In part three of this blog series (which I never intended to become a series!), we will continue to explore, at a high level, a variety of tools that you can begin to apply immediately in the pursuit of a strategic mindset skillset. You will find some of the tools relatively easy to apply while others may present a greater challenge. Like everything else in leadership, you are encouraged to step out of your comfort zone, be compassionate with yourself as you learn, and try, try again.
Give Yourself Some Tools and Models
One of the challenges that we may be facing when we try to develop our strategic mindset is that we could be working with a blank slate – where do we start? This is where having awareness of one or more models or frames for strategic thinking might be helpful to you.
A variety of models and tools do exist to kickstart your thinking. The idea behind introducing these models is not as some of endorsement or to indicate that any of them are best-in-class or without their own limitations. Rather, we want to start to expand you frame of reference and push your thinking to a new level.
· The Iceberg Model
· Six Thinking Hats
· SWOT model
· PESTLE/PESTEL analysis
· ADKAR or other Change Management model
· Stakeholder Analysis
· Porter’s Five Forces that looks at an organization’s environment through five forces of Competitors, Buyers, Suppliers, New Entrants and Substitutes
· The BCG Model, a matrix model that looked at the world through two lenses of (current) market share and (potential) market growth to assess whether given products were dogs, cash cows, problem children or stars
· The Good to Great Model from Jim Collins, which is comprised of six elements of (1) Level 5 Leadership, (2) First Who/Then What, (3) Confront the Brutal Facts, (4) Hedgehog Concept, (5) Culture of Discipline, and (6) Technology Accelerators.
· Mind Mapping - a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole.
· Decision Tree - a decision support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences (if àthen), including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility.
There are many more models and tools that are available to you. Use those that are easiest for you to apply or make most sense to you. Alternatively, research what your own organization might be using to support development of its strategic thinking. Your informational interview and mentors (mentioned in the previous blog post) might be other sources of information as well.
Think in Scenarios & Contingencies
When we discussed the core elements of a strategic mindset, we identified the concepts of hypothesis testing and intelligent opportunism. How can we put that into practice, even in a small way, in our day-to-day work? The answer is to consciously try to develop scenarios and contingencies.
This is a proven method of expanding one’s perspective and testing assumptions/ options when applied to issues both tactical and strategic. The process sees an individual or team develop plausible options about what could happen in a changing environment for an organization.
Depending on the opportunity or issue in play for you, the variables you might change to test the impact on your plans could be informed by any of the tools or models that we have already described:
· What would the impact be on my initiative should a key stakeholder in my organization change? What level of support could I expect going forward?
· What happens if my budget projections change by 5%, positive or negative? 10%? What corrective actions might I need to take to get back to balanced budget?
· What would happen if anticipated volumes of service delivery didn’t materialize? What if my projections were off by 5%, 10% or higher (positive or negative)?
The intent through this work is not to come up impossible scenarios (although something like COVID-19 seemed implausible until it happened) but to help you anticipate changes and be prepared to pivot to new plans as required. Through this process you not only start to understand and explore the factors at play, thus enhancing your ability to think strategically, but you also position yourself proactively and confidently to make changes in a moment of potential crisis.
Create Your Own Tools & Supports
This tactic for developing your strategic mindset may at first seem nonsensical – how can I develop a tool to help me become strategic when I might be starting from a point of not knowing what a strategic mindset means? There is method to this proposed madness!
In this case, we suggest two very basic – but powerful – things that you can do for yourself. First, if nothing similar currently exists in your organization, create a decision-making template or checklist that allows you to apply a strategic lens to any of your key operational decisions. This checklist or framework need not be pages and pages in length but would allow you to deliberately evaluate a decision against the “bigger picture” for yourself and the organization.
The types of questions you might consider as part of your decision framework could include:
· Is this action or initiative aligned with and supportive to my/our Mission?
· Is this action or initiative aligned with my/our organizational values?
· Which one of our current strategic directions or priorities does this action/ initiative currently support?
· Is this action/initiative a good use of my time/resources or that of my team based on my other assigned priorities?
· What stakeholders – internal or external – would be impacted by what I am about to do?
· What do my stakeholders expect of me prior to me taking action? Do they wish to be consulted with, partnered with, or simply informed?
· If I make adjustments in my assumptions will that make my decision easier or harder to implement? (back to scenario building and contingency planning).
Ideally, the power of this checklist approach comes in the form of its simplicity, its ease of use, and its immediate availability for use in your workspace. Create and post this in your line of sight so that you may readily ask yourself, “Is this an opportunity to further develop my strategic thinking skills?”
The second tool that you can give yourself is the space and time to focus on being strategic. Everything we have discussed comes with an investment of time, energy and intellectual capacity. Again, as with any new skill or habit, we have to determine that this time, energy and effort is worthwhile and will in fact deliver a return on investment. It is equally true that we will get back in return from the effort exactly or in direct proportion to what we put into developing our new skill.
While there might be those times where we can try to be strategically mindful at a moment in time, it is more beneficial to consider setting aside some dedicated in our calendars on a regular basis to support thoughtful consideration and debrief. This structured debrief time can allow us to reflect on what has been working or not working, what we can anticipate in the future, and how we might do things differently with the benefit of hindsight.
I hope I have given you much food for thought. Cultivating a Strategic Mindset - It's All About Leadership!
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
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