Tools to Get Started with Strategic Thinking
If you’re reading this post you probably agree strategic thinking is an essential leadership skill. We at Twelve Skills concur. But it begs the question, “If it’s so important, why don’t more people do it?” There’s a few reasons we’ve come across in our work that are often offered to explain the malaise:
No time—“I just don’t have time to”
No direction—“No one told me to”
No idea—”I don’t know where to start”
Unfortunately, if you really want to get better at strategic thinking you’ll need to:
Find the time—you have more time than you think
Seize the initiative—great leaders make things happen on their own
Engage in skill building—because everyone can improve
Here are a few ideas on how to jumpstart strategic thinking for yourself and, as importantly, for your team:
Understand your context with PESTLE Analysis: Work with your team to define the context you work in. What key factors are shaping your competitive environment? Where might change drivers be coming from? Use the PESTEL analysis to explore your Political, Economic, Societal, Technological, Legal, and Environmental variables. See if the industry analysts agree with you by comparing your work to published analyst reports.
Explore future trends with the Time Cone: Brainstorm the impact of trends from your PESTLE analysis using the Time Cone. Consider what might happen over the short, medium, an long-term horizons. Try to picture, as tangibly as possible, what different futures might look like. And don’t be afraid to look outside your competitive arena to detect potential disruptors or inflection points beyond your normal periphery.
Set up Futurist Discussion Groups: Nature abhors a vacuum, so don’t work in a one. Gather your team to discuss and share what you’re learning together. Prepare for group work by engaging with sources such as pod casts, think tanks, and analyst reports. Facilitate robust dialogue about future trends and what you could be doing now to prepare for their impact.
These are great strategic thinking starting points for any individual. If you’re a team leader or Learning & Development manager, these can especially be powerful tools to help develop talent—and engage senior leaders on topic they’re concerned about. No matter your role, strategic thinking is everyone’s job.
If you’d like to access tools like the Time Cone for yourself or your team, get the companion guide to the Twelve Skills book the Twelve Skills Strategic Thinking Workbook. Packed with thought provoking activities, hands on exercises, and bonus material, it’s a proven way to boost your knowhow. Best of all, IT’S FREE!
Get your own complimentary copy here.