Embrace your strategic leadership
« Leadership and management work together to develop and execute strategy. But it is leadership alone that defines the vision and the framework for the company’s major strategic directions. »
Pierre Vareille / Leadership by Eric-Jean Garcia
What characterizes a strategic leader is that they fully embrace the strategic aspect of their role, whether by contributing to the development, communication, and implementation of the strategy of their business unit or company, or by shaping the strategy of their own career. They create value for their organization by influencing its direction, meaning, and purpose, but that’s not all. They are also able to assess the stakes of their options to anticipate the future and make the best possible decisions.
They are clear about their positioning, where they want to go and the kind of role they want to occupy, such as managing a larger territory, leading bigger teams, handling more technological content, or working with more strategic clients.
The only real limit to strategy is uncertainty, which the strategic leader manages through action, by being responsive rather than passive, knowing how to improvise while demonstrating agility, much like in a chess game. This brings to mind the bestseller The Queen’s Gambit, adapted into a highly successful Netflix series. It tells the story of a young woman’s quest to become the world’s best chess player and the struggles she faces along the way. The show sparked a global revival of interest in chess, even helping a small wooden chessboard manufacturer in the Jura region of France to relaunch its business.
How to develop strategic leadership?
To strengthen their strategic mindset, a leader must be able to step back from day-to-day operations to free up time and immerse themselves in a world that is less planned, less tangible, and less structured. They must then establish the conditions to translate their strategy into tangible outcomes while keeping their teams engaged and mobilized.
To do this, they must draw upon their vision, intuition, creativity, political acumen, discernment, and insight. Becoming a strategic leader requires the courage to trust oneself and the agility to adjust the roadmap according to constraints and opportunities.
Key competencies of the strategic leader:
Project themselves into the future, define a vision and set goals
Develop political savvy, active listening, empathy, and organizational curiosity
Learn to tolerate uncertainty
Develop critical thinking
Identify strategic issues
Prioritize long-term impact
Foster a culture of creativity
Have the courage to make bold decisions and accept their consequences (good or bad)
Rally teams around a strategic vision
Eight steps to strengthen strategic leadership:
Identify your key objectives and make "big picture" choices
Every leader faces the constant risk of trying to do too much. Leadership is all about taking bets, Tesla has taken many, and succeeded in most. Video game companies do this regularly. For insight into these high-stakes decisions, read The Dream Architects, which explores the tough choices made before committing years to a game’s development.Build multiple scenarios
In an unpredictable and volatile (VUCA-squared!) environment like today’s crisis, developing alternative responses or solutions helps prepare for possible changes, even if those alternatives never come to pass. The key is anticipation. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.”Leverage your strengths—or better yet, your areas of excellence
Focusing on your strengths rather than improving your weaknesses is essential. The same goes for your team. The most effective way to launch a new product or service is by training your internal talent or, if needed, recruiting top talent from competitors.Know how to leverage others' talent
A strategic leader must identify, catalyze, and develop others’ potential so that everyone’s intelligence contributes to a shared project.Engage = Involve
Strengthen co-construction with peers to gain team buy-in and engagement. Communicate your vision and strategy regularly and persistently. Be clear about what should and should not be done. Pierre Nanterme made Accenture’s transformation strategy memorable using just five letters: IMACS (Interactivity, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud, Security).Build alliances
Partnering is key, even if complex, as seen with Apple or Samsung. A leader needs allies to ensure their message resonates throughout the organization. Build the right ecosystem and strengthen ties with allies to move forward together. Alliances only work when multiple groups share a common goal. Allies also help protect leaders from negative coalitions and can alert them in advance so they can launch their strategy under optimal conditions.Powerful ideas come during downtime
A leader overwhelmed by their calendar cannot tap into the cognitive resources needed to rise above the fray. Their mind remains cluttered with details, preventing focus on the future and weak signals. Protect your calendar, stay informed, and carve out time for reenergizing activities like sport, Tim Cook hits the gym at 5 a.m. and credits morning workouts as a key to his success, just like Richard Branson or Oprah Winfrey.Reintroduce measured risk
Too many companies, driven by the need for predictable cash flow, have developed a real aversion to risk. Simultaneously, the need to please upper management has made leadership overly rigid. Do you have a "court jester" around you, someone who dares to challenge and disagree with you?
Putting the client back at the center and taking measured risks is key to success: acquiring small companies, recruiting top talent, allowing freedom to reposition, embracing unconventional personalities, all part of successful strategy. Netflix did this by venturing into production, and Ubisoft by acquiring Massive, one of Activision Blizzard’s top studios, now officially up for sale.
Agility:
Revisit and reassess your strategy regularly. Be willing to revise your original plan to adapt it or change course. Navigate between short-term and long-term thinking. Nothing is guaranteed, and unexpected events often can’t be managed with existing methods.
In Summary:
A leader’s role comes with constant demands. The danger is falling into the trap of trying to meet too many objectives, which can dilute a company’s energy across conflicting priorities. The strategic leader’s mission is to clarify strategy daily and over the long term, with aligned behavior and communication.
And You? How much time per week do you spend asking yourself:
How much time did I devote to strategic issues last week?
How much time have I allocated for strategic topics next week?
What should I change next week to spend enough time on them?
Have I communicated my strategy clearly enough? To whom?
#executive #strategy #leader #leadership #talent #purpose #alliances #learning