How to Think Strategically as Leaders and Build Stronger Teams

Great leaders don’t just react to challenges- they anticipate them. They navigate uncertainty with a clear vision, aligning their decisions with long-term goals while making the most of available resources. Without strategic thinking, leaders risk falling into short-term fixes that fail to drive long term sustainable success.

Strategic thinking is a skill that can be developed through study, practice, reflection and deliberate effort. Thinking strategically as leaders allows individuals to make more informed decisions, seize opportunities, and position their organizations for long term growth. By strengthening this skill, leaders can drive meaningful progress and stay ahead in an ever-evolving business environment.

How Do You Start Thinking Strategically?

Understanding strategic thinking is important, but knowing how to implement it is another challenge entirely. Focus on practical ways to develop this sought-after skill.

Align with Organizational Goals

Strategic thinking begins with understanding how various factors—market conditions, technology advances, political changes, internal resources, and potential risks —interconnect to shape an organization’s future. Leaders must recognize these factors and interdependencies to ensure their decisions align with broader organizational objectives and drive sustainable success for all stakeholders.

Too often, leaders fixate on fast, short-term solutions for problems due to resource constraints or demanding schedules. While solving immediate challenges is important, truly strategic leaders anticipate long-term impacts, mitigating future risks and positioning their teams for new opportunities and lasting growth.

If you are looking for contributors who demonstrate strategic thinking skills, ask potential hires about situations where they had to plan and anticipate future consequences or evaluate multiple competing factors at once.

Ask Questions

Strategic leaders recognize that curiosity fuels growth. They actively seek to understand complex situations by asking thoughtful questions, allowing them to uncover insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. By questioning assumptions, exploring different perspectives, and probing deeper into challenges and opportunities, leaders make more informed decisions and refine their strategic thinking.

Modeling this behavior encourages a culture of curiosity and continuous learning within a team. When leaders openly ask questions and demonstrate a willingness to learn, they signal that curiosity is valued, inspiring others to think critically and explore new ideas.

Beyond fostering a learning mindset, asking questions is a great way to develop various elements of thinking strategically. Asking questions helps develop skills like:

• Planning
• Spotting opportunities
• Adapting to change
• Altering mindset
• Handling ambiguity
• Researching competitors
• Thinking creatively
• Understanding customer needs

Stay Informed

Strategic leaders understand that knowledge is a competitive advantage. Keeping up with industry trends, emerging technologies, and market shifts enabled them to make proactive decisions rather than reactive ones. A well-informed leader can anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and align their organization’s strategy with a rapidly evolving ecosystem.

Awareness also sharpens critical thinking and enhances decision-making. By actively seeking diverse perspectives, leaders gain deeper insights into how industry changes might affect their organization. One simple way to stay informed is to ask colleagues what they read, watch, listen to, or follow to stay up to date. Engaging in these conversations not only uncovers valuable sources of information but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Ask for Outside Perspectives

Listening to and accepting outside perspectives is essential for strategic leadership. A simple shift in perspective could present a unique solution to a problem. Possessing characteristics like humility, curiosity, agility, and ownership enables leaders to find the value in critiques.

Strategic leaders recognize that opposing ideas have the potential to refine a plan. They seek the input of other strategic thinkers who can point out weaknesses and suggest solutions. Even if they do not agree entirely, strategic leaders consider feedback seriously. The formulated strategic plan ultimately becomes stronger and more well-rounded than it would be with just one perspective.

What Is an Example of Leading Strategically?

If your organization lacks culture that encourages strategic thinking or you’re striving to help a team member understand what strategic thinking looks like in practice, consider this example.

A leader presents a plan to roll out a new product. The leader spent months analyzing all the data to consider the changing consumer demands. They identified risks and created mitigation plans. However, when they unveil the product launch initiative to their team, they’re met with concern and confusion rather than enthusiasm. Team members struggle to grasp the process, do not see the value in the new product, and begin highlighting potential flaws.

A strategic leader recognizes this as an opportunity rather than a setback. Instead of reacting defensively, they pause to assess the situation. They encourage team members to

• Articulate their concerns.
• Gather diverse perspectives to better understand challenges the team is aware of, but the leader did not foresee.
• Generate motivation and commitment for their new initiatives.

By actively listening and making sense of the feedback, the leader gains valuable insights that refine the strategy. Collaboratively, the team connects the proposed product to align with the organization’s goals. This new offering also positions the company for a competitive advantage in a changing market.

Rather than rigidly clinging to their initial approach, the leader adapts, integrating new information to strengthen the product launch. They schedule a follow-up meeting that incorporates contingencies for the team’s concerns, clarify objectives, and aligns the team with the revised strategy. In doing so, they foster a culture of collaboration, deepen team engagement, and ensure the final plan is more effective and resilient than it would have been with a single perspective.

Recommended: What Are the Five Choices of Strategy?

Build Strategic Leaders with CMOE

CMOE has helped leaders reach their potential for over 45 years. With experience working across a variety of industries and countries, we can share curated tools and offer in-depth workshops that create strategic leaders in your organization.

Learn more about our strategic leadership program with a free consultation today.