What do you do if your leadership development relies solely on strategic thinking?

If your leadership development relies solely on strategic thinking, it's crucial to broaden your approach. Incorporate practical skills such as communication, emotional intelligence, and team management. Foster a culture of continuous learning and development within your organization by offering workshops, seminars, and mentorship programs that focus on a diverse range of leadership competencies. Encourage leaders to seek feedback and self-assessment to identify areas for improvement beyond strategic planning. Additionally, provide opportunities for hands-on experience and real-world challenges to enhance leadership skills in various contexts.

If you overly rely on strategic thinking, then you'll likely be lacking execution focus. Start by regularly reminding yourself that you will never attain your strategy without executing on it, and develop habits that get you into execution mode. This is a good first step, and then when you have things moving, you can widen to using other leadership styles more frequently.

If leadership development relies solely on strategic thinking, it's crucial to expand the approach. Incorporate emotional intelligence training, fostering empathy, and enhancing communication skills. Diverse perspectives can enrich decision-making and problem-solving abilities. Encourage creativity and adaptability, as well as a growth mindset to navigate complexities effectively. Remember, great leaders encompass a blend of strategic acumen and human-centric qualities for holistic development and long-term success.

If leadership development relies solely on strategic thinking, broaden the approach to include other essential skills. Incorporate communication, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills training. Foster a culture of feedback and reflection to enhance self-awareness and personal growth. Encourage experiential learning through real-world challenges and leadership opportunities. Additionally, provide mentorship and coaching to support holistic leadership development. A well-rounded approach ensures leaders are equipped with the diverse skills needed for success.

I learned early on in my leadership journey that strategic thinking is important, but breaking down that thinking into strategic objectives with implementation plans and metrics for success are absolutely essential for success. Your team can't execute on strategic thinking alone. You must work with your team to map out the pathway to success and adapt when the world doesn't align to your current strategic thinking.

Great leaders know that strategic thinking is only half the battle. Engaging with others is the key to truly realizing your vision. Whether you're a tech CEO or a restaurant manager, involving your team in decision-making can lead to innovative ideas and a more committed workforce. True leadership empowers, involves, and leads by example, ensuring that every voice is heard and contributes to the success story. So, why not try it out and see the difference it can make?

Connecting with and engaging others is critical to success as a leader. You can do this to include them in your strategic thinking, and also do this to widen your leadership style to other more people centric styles that will engage them and motivate them.

In my experience, engaging others involves fostering a culture of inclusivity and collaboration. Leaders can encourage participation by soliciting diverse perspectives, leveraging team strengths, and involving others in the strategic planning process, through effective communication of the organization's vision and goals. Additionally, creating opportunities for skill development and recognizing contributions further motivates individuals to actively engage in advancing strategic objectives. By emphasizing the importance of collective intelligence and shared responsibility, leaders ensure that strategic thinking translates into actionable initiatives that drive success for the entire organization.

As a leader, have you ever stopped to reflect on your leadership approach? It may seem like a waste of time, but regular reflection can actually enhance your leadership skills. For example, a principal could find a balance between strategic planning and inclusivity, leading to a more supportive educational environment. Or, a project manager could recognize the need for more adaptive leadership techniques. By reflecting and exploring varied leadership styles, you can adapt, innovate, and guide your team more effectively. So, take a moment to reflect, learn, and grow as a leader!

I frequently come across leaders who haven't taken the time to ponder their own leadership values or truly consider what leadership means to them. This is particularly true for leaders who are heavily focused on strategy, often overlooking the importance of two other crucial aspects: - structure & processes, and - culture & people. One effective way to support these leaders is by engaging the assistance of a coach who can help them identify their personal leadership values within these specific areas. By pinpointing these values, leaders can then translate them into tangible behaviors that can be implemented and practiced.

Be intentional about the way you solicit feedback. Open statements like “my door is always open” will likely be met with silence. It’s critical to demonstrate humility, build trust, and be proactive, taking responsibility for inviting and enabling feedback. Schedule time with the expressed purpose of getting feedback. Give people time to think and prepare in advance so they don’t feel ambushed by the request. Set clear context and expectations for why you are seeking the feedback, what specifically you’d like feedback on and how you intend to act on it. Be sure to thank people and follow up - to hold yourself accountable and to get feedback on your progress. Leadership, like feedback, is not point in time act - it’s an ongoing practice.

Continuous learning is critical to success. Use this approach more generally, and also specifically when developing a more rounded leadership style. Learn from what works, learn even more from what doesn't, and continue to refine your leadership approach and add new tools to your leadership toolbox.

On common method I learned is to apply the concepts of LEAN thinking. This not only allows you to be creative but gives some structure into the madness.

In today's world, flexibility is a key characteristic of successful leaders. Just imagine a tech firm that can pivot strategies in response to market shifts. Or a healthcare administrator who can adapt policies to ensure staff well-being and patient care during a crisis. Adapting is not merely reacting, it's about proactive evolution. As a leader, it's important to encourage team agility, remain open to new ideas, and lead by example. By embracing flexibility, you can maintain relevance, drive innovation, and thrive in a world of constant change.

An example I know works, is to let go of failure, learn from it, and move forward as fast as possible. Accept that success is not the only growth metric.

Think beyond yourself. Look at the big picture in terms of how your work can impact teams, projects, customers and organizations at large

Never been afraid of failure. The faster you can pivot and change your approach, the better positioned you will be for success.

Strategic thinking is a critical skill for advancing as a leader. It's also a skill that often gets over used because, frankly, it can be fun. However, strategic thinking without the ability to execute consistently on plans will limit most leaders' advancement. It's also a recipe for bad outcomes. For the leaders who do manage to advance primarily due to their strategic thinking skills, the smart ones will balance their execution shortcoming by surrounding themselves with team members who know how to turn the leader's ideations into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) executable plans.

While strategic thinking is an essential leadership attribute, it is equally important for leaders to learn how to translate big vision into realistic operational goals. The tips provided here are excellent. Perhaps a bit of flexibility and adaptive style would do the trick. Primarily, leaders can limit their effectiveness either due to their confirmation bias (only sticking to preferred way of working because they have been successful so far) or by self limiting beliefs (restrictions imposed on oneself based on certain assumptions). To avoid falling into either of these, what works best is to reflect on one's thought process (talking to others help, but sometimes it's self talk that does the trick).