To move your organization forward, thinking and acting more strategically will differentiate you and your organization. One of the challenges is understanding what that means for your organization or your role.
Here are some approaches you can use to be more strategic:
- Research Trends – look at what is going on in your profession, industry, competitors and other industries. You can learn other industries to see what they are doing and reflect on how you could use some of the same in your role or organization.
- Questions – ask deep and hard questions…of yourself. What is working? What is not working? What could you be doing differently? Who do you need to connect with in a new way? What is slowing you down? What is “Joe” doing that I am not? How am I holding the team back? Taking the time to think, reflect and plan is crucial.
- Resist the shiny things – there are so many distractions – meetings, email, phone calls, text. Now is the time to only focus on the things you need to do vs the nice to do.
- Develop others – the more you can elevate your team, the more you can shift your focus to work on the business vs in the business.
- Find a coach – find a person who will give you some tough love. This person can be inside or outside of your organization. The key is they will ask you the tough questions and hold the mirror up for you to look at.
Acting and being more strategic requires some discipline, the more you practice, the better you will be at it.