Читать книгу Leading with Strategic Thinking - Olson Aaron K. - Страница 6

“You need to be more strategic.” When someone receives this kind of feedback, what does it mean?

We believe that too often strategic thinking is defined narrowly and is misunderstood. Strategic thinking is defined narrowly when its relevance is seen as being limited to senior executives responsible for defining strategic direction. This narrow definition overlooks the value that is created when everyone in an organization approaches work in a more strategic manner. This is particularly true in times of disruption, when forces of technology and social change challenge the status quo and create opportunities for massive improvements in collaboration, productivity, and value creation. Likewise, strategic thinking is misunderstood when it is thought of as synonymous with strategic planning. This limits the relevance and application of a key skill that can and should be applied in a wide range of contexts. Strategic thinking can and should improve the performance of CEOs, but it can and should also be applied by line managers, individual contributors, politicians, coaches, and parents. For these reasons, being competent in strategic thinking is critical for individuals and organizations. Practiced well, it drives performance and distinguishes high potentials. Practiced poorly, it destroys value and derails careers.

Strategic thinking comprises three key activities: assessing situations, recognizing patterns, and making decisions. Relevant concepts and tools from the fields of cognitive psychology, systems thinking, and game theory can enhance any leader's ability to think strategically.

It is in the application of strategic thinking to the art of leadership where many experts and books on this topic neglect to address important insights. Broader than a set of best practices or a strategic plan, strategic leadership:

■ Acknowledges both the planned and emergent nature of gaining strategic insight,

■ Considers the nuances of effectively driving strategic change, and

■ Varies widely as a reflection of both personal style and context.

These issues, often overlooked, are the primary focus of this book. In it we explore academic literature, popular opinion, real-world data, and case studies that inform our definition of strategic leadership.

We have written this book especially for those seeking answers to questions about the intersection of strategic thinking and leadership. The readers of this book will likely fall into one of several categories:

■ Aspiring and seasoned leaders: We wrote this book specifically for you, and designed it to be focused and practical. It has value in its entirety, but any specific chapter can stand alone and provide actionable advice. Use our book as a practical guide when (1) embarking on a new venture in which you want to weigh and select the most appropriate approach, (2) taking on new or expanded responsibilities that require you to reconsider how you approach your work, (3) reflecting on your work and how you consider your role, or (4) receiving feedback suggesting that you become more effective and have greater impact.

■ Consultants and advisors can use our book to coach leaders on the essentials of strategic thinking and leadership. From our experience, the concepts and tools in this book are well suited to help leaders at any level or with any amount of experience consider the challenges that sit at the intersection of strategy and leadership.

■ Academicians and students can use this book to teach or learn what leaders must do when driving strategy within various contexts, under different circumstances, and with different purposes in mind. While this book is intended to serve as a practical guide rather than an academic text, we have based our writing on well-regarded principles validated by empirical research. We wrote this book because we identified specific relationships between strategy and leadership that we do not see being fully addressed in today's popular or academic literature.

With these readers in mind, we have written a book intended to be as enjoyable to read as it is practical. While some books focus on strategic thinking and others on leadership, this book focuses on the intersection of the two topics. In looking at these relationships, we will address:

■ The major contexts and circumstances within which strategic thinking and leadership typically occur,

■ Four types of strategic leadership that integrate strategy formulation and execution, and

■ How a leader can adapt their approach to best suit a given situation.

This book is composed of real examples. Organized around a conceptual framework, it focuses on practical cases featuring real leaders. We draw these examples from our extensive experience working with senior executives, leadership teams, and graduate students who have applied these techniques to become more effective and achieve results.

This book's chapters are sequenced to introduce broader concepts and then provide tools likely to prove useful. The book contains six chapters:

1. Fundamentals of Strategic Thinking and LeadershipPresents the essential concepts of leadership and strategic thinking. Our definition of strategic leadership is introduced, and we review four examples that demonstrate strategic thinking and leadership in action.

2. The Four Types of Strategic LeadershipIntroduces our methodology and overarching framework. We describe the key activities we see leaders typically apply when practicing one of four types of strategic leadership:

a. Visionary LeadershipDriving strategy through personal vision.

b. Directive LeadershipDriving strategy through structure and process.

c. Incubating LeadershipDriving strategy through empowering others.

d. Collaborative LeadershipDriving strategy through cocreation.

3. Examples of Strategic LeadershipFour case studies describe what real-world leaders do when applying the four types of strategic leadership.

4. Applying Strategic LeadershipSpotlights how leaders can apply the concepts of this book to make conscious decisions to lead strategically, with a focus on gaining insight and driving change. A case study highlights one leader's intentional approach to adapt his leadership style to get results.

5. Garnering Buy-in, Commitment, and AdvocacySpotlights what individuals, depending on their strategic leadership type, must (1) consider as likely biases and blind spots, and the steps they must take to mitigate them; and (2) do to garner the buy-in, commitment, and advocacy of others. We provide examples to demonstrate how strategic leaders draw upon the hearts, minds, and hands of followers.

6. Developing Strategic LeadershipShowcases the skills that strategic leaders must demonstrate to be effective as strategic leaders, including how many of those skills vary depending on the type of strategic leadership being applied. We highlight practical examples of how we see strategic leadership developed at both the individual and organizational levels.

Case studies are included throughout this book, and discussions with leaders were an essential part of our work. The strategic thinkers and leaders willing to share their stories with us include Todd Connor; Brian Fitzpatrick; Liz Gerber, PhD; David Hammond; José Ignacio Sordo; Ronald Kirschner, MD; Erica Labovitz; Neil Nicoll; Danae Ringlemann; and Slava Rubin. These selfless individuals have shared insights without which this book would not have been possible.

Conversations with a slate of friends, associates, and colleagues also helped make this book possible. For this, we thank Greg Besio, Rich Gravelin, Robert Hooper, Chris Kingseed, Ingo Schiller, Kevin Murnane, Dan Tepke, and the faculty, staff, and students of Northwestern University's Masters of Learning and Organizational Change program, where we have had the privilege to teach.

Many professional colleagues at Aon Hewitt graciously shared their expertise and research as input to our work. For this, we thank Seymour Adler, Shelli Greenslade, Jessie Leisten, Ken Oehler, and Lorraine Stomski. Special thanks are due to Aon Hewitt CEO Kristi Savacool, who sponsored our collaboration and who was generous with her own time and insights on this topic.

Our wonderful editor, Shannon Vargo, and the team at Wiley have provided invaluable advice and support to us throughout the writing process. Thank you to Matt Holt, Lauren Freestone, and Elizabeth Gildea.

A special thanks goes to Jeanne Olson, who helped us immensely while working on our manuscript. Her input on our writing and her illustrations, which you will find throughout the text, have greatly added to the quality and clarity of how our work is presented.