Strategy is a word that has many associations.  We think of the military.  We think of board games that take hours to play.  We think of long planning meetings with lots of charts and spreadsheets.  We think of a Saturday Night Live skit where president Bush was portrayed mispronounced the word saying, “Strategery”.  Regardless of what comes to mind when thinking of strategy, we must all recognize that the ability to think strategically is a critical skill for effective leadership.

Strategic thinking enables you to sort through the noise and find the best route.  It is the ability to see the world from multiple perspectives and determine the best course of action.  When harnessed, strategic thinking will allow you to see patterns where others simply see complexity.

In order to do this you must continually ask yourself the question “What if…?”  This question allows you to consider different scenarios and possible outcomes.  ”What if…” can help you see around the next corner so you can see possible barriers and evaluate how to overcome them. What if…” allows you to choose the right path rather than the path that leads nowhere or to greater resistance.

Strategic thinking is not just about considering options and choosing the best.  It is about acting. A strategy is just a theory until it is put into action.  The key here is the willingness and determination to strike fast and hard to accomplish the goal.  This can be difficult language for us to swallow because it sounds harsh.   However, making strategic choices is part of good leadership and it does not require running people over.   Striking simply involves making a decision and acting on it.  Too often leaders don’t demonstrate the drive to do this and it frustrates the people they are leading because it can take weeks or even months to make decisions and get things done.  Striking hard and fast can be very inspirational when done well.

This week practice strategic thinking in the following ways:

1. Look at your goals from every possible perspective (yours, your boss’, your client’s, your parishioners’, your spouse’s, your kid’s, etc.)
2. Ask “What if…” questions about each perspective
3. Examine the path(s) that show the best outcome with the least resistance
4. Determine your plan of action
5. Strike

For more about strategic thinking and other critical leadership skills, please check out my eBook Triple-Threat Leadership.

Just for fun, here’s the SNL clip I referred to earlier: