Is Strategic Thinking Only for Executives?

Strategic Thinking is often attributed to executives. When we think of strategic thinking as a required skill in hiring for management positions we sometimes forget that strategic thinking is needed in every position, moreover, developing it is beneficial for every job even for students. Strategic thinking helps in achieving tasks and responsibilities at a higher level and a higher standard of doing things. Strategic thinking is becoming among the top required skills to excel in the workplace and recruiters look at it the most. When I hear colleagues and friends talking about a strategic thinker I often ask them: according to you, what makes him/her a strategic thinker? And the answers I get vary around the qualities he possesses and demonstrates.

Most qualities that people find in strategic thinkers include wit, intelligence, innovation, creativeness, ability to connect and interact with people and audience, being receptive to feedback, always learning, have many advisors, think of people around them, are risk-takers, and constantly have a lot of things going on. Nina Bowman emphasizes the need to develop strategic thinking as well as being able to demonstrate what is acquired in strategic thinking to advance in a career. Leaders in companies need to know what employees know. Therefore by demonstrating strategic thinking employees show how suitable they are to certain positions. Bowman emphasizes four ways to improve and demonstrate strategic thinking, know by observing and seeking trends, think by asking the tough questions, speak to sound strategic, and act by making time for thinking and embrace conflict.

The skills that everyone needs to develop to become a better strategic thinker include:

Reading, learning, and constantly acquiring new knowledge. This can be achieved by creating enough time to work on developing ourselves. Creating enough time requires developing and improving the skill of time management.

Be ready to accept critics and feedback. This can be accomplished by inviting critics and surrounding ourselves with friends and people who care for our development and constantly advice us on small and large issues.

Become a good listener. This can be achieved by developing observation and questioning.

Become a good concluder. This can be achieved by following up after questioning with hypothesizing, information gathering, and analysis. Added to all these skills is being able to lay down all possible consequences and end results. This allows us to close, promise, or schedule future encounters.

The skills needed for better strategic thinking are endless the more you master the more you discover that there is much more to be acquired. As you improve your strategic thinking you constantly find new ways to solve problems in the organization and new ideas to be tested and implemented to ensure future growth and profit.