Become better at strategic thinking as a leader

As a leader, you have a lot of responsibilities and decisions to make. Part of every manager’s job is to be strategic. The higher you go, the more critical this becomes. Strategy often comes last on the list, with solving today’s problems taking priority. In a world that constantly demands quick decisions and strategic foresight, it's easy to get lost in the noise. While it’s true that most strategic plans never work out as planned, that doesn’t mean the effort was wasted. Strategic plans lead to choices about resources and deployment, staffing actions, and financial plans. Without strategic planning, it would be a total shot in the dark.

The importance of strategic thinking

Strategic thinking is the ability to plan and foresee the long-term consequences of your actions. It’s essential for leaders to make decisions that align with their goals and navigate complexities with a clear vision. While it’s easy to focus on solving today’s problems, taking time to plan for the future is crucial.

Understanding strategic thinking

Strategic plans help with making choices about resources, staffing, and finances. Without a strategy, you’re just guessing. While many see this as a purely cognitive skill, it also requires a deep connection with your inner self. The advantage of having a strategic mindset is learning how to think rather than what to think. Although you might not always have the right answers, strategic thinking skills can empower you to spot new opportunities, address emerging challenges, and plan for future success.

Making time for strategy

Too busy with today’s tasks? You need to set aside time for strategic thinking. A good strategy makes future choices clearer and reduces wasted effort. It requires understanding various aspects of your business and the world around you. Delegation is usually key. Give away as much tactical, day-to-day stuff as you can. Ask your team what they can do to give you more time for strategic reflection. Put an hour a week on your calendar for strategic reading and reflection throughout the year. Don’t wait until the week before the strategic plan is due.

Activating your awakened consciousness

Both spiritual traditions and modern science recognize the deeper wisdom within us. Dr. Lisa Miller, a psychologist at Columbia University, has shown that our brains have two types of consciousness: performance consciousness and awakened consciousness.

• Performance consciousness: This is your logical, rational side. It helps you stay focused, achieve goals, and manage daily tasks.
• Awakened consciousness: This connects you to a larger field of information and your inner core. It’s a receptive way of knowing, providing flashes of insight and intuition. Operating from this mode engages different brain circuits and leads to different feelings and decision-making styles.

Benefits of awakened consciousness

• Broad perspective: Helps you see the bigger picture and make better strategic decisions.
• Inner peace and connection: Promotes feelings like peace, trust, and empathy, improving your connections with others.
• Deeper purpose: Gives you a sense of being part of something larger, enhancing your purpose and courage.
• Insightful clarity: Provides clear insights about the right path and future scenarios, guiding your focus and fostering innovation.

Practical steps to activate your inner wisdom

• Mindfulness and meditation: Start your day with mindfulness practices to clear your mind and connect with your inner goddess.
• Journaling: Write down your thoughts and ideas to enhance strategic thinking and deepen your spiritual connection. Ask your inner wisdom:
• What do you want to tell me?
• How can we strategically position ourselves to enter a new market?
• What’s the direction for growth?
• Where will the organization's growth come from in the next five years? Observe and reflect. Chances are that the upcoming days will attract the answers.
• Nature walks: Spend time in nature to ground yourself and gain clarity and inspiration.

Embracing uncertainty

Strategic planning involves dealing with the unknown and making assumptions about the future. Embrace this uncertainty and develop the confidence to make informed decisions. Your awakened consciousness embodies your true essence, intuition, and higher self. It is the voice that guides you through uncertainty and empowers you to trust your instincts. By nurturing this spiritual connection, you can gain insights that transcend conventional strategic methods, offering a holistic approach to decision-making.

Becoming better at strategic thinking

Good strategic thinking requires curiosity and imagination. Ask "what if" questions and explore different interests outside your field. Think about the implications of major trends and events. What are the implications of the growing gap between rich and poor? What if it turns out that there is life on other planets and we get the first message? What will that change? Will they need our products? What will happen when a larger percentage of the world’s population is over the age of 65? Good strategists know the questions, even if the answers are unknown. Work on developing broader interests outside your business. Subscribe to different magazines, watch new shows, meet different people, and join new organizations. Talk to others about what they think the future will bring.

Practice strategic thinking

Strategy is linking several variables together to come up with the most likely scenario. It involves a lot of uncertainty, making risk assumptions, and understanding how things work together. How many reasons would account for sales going down? Up? How are advertising and sales linked? If the dollar is cheaper in Asia, what does that mean for our product in Japan? If the world population is aging and they have more money, how will that change buying patterns? Not everyone enjoys this kind of thinking, but it’s crucial for strategic planning.

Evaluating your strategic thinking

The ability to think, plan, and do — are what separate strategic thinkers from the rest, and they are behaviors that can be learned and applied to create superior value. To evaluate your thinking, ask yourself the following:

• Do I regularly assess my business’s current situation, both from both the internal and external perspectives?
• Do I share valuable insights with my team?
• When problem-solving, do I stick to the tried-and-true, or do I look for new approaches?

To determine whether you’re an effective planner ask yourself:

• Do I proactively move resources from underperforming areas towards ones with greater potential?
• Am I spending my time on activities that align with my goals?
• How am I measuring myself against my competition?

To assess your action skills, ask yourself:

• When it comes time to implement a strategy, how prepared am I to take action?
• Do I ask others what their goals are at the beginning of the conversation?
• Do I easily get side-tracked by other obstacles along the way? 

Conclusion

Embrace uncertainty and don’t avoid ambiguity. Strategic planning is the most uncertain thing leaders do. It involves making projections into foggy landscapes and assumptions about the unknown. Trust yourself and your inner wisdom. By combining strategic thinking with a connection to your inner goddess, you can navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and confidence. Embrace this powerful combination and watch as your decisions align with your true self. Awaken your inner goddess and let her guide you to empowered strategic thinking. Remember, most strategies can be questioned. There are no clean ways to win a debate over strategy. It really comes down to one subjective estimate versus another. So trust yourself.

Are you ready to unlock the power of your inner wisdom? Download the meditation to activate your inner wisdom and start today. Join our community of awakened women and embark on a journey of spiritual and strategic growth.