Big contributions come about through preparation, dialogue and thinking together.
That’s what strategy is about. To a novice, strategy often gets linked to the meetings, the planning, the process and the incredibly meaty powerpoint slides that are produced and presented. But that is simply the stuff we have to do to do the thinking. If we could eliminate all of that so the focus is on whether we created an idea together that we believe in, and thus we’ll make real in the marketplace…that’s what we want.
And it requires each of us being a leader of ideas. A leader of ideas is an advocate, a co-creator, a facilitator, a lobbyist for the creation, development and sponsorship of ideas that help your organization to win. When these ideas are driven by your personal gifts and your unique passion, your ability to create lasting value becomes a natural part of who you are and how you work. Because great leadership comes from passion and a desire to learn, being smarter is just the start.
Being a strong strategic leader comes from knowing what matters in a situation, making trade-offs with insight and being able to act in accordance with a vision. It’s less about having the ‘right’ answer and more about sharing keen insights and perspectives with others. Those come from three things – awareness, action and continuous practice.
