Are You A Strategic Thinker?

Let’s get the basic definition (which comes from Wikipedia) out of the way first: strategic thinking is “a mental or thinking process applied by an individual in the context of achieving a goal or set of goals in a game or other endeavor.”

But what does it really mean, since that is a bit wordy?

Does it mean to create strategies like in a war?

Is it a skill you are born with or something you learn?

Strategic thinking seems like a vague buzzword that CEOs toss around to sound important – but strategic thinking is actually a skill we can all learn – it is how we plan, think, and ask questions so that we are able to grow and learn while we work toward a goal.

It’s embracing what you were like when you were a young child and asking questions, the most important of which is probably, “why?”

Thinking strategically is about:

• planning and acting based on a combination of knowledge, experiences, and your hunches.
• shifting your focus from just doing things to thinking and planning what should be getting done.
• taking calculated and uncalculated risks that we hope will pay off in the future.

Switching your focus is, of course, easier said than done, but the following three behaviours can help you to cultivate a mindset of thinking strategically.

1. Question Why. Don’t accept doing a task a certain way just because it’s the way it’s always been done. Ask yourself why it’s done that way. Or is there a better way to do it?

   Thinking strategically is about knowledge so you can make an informed decision – and asking questions and listening to others’ opinions helps supply with the information you need to make a well-informed decision.

2. Observe Everything. Spending every minute of your day just doing stuff and getting things done might seem productive – but it doesn’t allow for you to think strategically about what you are doing.

   Instead, take a step back occasionally and observe what’s going on. Look for areas that could be more efficient, who is doing what and how much each activity is helping things move forward. Observe critically the big picture, and the way the pieces fit together.

3. Reflect On Your Day. Think about what gave you energy or sucked up your energy. Reflect on the activities that helped your organization or your personal life move ahead or were wasted time.

   Reflection time each day allows you to ask yourself if you are on the right path, to develop solutions, and to stay on track with your goals. This is where inspiration and creativity have a chance to grow and be seen.

So what sort of qualities do strategic thinkers typically possess?

Well, here’s a list to get you going:

1. Strategic thinkers set up and commit to deadlines.
2. They are good communicators, effectively communicating what they want and need through clear directions or orders.
3. Strategic thinkers are able to balance their immense amounts of creativity with a sense of honesty and realism about what can be achieved in the long term. They refer to themselves as realistic optimists.
4. Strategic thinkers are aware and perceptive of themselves and what’s around them. They recognize subtle external and internal clues to provide them direction and seize upon opportunities for themselves or their company or organization.
5. Strategic thinkers are often lifelong learners, learning from every experience put before them and in every part of life.
6. Strategic thinkers are patient. They don’t rush to conclusions, knowing great ideas require time to develop into success in the future.
7. Strategic thinkers can develop a clearly outlined and focused vision for business or personal needs.
8. Strategic thinkers have a clear definition of their objective and develop an action plan broken down into tasks that have a list of needed resources or a specific timeline.
9. Strategic thinkers have a high level of confidence and self-esteem.
10. Strategic thinkers make quick and informed decisions.
11. The best thinkers take time for themselves. It can be a retreat, a walk someplace special to them, relaxing in the lobby of a historic hotel, or an afternoon alone with a blank sheet of paper or document just for thinking.
12. They are able to build flexibility into their plans by creating benchmarks to guide them and recognize opportunities to revise plans when they need to.
13. They are committed to and often seek advice, confide in, and offer ideas for feedback from a coach, mentor, a peer group, or other group.
14. They are conscious of their own biases.
15. They are flexible thinkers so they can shift gears and think about things in more than one way.
16. They are non-judgmental and don’t allow themselves to be restricted by judging their own thoughts.
17. They are observant, watching before forming a judgement.
18. They have the ability to think logically and creatively, using both left and right sides of the brain.
19. They know their weaknesses and seek advice from others in those areas.
20. They listen, hear, and understand what others say. They read and observe whatever they can to use as a guide.
21. They often have “Aha” moments while relaxing or doing other activities.
22. They react calmly under pressure.
23. They respect the thoughts and desires of others.
24. They see a potential for how the world should be and take the steps to get there.
25. They understand other people’s intentions, desires and hopes.

Bearing the above in mind, here are ten signs that you may be a strategic thinker:

1. You are continually trying to learn, working ahead to understand, or heading off potential problems, you are a strategic thinker. You ask questions like: “What’s the desired outcome and who benefits? Why is this important to us? Who will this decision affect? What will this mean to our team or may family a month from now? If this doesn’t work what is the fallback plan?”
2. You are decisive when necessary. You gather the necessary information competently while keeping a cool head. You don’t allow a difficult decision to cause you stress. You are confident and knowledgeable in your choice.
3. You are inclined to self-reflect. You find yourself regularly reflecting on tasks you’ve already completed, conversations you’ve had, or the experiences you hoped would have gone differently. Strategic thinkers can take apart an event after it’s over to understand it fully and then adapt that knowledge for learning to do better next time. You relive key moments so they can understand the bigger picture.
4. You compartmentalize distractions easily. You find it easy to group and sort your many responsibilities. You push distractions aside and focus on what your most immediate task is. You don’t shut down mentally or start to panic at the thought of having multiple tasks that have to be seen to completion at the same time or soon after each other.
5. You don’t waste effort by duplicating efforts. You become frustrated when two or more parties are performing the same work or some of the same tasks that end up wasting resources and time.
6. You plan your career in years or months. You imagine who you’ll be in one to five years’ time. You begin doing the groundwork now for what you want it to look like.
7. You set goals for yourself on a regular basis. You break down major goals into smaller tasks. You understand why something is worth your time it takes to do. You get excited setting professional and personal goals for yourself. You have an eye towards your future.
8. You willingly accept feedback. You accept help from others. You have an open mind and enjoy working with others.
9. You’re always asking questions. When you don’t understand something, you want to ask questions. Some people don’t bother to do this or aren’t sure how to ask the right questions. They simply make assumptions or do the project and then ask questions later.
10. You’re thrilled helping others be their best. You want to help them reach their potential.

And if you don’t see yourself in some or all of those, then they give you good pointers to the direction in which you should start heading.

Conclusion

When you focus on doing and making something happen by doing this and doing that, you are working hard – but you are not thinking strategically.

Of course, working and doing is necessary up to a point, but instead of focusing on just getting things done, try to take a step back and set goals for what you want in the future and how you can help get there, whether those goals are business- or personal-oriented.

Thinking strategically is inspiring. It helps you go from mindlessly going through the motions and commands of others to planning and observing and implementing in a way that gets you and your family or team to achieving your goal(s).

Strategic thinkers develop skills that allow them to have a vision, to see where they want to go, and to create the plan and implement the steps to get there – and you can definitely develop these skills to become a strategic thinker.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Strategic Thinking
2. Strategic Thinking Course