client will be unhappy about the delay. Thus, in addition to communicating the delay, you also clearly explain the cause as well as identify additional actions you are taking to keep the entire project on schedule. Sure, the client may still be unhappy, but by anticipating how they will react, you can purposefully craft (position) the message to soften the impact.

Here are some questions to help you anticipate and position better with your customer:

How is the customer/client/stakeholder likely to respond to the basic message?
How do you want the customer/client/stakeholder to respond?
How can you reframe the communication and position the message to achieve the desired response?
How can you manage the situation to gain an advantage (or minimize impact)?

4. Examining Alternatives

Applying a one-size-fits all approach to everything we do can have severe consequences.

Thus, recognizing that every situation is different, strategic thinking leads us to identify context and be curious and open to alternatives. This includes challenging routine processes and norms.

For strategic thinkers, considering other options and factors is a matter of habit. So, whether you’re trying to solve a problem, planning your approach to a new project, or simply making routine decisions, looking more closely at each alternative can greatly improve the choices you make.

To illustrate this further, consider these questions:

What other options are on the table? What do the steps look like for each one?
By taking a closer look at each alternative, which one makes the most sense in this situation?
In this case, does our standard process really make sense, or do we need another approach?
If we didn’t know about ________ how else might we look at this problem?
If the client does nothing (takes no action on a given issue), what do we do?

coaching, productivity, risk management, strategy