Three misconceptions about Strategic Thinking and why they are not true
By Elle Taurins
In the increasingly volatile and uncertain world, strategic thinking capability becomes vital to the success of leaders. It enables them to manage ambiguity and disruption, and make forward-thinking choices that place the organisation ahead of competition.
Elle Taurins is a conceptual and pragmatic thinker who brings over 20 years of diverse experience to the domain of the strategic capability development.
A large-scale global study in 35 countries (MRG, 2018) shows that the ability to think strategically is the most valuable attribute of effective leaders with 63.7% of organisations reporting it as the key leadership quality, twice more important than communication. However, only 36% of leaders or managers demonstrated strategic thinking competency.
Strategic thinking should not be an exclusive domain for leaders and executives, though. Wouldn’t anyone want to think with confidence and optimism about the evolving future? Why wouldn’t you want to feel prepared for disruptions and uncertainty in your own life and career?
The question is, why is it that only a minority of us seem to be competent Strategic Thinkers?
One of the reasons is the work culture pertained by the cult of busyness where the act of “thinking” is often perceived as idleness at best, or simply an excuse for not doing your job.
Overall, cognitive, i.e. thinking approaches are widely misunderstood. I’ve witnessed people saying that “Strategic Thinking is hard to sell” or that Critical Thinking sounds intimidating, not to mention Meta-thinking! Design Thinking is perceived as a fad, and Systems Thinking is confused with ‘systems’ of any sort (as in ‘computer system’ or a ‘filing system’) and easily dismissed.
Not surprisingly, the concept of Strategic Thinking is gobbled up in a maze of fallacies.
Here are three misconceptions that I have encountered most often:
#1: Strategic Thinking is Strategic Planning.
Incorrect.
These are two different processes. Strategic planning is more-or-less a linear process of putting a strategy into operationalization, a formalized procedure of articulating strategy into actions. The word strategy is one of the most misused words as well, commonly confused with objectives and actions. In any case, strategic planning without a strategy is doomed, and strategies cannot be conceived without strategic thinking.
The difference from the step-by-step planning process is that Strategic Thinking calls for the ability to think across different dimensions. It is an interconnected network of conceptual thoughts, a mindset driven by systems thinking.
#2: Strategic thinking is about using strategic planning models
(such as McKinsey’s Three horizons, Ansoff’s matrix, or Porter’s value chain to name a few).As technology or AI is incapable of all human functions (yet), strategic models do not substitute a human mindset, although they can stimulate the thinking process. Strategist still needs to make connections and decisions on which strategy or strategic option would create (more) value. A Strategic Thinker embraces ambiguity and interprets the context rather than clings to a certain model. Hence, models are helpful tools only they do not constitute Strategic Thinking, because a mere model does not embed a human capability to synthesize creative and analytical thoughts.
#3: Strategic Thinking is about having a Vision.
This is a limited view, mostly determined by a top-down strategic planning models which originated in stable corporate environments of the 20th century. Strategy is more than setting goals and Vision. While strategic Vision helps to plan for the future, a Strategist takes a perspective that a Vision is just one of the possible futures, and seeks to outline alternative future possibilities and evaluate their impact. Strategic thinking is about foresight and anticipating the change. We cannot predict the future, but we can mentally prepare to make the best decisions and act with agility to weather out turbulence.
So, what can we do to develop a strategic mindset?
A thorough discussion of the strategic thinking capability development is beyond the scope of this short piece. Suffice to say that there is a strong evidence that strategic mindset can be developed using cognitive processes. Thought leaders and practitioners (Wharton School of Business, Pennsylvania, Pisapia et al, 2015, Schoemaker et al., 2013, Githens, 2019) propose methods and frameworks of leadership skills (and micro-skills) supported by practice of reflection to build strategic thinking competency.
Therefore, strategic thinking is a set of skills that can be learnt. The notion of Learning may be still entangled in a stigma of schooling rather than being appreciated as a method of growth, and some organisations may be still reluctant to invest effort and time into thinking and reflection practices.
Nevertheless, leaders continue to be responsible for forward-thinking strategic decisions rather than responding in a tactical defensive manner.
written by
Leaders Lodge Member
Elle Taurin
Strategy Coach and Facilitator
Strategic Leadership and Organisational Learning Expert
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