The Intentional Leader Is Strategic

When was the last time you truly challenged your strategic planning approach? I’m not talking about the usual checklist or quarterly reviews—I mean digging deep and questioning the very foundation of how you approach strategy. Most managers get caught up in the day-to-day grind, but if you want to get ahead, sis, you’ve got to elevate your strategic thinking game. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, companies that engage in strategic planning are 12% more likely to outperform their competitors.

What Is Strategic Planning?

“Strategic planning.” Yep, I know. It’s a phrase you hear all day, every day. But do you truly understand what it is and how to do it properly? Yes, it involves setting objectives, identifying the actions needed to achieve those objectives, and determining how success will be measured. Yes, it’s a roadmap that guides your team from where you are today to where you want to be in the future. But at its core, strategic planning is the process of defining your team’s or organization’s direction and making decisions on allocating all the resources that are needed to bring this direction to life: time, money, and people.

Way too often, a company gets caught up in these lofty organizational plans, but when it comes to your department, suddenly, resources like budget and headcount seem to be running thin. Especially if you’re overseeing DEI. (Makes you wanna say “hmmmm,” doesn’t it?) Which is why if you’re trying to “George Jefferson your way up,” it’s important for you to understand how the process works and where and when you need to be engaged in it.?

Step Up and Lead the Charge

So, how do you insert yourself into this process? How do you make sure your department isn’t just following the plan but leading the charge? Well, for one thing, stop thinking of strategic planning as something only the C-suite or some special task force can do. It’s for you. It’s for every leader who wants to drive change. You can’t wait until the plan is being rolled out at the fall town hall meeting and get an attitude because it’s short on insights surrounding diversity. Where were you when the planning started??

The I’m-never-included-in-these-kinds-of-conversations-or-meetings whining is only going to get you so far. So you need to make sure you’re at the table when strategic discussions happen. If you’re not invited, find a way to get there. This might mean advocating for yourself and your team or highlighting how your department’s goals align with the broader organizational strategy. Be proactive—Don’t wait for someone to hand you a seat. Claim it. Now is not the time to play “shy sister.”?

Know the Process Inside and Out

So how do you wiggle your way in? Or insert yourself? You can start by understanding the strategic planning process. Learn how it works in your organization. Who’s involved? What’s the timeline? What’s the decision-making process? This knowledge will not only help you advocate for your department but also allow you to influence the direction of the strategy.

If after all of this, your company’s strategic planning still feels like a closed-door affair, push for transparency. When you start hearing rumors that the bigwigs are going to be working on the three- or five-year plan, ask questions, seek clarity, and don’t shy away from volunteering or proposing your own ideas. Send an email with your thoughts. The worst they can do is not use them. And if they aren’t using them anyway, what have you lost? Or they may use them and not credit you for your ingenuity. At least you’ve made a difference in how the strategy was thought through. My point is: The more you know, the more effectively you can position your team’s needs and contributions within the broader strategy.

Showcase the Value of Your Team

It’s no secret these days that DEI initiatives, and similar departments, are finding themselves on the backburner when it comes to resources. Gone are the days when you could simply share that these departments are crucial to the long-term success of an organization. You have to back this up with concrete examples, data, case studies, data, and even success stories from your team, (then more data) to demonstrate the impact your department has on the company’s goals.

When you frame your team’s work as integral to the organization’s success—not just a “nice to have”—you’re much more likely to secure the resources you need. You’ve got to connect your department’s objectives to the company’s overall strategy. Show how your work is driving the company forward, not just fulfilling a mandate. Like Cuba Gooding shouts in the movie Jerry Maguire, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” Always find a way to highlight the financial impact of what you do.

Align, Measure, and Adapt

But don’t stop there. Regularly measure your progress against the goals that have been set. Are you on track? Are there areas where you need to pivot? If your strategic plan is collecting dust on somebody’s shelf or at the bottom of your Google docs, you’re operating from the old school playbook of “create it and forget it.” That’s not going to launch your career forward, and it’s not going to get the higher ups thinking of you as an intentional leader or a high-potential. You need to maintain a dynamic approach, and be the manager who doesn’t just execute a strategy but continuously refines it without being asked. (Did you hear that last part? I’ll repeat it again for those of you in the back of the room.) Without being asked. That’s when you know you’re truly operating from a place of intentional leadership.

Remember, always be intentional!

Level Up with Grace is an award-winning newsletter created and designed for African-American women in corporate America (and others) who want to unapologetically create and maintain a stellar career. Executive coach Cheryl Grace shares a curated collection of insights, strategies, and tactics on change management, conflict resolution, and professional development to help women excel and advance to their next level, regardless of where they are in their career journey. Please subscribe and share!

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Shutterstock Stock Images often illustrated by the fabulously talented Natalia Hubbert.