Strategic Thinking: A Critical Leadership Behavior

John Bennett/ February 20, 2020/ Consulting, Leadership

The ability to think and act strategically has long been recognized as a key differentiator between average and exceptional leaders (Management Research Group). But what is strategic thinking and acting? Simply put, it is the practice of thinking broadly about current and future issues, in a manner that considers the implications of actions. As a critical leadership skill, this enables leaders to consider a wide range of options…the inevitable paradoxes of complexity, and the systemic factors involved in actions (as well as non-action).

Let’s look at (and complete) a brief self-assessment that I use to help clients explore their strategic thinking practices and to identify areas for development. Read each statement carefully, and record the number that best describes your behaviors:

1. If you rarely or never demonstrate the behavior
2. If you demonstrate the behavior sometimes
3. If you demonstrate it often
4. If you demonstrate it all (or nearly all) the time

Remember, answer WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DO, not what you think you should do.

		Rarely/ Never	Sometimes	Often	Nearly/ Always
1.	I use my intuition to make decisions.	1	2	3	4
2.	I am creative—at work.	1	2	3	4
3.	I synthesize data to make recommendations and reach decisions.	1	2	3	4
4.	I seek to understand discontinuities.	1	2	3	4
5.	I design actions on the basis of new learning.	1	2	3	4
6.	I use my imagination.	1	2	3	4
7.	I take a “systems” perspective.	1	2	3	4
8.	I am aware of my own assumptions and seek to prevent them from limiting me.	1	2	3	4
9.	I am mindful of long-term trends in the marketplace.	1	2	3	4
10.	I am open to new ideas and possibilities.	1	2	3	4
11.	I connect the past with the present and link this to the future.	1	2	3	4
12.	I generate hypotheses and test them.	1	2	3	4
13.	I welcome new ideas and tolerate risks.	1	2	3	4
14.	I seek and embrace diverse points of view.	1	2	3	4
15.	I actively foster a culture of creativity, innovation, learning, and systems thinking .	1	2	3	4
	Count the number of items marked in each column. Enter that number, then multiple to get a total per column.	___ x 1  = ________	___ x 2  = _______	___ x 3 = _______	___ x 4  = _______
	Add the totals for each column to get your overall score.	Total Score: _______

So, how did you do? If your total score is:
45-60: Great job! You are thinking and acting strategically. 
40-44: Good start. Focus on the items you scored highest and keep doing them while putting effort to build the others.
35-39: You have a good foundation. Focus on 2-3 behaviors and develop your capacity for strategic thinking and acting. 
34 or less: You’ve got some work to do. 

When reviewing your results of the assessment and what behaviors you’re practicing or need to build, I recommend considering the following questions:

• What strategic thinking related behaviors do I rely on often?
• What are my strengths as a strategic thinker?
• What strategic thinking behaviors could I develop or use more frequently?
• What action will I take to be more strategic?

So, what does my quick assessment show you about your behaviors? Are there areas that you need to develop? As always, I’m interested in your thoughts, so please leave your comments below.

Photo by Pixabay at pexels.com

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© 2020, John L. Bennett . All Rights Reserved.