How can you improve someone's strategic thinking skills?

The first thing I’ll do is understand where they're at right now. I need a starting point. I’ll often use Strategic Thinking Questionnaires or the Strategic Thinking Competency Model to pinpoint their strengths , areas they need to work on, and how they generally approach strategic thinking. But it's not just about tools and frameworks. I’ll always ask them to reflect on their experiences and challenges as this can reveal a lot. How have they used strategic thinking in real-life situations? This kind of self-reflection is insightful. It gives me a solid base to start from, helping me tailor my approach to their specific needs and style.

Antes de cualquier evaluación, el que desea mejorar las habilidades de pensamiento estratégico de alguien, debe ver al evauado con ojos de posibilidad. Todos tenemos un gran potencial y es probable que mucho de nosotros no nos atrevamos por ciertas creencias o miedos, por ello, es importante confiar en las posibilidades de todos.

To enhance strategic thinking skills, foster a culture of continuous learning. Encourage diverse perspectives through cross-functional collaboration. Prioritise problem-solving exercises and case studies to provide practical insights. Emphasise reflection on both successes and failures, promoting adaptability. Instill a habit of staying informed about industry trends and emerging technologies. Finally, mentorship and exposure to varied leadership styles can offer valuable guidance in honing strategic acumen.

To enhance someone's strategic thinking skills, it's crucial to first assess their current understanding of strategic concepts and their application. Engage them in real-world scenarios and case studies, encouraging analysis of various situations and potential outcomes. Provide opportunities for them to practice decision-making in complex environments, emphasizing the importance of considering long-term goals and consequences. Foster a habit of continuous learning by recommending relevant literature, workshops, or courses on strategic thinking. Finally, offer constructive feedback and mentorship, guiding them to reflect on their decisions and refine their strategic approach over time.

With this tool we understand if the person can be trained further or not. It surely helps saving a lot of time and energy on both the mentor and mentee part. We need to understand that someone who we aspire to train should have some basic capacity to imbibe new learnings , changing roles and should be truly self motivated to begin a new journey.

one question that I often ask is: 'what is stopping you to do this?' -->quiet often , there is no solid blocking point. -->this question alone can help the colleague/team member/collaborator ask himself what actions he needs to take to reach his goal. in a way this question alone helps the person to break her current appreciation of the situation.

Generating trust is the best start, showing that you are genuinely interested allows you to address these assumptions which underly most business decisions. In my experience, there might be limiting beliefs (more present in SMEs) and which may slow down growth, v/s much more ambitious visions in startups, but where you may lack the notion of what is needed to ensure the needed structures and the resources to grow fast. In general, the mentor has a solid experience to share from his own business career; and good open questions, also real cases and benchmarks will help to detect new possible alternatives and start practicing curiosity and expanding their mind set. It takes time, but it is very beautiful to see how learning is possible.

We often approach problems and situations with a certain set of assumptions, but these assumptions can limit our ability to think creatively and strategically. By challenging these assumptions, we can break free of our own biases and preconceptions, and approach the problem from a fresh perspective. This can lead to more innovative and effective solutions, and help us develop a more strategic mindset. So, don't be afraid to question your assumptions, and encourage others to do the same. By doing so, you'll be able to see the world in new and exciting ways and develop a more strategic and innovative approach to problem-solving.

Asking individuals to re-evaluate their beliefs and consider alternative perspectives encourages critical thinking and a more flexible and open-minded approach to solving problems. Creating an environment that values curiosity and self-reflection helps individuals to identify new opportunities, to assess risks effectively, and to make informed decisions that contribute to improved strategic thinking. This process breaks down mental barriers, promotes a deeper understanding of complex situations, and enhances the ability to navigate and thrive in dynamic environments.

Challenging assumptions is critical to getting a better understanding of the strategy and whether or not the strategy is going to work. If someone is opposed to having their strategic thinking challenged, then as a coach, you need to work out how to do this without belittling the person. The approach is simple: I ask the person to think like their client, customer or employee and get them to see the strategy from someone else's point of view. Then I ask them how they are going to execute the strategy, will the people (employees, clients, customers, suppliers, etc.) like it, and finally, will drive "cash" into the company bank account (not P&L) quickly. The mentee has to see the cause and effect of their strategic thinking.

Positive and negative feedback both are essential to guide someone who is being coached or mentored to think strategically. This is a goodvway to make them think strategically and enhance their performance.

Strategic thinking is the ability to Zoom in and Zoom out of a situation. Give multiple alternatives. Be open to detour when the roadmap needs adjustments. This is not a solo activity The framework needs feedback, inputs, review, and re-calibration to ensure success. When an employee has these as an agreement rather than assumptions: review after every two milestones; a peer- review before any key presentation; a risk check from a different department, etc; the chances for success become higher.

Fornecer feedback construtivo e orientação é crucial para aprimorar as habilidades de pensamento estratégico. Compartilhar insights, exemplos e melhores práticas de outros pensadores estratégicos oferece uma perspectiva enriquecedora. Aplicar essas habilidades a situações reais e monitorar o progresso proporciona aprendizado prático. Feedback detalhado sobre pontos fortes e áreas de melhoria, juntamente com sugestões para aprimoramento, é fundamental. Incentivar a busca de feedback externo fortalece a capacidade de adaptação e melhoria contínua.

Feedback is important and it should always be constructive, strength based. Sure there are text book approaches and who knows how many best sellers out there, ‘our’ job is to support our clients to find their way, their strategic voice - and only if this is something they want and are ready for.

There is this old saying which means thinking alone does not help. It is a process of sharing as you think. I like it when groups engage in unfiltered loud thinking. The feedback may not be an exclusive session, but an exchange of perspectives. Sometimes feedback largely helps to know how your ideas or line of thinking is perceived or understood by others. And that really works!

To develop strategic thinking, one can begin with learning what strategy is, why it is important and how it is executed. To do that, consider: 1. Participating in strategy discussions of your department and learn from others 2. Pick up a strategic thinking course and learn the fundamentals of building a strategic mindset 3. Connect with fellow professionals and learn from their experience; ask them questions to figure how they think Once you start building a foundation, apply your learnings by challenging yourself to think strategically & learning from your own experience.

Puede que estemos endiosando al "pensador estratégico", pareciera que abundara mucho en las organizaciones y solo en los niveles más altos, pero creo que debemos considerar otras miradas. El pensamiento estratégico como casi todo en la vida requiere de entranamiento y de oportunidades para generar experiencia. No necesitas convertirte en serio ni en un gran pensante, podrías empesar con ampliar tu curiosidad y llevarlo a niveles de la curiosidad de un niño y que el cambio sea lo único que te mueva para mejorar. Tú, en tu día a día, eres un pensador estratégico, llevarlo a otros niveles es parte de tu atrevimiento.

Our experiences lead to learning which produces better decision making. Reflecting upon past failures and successes is a powerful way to learn and improve upon strategic thinking. It is important to understand that one connot eliminate all potential failures but can strategically plan to mitigate such risks based on their past experiences and learning.

One of key aspects is ask questions to enable reflection and introspection. It helps mentees process their own thought process and enabled them to come to solution on their own. The solution can also be a learning to find the ultimate solution. As they develop muscle of self reflection and curiosity it fosters growth as a person.

Best way to enhance Strategic thought process is to connect daily doings with the BIG picture. This should eventually lead to ACTION, meeting the strategic goals. Only such Atomic habit comes to rescue.

Just be you Observe Follow and followership Take the reins when you’re ready Sometimes being strategic is to not do anything at all

Enhancing strategic thinking skills can be achieved in multiple ways: 1) Gain experience and on-the-job training, learning valuable insights from both successes and failures. 2) Consider taking a strategy course or attending a business school (not so easy) if your undergraduate education lacks strategic depth. Business schools expose you to diverse case studies across multiple domains, fostering strategic thinking. 3) Engage in simple yet effective methods, such as playing strategy games, reading relevant books, and solving problems or puzzles. 4) Seek advice and explore blogs written by strategists in different domains to gain valuable perspectives. Choose the approach that best suits your learning style and needs! I use a mix of all !

In a business setting, most of us tend to limit our discussion within the 4 walls of work & professionalism. However, strategic thinking is not only useful in business setting, which means we should also practice strategic thinking in other settings. Here are 2 simple things I suggest you do: 1. Discuss random topics during break / drinking session using open ended questions: “why”, “how”, “what if”, etc. 2. Play board games with your team once in a while.

Something that I've done as a coach and mentor is to provide them with a task that would be required for a role/job that the mentee may desire. -Present the problem -Observe them -Provide the tools to resolve -Have them present the outcome -Debrief You always have mentees/subordinates that are looking for ways to make themselves better. The easiest way to do it is by providing the examples and allowing them to run with it. This gives them a sense of empowerment and helps to build their confidence at the same time.

The term "strategy" often carries a leadership connotation. In my experience, everyone possesses leadership qualities, making it possible for everyone to develop a strategy. The key is to step back from the current scenario and consider the entire picture. As a coach, I encounter questions about creating a strategy. Through coaching breakthroughs, we identify when the individual is deeply immersed in the situation. Coaching facilitates creating a distance between the person and the situation, enabling a clearer view of the complete picture. The main obstacle lies in remaining within the same box as the situation. Coaching helps eliminate filters that influence how the situation is perceived, bringing more clarity.