Here's how you can propel your career in Strategy: Key steps for executives.

It's important in the quest to acquire knowledge to have an outside - in perspective. Knowing industry trends and competitive strategies are a must. Collecting future point of views from industry analysts and consultants will help you gain a bigger picture view.

Volunteer to join teams outside of your day-to-day role to expand your knowledge and gain experience in critical priorities for your organization and company. As you look at your career plan, include roles that include strategy and planning and make sure you know how your department, busines unit, company, etc makes its revenue and more importantly what are the strategies and levers you can utilize to meet goals.

Within the tech industry, innovation is paramount, but sometimes you can get buried in the day to day of deadlines, roadmap commitments and the cycle of requirement burn down lists. Holding innovation contests where you can pose business challenges and hackathons to address thorny R&D challenges or reach beyond your team's borders to invite other engineers to help if you are resource constrained.

Leadership is not an innate trait; it is a skill that must be learned and cultivated. It extends beyond the realm of management theory and academic knowledge—true leadership is about gaining experience through interactions with people. This development can only occur when individuals are given opportunities to learn and are allowed to make mistakes. In Switzerland's militia system of the armed forces or politics, for instance, individuals learn leadership in real-world conditions. They are taught to analyze situations, draw insights, and make decisions directly with and for people. This hands-on experience is what shapes effective leaders.

In addition to the above, understanding of changing trends and clear vision is definitely an ask. Tech capability too. One of the chief strategy officers I had the good fortune to work with, followed trends in related and unrelated industries to create wins and it worked!

Strategy careers (my understanding) - 4 phases - Junior - Senior - Mid - Top Only Step: Promotional adequacies/setting up clear expectations - Next-level dependencies, analytical, critical thinking, and leadership attributes Junior - 2-3 years on client's deliverables, everyday job experiences, internal expectations Senior - above reporting metrics + mentorship of junior Mid- management above & bottom deliverables, strategic planning, business development Top - Networking, cross-cultural, public speaking, & cross-functional thought leadership, demonstrated strategic thinking skills with sales orientation Targeted Roles: Strategic Planner (Entry), Business Development Manager & Corporate Strategy Manager (Team) Chief Strategy Officer (Top)

Apart from these features, in particular knowledge and networking, I found working for an extended period overseas gave me a unique insight into new technologies, processes and experience.