Want to be seen as more strategic in your role? Here's how.
Today I'm answering the number one question I'm asked as a leadership coach
“Help! I want to be less "tactical" and more "strategic”. How can I achieve this?”
This question, or a version of it, is one of the most common things I am asked to help my clients with as a leadership coach. And whilst your experience and mileage will vary, there are some common traits, behaviours and skills that strategic leaders possess, that enable them to steer the ship in the right direction. Today we’re breaking it all down so you can identify what you need to do next if you’re committed to your leadership development.
And I speak from hard won experience here. For many years I was a great manager. Brilliant at all the technical and functional aspects of my role and good at managing the team day to day in order to deliver. But when it came to taking that next step into leadership, I floundered at first.
Moving from managing “current problems” to anticipating and solving “future problems” was a huge mindset leap and is something all leaders are asked to do.
Back to our ship analogy. Leaders are the ones at the helm - navigating and steering in the right direction. Knowing where the icebergs are. Knowing when the wind will change. And giving the right directions to the crew as a result for, well, smooth sailing.
This wasn’t apparent to me at first as a new leader. I struggled with the shift from “now” to “next”, envious that it seemed to look so easy for my more experienced colleagues around the table. (Of course in hindsight, they had their own struggles too and I also give myself a lot more grace for how I handled things at the time.)
With time, self-reflection, commitment, the support of my peers and eventually, a coach, I was able to identify techniques to help me navigate those stormy waters, overcome my nerves as a new leader and prove my strategic worth.
And I want to share some of these with you today. As a coach, I know these are also effective for others, as I’ve had many clients gain confidence and positive feedback about the way they frame their thinking through a strategic lens. But of course, the real magic always lies in how YOU take this advice and implement it in your role, with your own values, behaviours and authentic approach.
My five tips on moving from tactical to strategic are below as usual - if you’re keen to access them, then consider becoming a paid subscriber and for £5.00 a month you receive practical, hands on leadership advice every single week. Think of it as a coach in your pocket!
And a quick heads up - I am currently planning a new group coaching programme called “The Confident Leader” and I’m looking for a handful of people to join me in the first cohort, starting late June. This will be the beta version before the full launch in September, so I’ll be running it at less than half price just this once, as I’ll be asking for your feedback and a testimonial too. If you’d like more details, please do get in touch.
Ok, let’s get into this week’s leadership advice…
How to show your strategic worth in your role