How to be more Strategic in the road you take

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Imagine this performance evaluation and news coming your way and you cringe. Its quite brief and it isn't saying great things.

In fact it is kind of saying "you aren't a leader".

Or you hear this random remark "We think you aren't really strategic".

Here are the types of feedback that indicate you are in trouble as this is how people perceive you

You didn't get a good review from others

People think you're too detailed

People think you are too tactical and don't have a lot of insight into our business

People say you aren't communicating expectations clearly and there are often issues as your team members are confused

So what do you do to move the needle in the right direction? Here are some thoughts

#1 Focus on results - Which one below describes how you operate when you are presented deep technical details of a program. Hopefully you are leaning towards assessing the detail but keeping the big picture in mind.

1. Do you tend to drown in spreadsheets and Word documents? Send long messages with many questions?
2. Or are you looking at the overall metrics and reviewing the 6 month/12 month outcomes for the program

#2 Answer the Why - Do you tend to dictate the path? See what happens when you are working with your teams. See the two approaches below and assess where you fall

1. Use this format and then add the details from Sally's email. Now you can review the format with stakeholder A and B. Then bring it back to me for a review?
2. Here is why we need to get the right status to our sponsors. They need the data to action any decisions and help with the cross program dependencies. Is there a good format we all can review?

#3 Long winded answers - Take what you said and rethink how to say it.

1. Are you too verbose?
2. Do you tend towards long war stories instead of the answer your stakeholder was looking for?
3. Maybe too much drama when you share what happened and not enough that is actionable by a sponsor?

#4 Moving the organization - Are you thinking through the change, the impacts, the stakeholders you need to move, strategies to communicate and planning ahead.

Think?– Your strategic purpose will be obvious as you transform your approach. You can refine your ability to look ahead on the road, to think beyond the knowns. Your teams will recognize you as a thought leader.

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Your role as a leader is crucial. You play a key role in seeing through the vision to the right projects for your teams. The link to strategy is always critical. You come across clearly when you look at the why, articulate the reasons why the change is essential. What follows is almost magic.

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