You’re a finance professional transitioning to a strategy role. What should you do first?

1 Assess your strengths and gaps

Before you dive into your new role, take some time to reflect on your current skills and knowledge, and identify where you excel and where you need to improve. For example, you might be confident in your financial modeling, analysis, and reporting skills, but less familiar with frameworks, tools, and methods for strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. You might also need to brush up on the industry, market, and competitive dynamics of your new domain, and learn the key terms and concepts that are relevant for strategy.

2 Learn from others

One of the best ways to learn about strategy is to talk to people who are already doing it. Reach out to your new colleagues, peers, mentors, or coaches, and ask them about their role, responsibilities, challenges, and best practices. Seek feedback and advice on how to approach your projects, tasks, and goals, and how to communicate your results and recommendations. You can also join online or offline communities, forums, or networks of strategy professionals, and learn from their insights, experiences, and resources.

3 Update your toolkit

As a finance professional, you probably have a set of tools and software that you use regularly for your work. However, as a strategy professional, you might need to update or expand your toolkit to include other tools and software that can help you with your strategy work. For example, you might need to learn how to use tools for data visualization, market research, customer analysis, scenario planning, or presentation design. You can find online courses, tutorials, or guides that can teach you how to use these tools effectively.

4 Develop your mindset

Another important aspect of transitioning to a strategy role is developing your mindset. As a finance professional, you might be used to working with numbers, facts, and details, and following rules, standards, and procedures. However, as a strategy professional, you might need to adopt a more creative, flexible, and holistic mindset, and deal with uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity. You might need to challenge assumptions, question the status quo, generate alternatives, and experiment with solutions. You might also need to collaborate more with different stakeholders, influence others, and drive change.

5 Practice your skills

Finally, the best way to improve your strategy skills is to practice them. Look for opportunities to apply your skills to real or simulated situations, and get feedback on your performance. You can join or create a strategy project, case study, or challenge, and work on it individually or with a team. You can also participate in online or offline events, workshops, or competitions that involve strategy work. You can also use online platforms, tools, or games that can help you practice your strategy skills in a fun and engaging way.

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?