In a recent webinar focused on strategic thinking, business acumen and strategy expert and CPED Instructor Ann Martel unpacked the importance of encouraging strategic thinking across all levels of the organization and the role leaders and managers play.
Those in management roles have a unique opportunity to help develop strategic thinking both in the teams they directly supervise as well as their management peers. This requires unique considerations for each group.
“Success is not only about setting a strategy but effective execution as well,” Ann Martel.
Building Strategic Thinking Capacities in Direct Reports
Strategy is no longer the exclusive responsibility of top management. It’s a competency all employees should develop. Knowing how to plan, assess the business landscape, and enact strategies are essential skills that can help your direct reports make effective decisions and contribute toward company success.
Helping individuals you supervise to think more strategically beings with fostering an understanding of business acumen, Martel says. By cultivating these abilities in your team members, you build proactive contributors who can leverage critical business information for effective decision making.
By helping team members see the bigger picture, you can cultivate a culture of learning, collaboration, and adaptability. Sharing insights, allocating resources, and making direct reports part of the feedback loop can propel strategy execution forward. Their understanding of the market, industry, and team dynamics positions them as valuable contributors to strategic decision making.
Aiding your direct reports to understand the strategic process is vital. However, executing these strategies can be a challenge due to resistance to change and complacency. By creating an environment that supports experimentation and continuous learning, teams can gain confidence in navigating these strategic thinking blocks.
Encouraging Strategic Thinking Among Leadership Peers
While guiding direct reports is about growth and empowerment, collaborating with peers requires mutual respect, openness, and a shared commitment to strategic goals.
“Understand that your relationships are very much like roundabouts. You don’t want to stop, start, stop start. It’s a continual motion of addressing relationships,” Martel says.
Every leadership role, regardless of level, is an integral part of the strategic development process. Leaders should encourage active participation where each teammate’s contribution is not just welcomed but is intrinsic to the organization’s overall strategy.
Continuous communication between leaders and encouraging strategic thinking during those conversations is critical. But sometimes, helping your peers cultivate a strategic mindset may require more indirect influence or subtlety through strategic discussions, shared resources, and best practices.
The Bottom Line
Strategic thinking is not an exclusive top-down process. It should be fostered across all levels of your organization. As a leader, you need to cultivate a growth mindset that enables your teams to look beyond their immediate tasks and appreciate the broader organizational picture.
It is also vital to create a collaborative culture where leadership peers feel comfortable challenging, questioning, and contributing to the strategic conversation. This mindset, coupled with a flexible approach, can help you and your organization improve strategic thinking that leads to new ideas and future success.
Strategy Coaching
Coaching is a unique professional development opportunity that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. Strategy coaching provides impartial feedback that will help you and your organization better align your people, processes, and priorities to your business strategy.
Learn More About Strategy Coaching