You want to be a more effective leader. How can you develop your strategic thinking skills?

1 Learn from others

One of the best ways to improve your strategic thinking skills is to learn from other leaders who have demonstrated them. You can read books, articles, podcasts, or case studies that showcase how successful leaders have applied strategic thinking to their challenges. You can also seek mentors, coaches, or peers who can offer you feedback, advice, or insights on your own strategic plans. By learning from others, you can expand your knowledge, perspective, and inspiration.

2 Ask the right questions

Another key aspect of strategic thinking is asking the right questions that help you explore different possibilities, identify potential risks, and evaluate your options. You can use frameworks such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental), or SOAR (strengths, opportunities, aspirations, results) to guide your questioning process. You can also ask yourself questions such as: What is the desired outcome? What are the assumptions? What are the alternatives? What are the implications? What are the indicators of success?

3 Think in scenarios

A strategic thinker is able to imagine different scenarios that could affect their goals and plans. By thinking in scenarios, you can anticipate future trends, opportunities, and challenges, and prepare for them accordingly. You can use tools such as scenario planning, which involves creating and analyzing multiple plausible futures based on various factors and uncertainties. You can also use tools such as decision trees, which help you map out the consequences of different choices and actions.

4 Experiment and iterate

A strategic thinker is also willing to experiment and iterate their ideas and plans based on feedback and results. By experimenting and iterating, you can test your assumptions, learn from your failures, and improve your solutions. You can use methods such as prototyping, piloting, or A/B testing to try out different versions of your products, services, or processes. You can also use methods such as agile, lean, or design thinking to adopt a flexible and iterative approach to your projects.

5 Reflect and review

A strategic thinker is also able to reflect and review their performance and progress regularly. By reflecting and reviewing, you can assess your strengths and weaknesses, identify gaps and opportunities, and adjust your strategies and actions accordingly. You can use tools such as feedback surveys, dashboards, or journals to collect and analyze data and insights on your outcomes and impacts. You can also use tools such as after-action reviews, lessons learned, or retrospectives to capture and share your learnings and best practices.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?