Strategic Leadership in Business
The Activity Trap
Our modern society is addicted to short-term thinking, and many of us are caught in the trap of our daily routines, acting only on our immediate concerns. We worry about managing our “to-do” lists, making our numbers, launching a product on time, getting our equipment fixed to meet a deadline. We put out fires but fail to think about the longer-term impact of our behaviors and attitudes. We continue to do what we've always done, even when changing conditions may cause those solutions to become irrelevant. We overlook opportunities, failing to see decisions, actions, and ideas from a strategic leadership perspective. Too often, our only “goal” is to survive the next crisis. This cycle suckers us in. It’s so easy to be in constant action; it’s such a simple way for us to feel “productive.” But ultimately, this flurry of activity lures us into a non-strategic state of mind, and if we’re not careful, we’ll suffer for it.
Making the Choice
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to pay attention to operational concerns and short-term issues. In many cases, we are rewarded for these abilities. In some cases, the security of our jobs depends on it. Leaders face incredible pressures to deliver immediate results to stakeholders, to do more work with fewer resources, and to manage an ever-increasing personal workload. The pace and urgency of daily demands can make seeing more than a step ahead into the future a difficult task. But we must change these traditional patterns of thought and develop our capacity to think strategically. In a world of conditions and priorities that are constantly changing, leaders and individual contributors alike must be able to look beyond the “now” and take a more strategically minded approach to their work. We must learn to identify the signs of change, growth, or progress that will inevitably disrupt our world and use them to create long-term, competitive advantage for our organizations.
Creating New Value
Strategic leadership requires the ability to see and truly understand the environment in which you work, as well as an understanding of the actions that need to be taken once a strategic opportunity has been identified. The challenge that we face is that no one will give us the time to consider these issues—we have to make the time. We have to learn to shift gears, slow down, and develop the skills and discipline we need to focus our minds on the future. This is not a skill that we learn overnight; it is a process that can only be learned over time and through concentrated effort. But by devoting a little time, energy, and attention to your strategic goals each day, you can create numerous advantages for yourself, your team, your function, and your organization. For example, strategic thinking will help you to anticipate your competitor’s next move, allowing you to anticipate and prepare a planned and orchestrated response to their tactics. You’ll be able to identify new technologies, methods, or approaches that will increase your effectiveness and reduce costs to your organization. You’ll develop the ability to mobilize and focus your resources on opportunities that create competitive advantage and add distinctive economic value to your organization, both now and in the future. Overall, the calamities you face in the ever-changing business world will be easier to weather because you will have anticipated them long before they materialize. And that, at the very least, is a comforting thought.
