Essential Skills for Strategic Leadership and Management

Strategic leadership does not happen in a roomful of top executives. It actually occurs at every level starting at the top. The management formulates strategies over a period, which are translated to regional goals at department levels, which are further translated to individual levels.

What is strategic leadership?

Strategic leadership and management offer the direction and scope that drives organizational success. With the right skills, leaders can create greater opportunities in uncertain environments. The six leadership skills when mastered enable leaders to think strategically and effectively navigate through uncertainties.

Anticipate

A majority of the leaders are unable to anticipate ambiguous opportunities and threats. On the other hand, strategic leaders are vigilant and constantly scan the environment for signals showing possible changes. Some ways to improve this skill include:

• Talking to customers and suppliers to know about their challenges

• Attending conferences and industry events

• Conducting market research and simulations to understand competitors’ behaviors

• Studying fast-growing competitors and examining their actions

• Using scenario planning to prepare for the future

Challenge

Strategic leaders question the status quo and challenge their own and other's assumptions. They make their decisions after careful reflection and examination of all aspects. Through strategic leadership coaching, leaders can learn how to invite different and possibly opposing views to challenge assumptions. Here are some ways to achieve this skill:

• Focus on the root cause instead of the symptoms

• List down the assumptions and get these vetted from a diversified group

• Hold meetings where open dialogues are encouraged and welcomed

• Include naysayers during the decision-making process to identify challenges early

• Take input from people who aren’t directly impacted but may have opinions of possible repercussions

Interpret

The best leaders are able to interpret the right information from the complex and conflicting available data. They synthesize the inputs and recognize patterns to overcome ambiguity and get newer insights. Some ways to interpret information include:

• List down possible explanations and invite perspectives from different stakeholders

• Zoom into the details and identify the larger picture

• Look for missing data that disconfirm the hypothesis

• Use quantitative analysis to supplement observations

Decide

In uncertain environments, leaders may need to take quick decisions amidst incomplete information. Strategic leaders adopt disciplined processes to balance rigor and speed while taking into account the trade-offs keeping in mind both short-term and long-term organizational goals. Here are ways to enhance decision-making skills:

• Ask your team members for other available options

• Divide bigger decisions into smaller parts to identify unintended consequences

• Determine members who are directly involved and affect the success of the decisions

• Opt for pilot projects and choose stage-wise commitments

Align

Strategic leaders must be able to find common ground among various stakeholders with different views and agendas. They must communicate proactively, build trust, and frequently engage among the stakeholders. This skill can be improved by:

• Early and frequent communication

• Identify internal and external stakeholders and map their positions to determine misalignment

• Adopt structured discussions to identify misunderstandings and resistance

• Recognize and reward team members supporting alignment

• Connect with resisters to know their concerns and address these

Learn

Leaders are the focal point in organizational learning and promote a culture of inquiry. They look out for lessons in successful and unsuccessful outcomes and study failures constructively and openly to learn hidden lessons. To improve learning capabilities:

• Institute after-action reviews and document lessons

• Conduct annual learning audits to identify where decisions and interactions fall short

• Identify initiatives that are not delivering expected outcomes and examine their root causes

How can you become a strategic leader?

Becoming a strategic leader requires identifying your weaknesses in the aforementioned skills and overcoming these. It requires achieving the right balance between the analytical viewpoint and the human element. An effective strategic leadership training program in Dubai helps you to start by assisting you to create a common set of tools and frameworks. It enables you to learn and apply effective techniques and tactics to resolve conflicts. Additionally, you will be able to improve team effectiveness and efficiency with time management methods, prioritization, and scheduling. Finally, the program allows you to develop your unique leadership style and method to lead diverse stakeholders in a way that maximizes organizational goals and objectives.