New Strategic Thinking

Throughout my life I have been able to pinpoint specific examples of colleagues who have exemplified new strategic thinking in their professions. I’d like to share with you an example of how strategic leadership is essential to a work environment.

One department is flourishing with work productivity, while one department is far behind.

Focus on the right energies

In a business world where deadlines are demanding and profits are important, companies and their leaders will hold work productivity as a high priority. A strategic leader will observe less than optimum circumstance and move quickly to create beneficial change. Saving time by focusing only on the right energies will help a company profit. For example, an employee serves in two departments, splitting duties between each. It is evident that his/her skills are stronger in research and development rather than the sales department. A strategic leader may see more value in changing this employee’s role to work in this stronger area of expertise. At the same time, a strategic leader will realize that this employee may be able to provide unique insight across both functions that others can not. Strategic leaders will observe these situations quickly and waste no time in shifting employees to areas where both the individual and organizations can benefit the most.

To ensure future organizational success, people need to anticipate and get ahead of the game by figuring out what they need to be doing now to prepare for the future. This is a win-win deal: the organization gets an entire workforce that is more proactive and innovative, and the individual builds long term success, productivity, and eliminates the threat of obsolesce and irrelevance.

The real key to strategic leadership lies with each member of the organization from the top to the bottom. Everyone can and should become a champion of strategy within their function or area of responsibility. If a company is to truly become or remain competitive, it needs to get everyone into the strategic leadership game, each person a strategic contributor. This means the organization needs more than just one grand business strategy. It needs an army of strategic thinkers not foot soldiers without direction or a cause of their own to pursue in conjunction with the overall business strategy.

There is no question that personal or team strategy should be linked to and aligned with the grand corporate business strategy. But, personal strategy should also contain independent goals and plans that will address long term needs, opportunities, and threats that can only be perceived by those embedded in the organization. In fact, exercising individual strategic leadership unleashes creativity, innovation, and motivation. What better way to motivate people than encouraging them to pursue personalized priorities that will help them add value to the business over the long haul. It also helps them to achieve more of the elusive power that Abraham Maslow coined as “self actualization.” By promoting individual strategic leadership, you will help your organization retain talent, motivate people to achieve their daily work tasks, and empower them to work on longer term strategic challenges and initiatives that challenge the status quo.

Jason L. writes for ioVentures, Inc. Go now to CMOE.com to learn about small business strategic planning, and find new strategic thinking skills. CMOE has coached many companies to success with simple strategic planning steps.

Tags: new strategic thinking, small business strategy, strategic leadership, strategic planning steps

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