Strategic Leadership and Planning

Today, in my learning I came across a lesson on strategic leadership and planning. According to lesson, there’s a common dilemma among leaders today: Many leaders think they are leading strategically, but what they’re doing is planning strategically, which isn’t quite the same thing.  Check out this video that was apart of the lesson and is available on YouTube.

Here are four qualities of a Strategic Leader:

1. Willing to Learn
   Strategic people are committed to personal development and self-improvement. Whether they attend conferences, read literature, or learn from experience, they appreciate an opportunity to educate themselves.
2. Hungry for Advice
   Being prepared for the unanticipated, strategic thinkers embrace feedback and critiques from those around them. They test their ideas and concepts to ensure they’re sound, welcoming constructive criticism as a source of improvement.
3. Not Afraid of Risk
   These leaders know there will be a certain amount of liability associated with high levels of achievement. However, they take calculated risks and prepare for success and failure, learning from both.
4. Ready to Put Organizational Goals First
   The only time carefully planned strategies are successful is when they serve the company's or customers’ needs. They keep their concepts focused on these two precepts.

Take Away: It can be difficult to anticipate all of the possible scenarios when planning for success. However, developing strategic leadership skills will place you in the best position to account for roadblocks, which may hinder your pursuit of achievement.

“Strategy without leadership goes nowhere; leadership without strategy has nowhere to go.” – C. L. Harshman, executive coach