You're leading a product R&D team. How can you foster strategic thinking?

1 Define your vision

The first step to foster strategic thinking is to define your vision for your product. What is the problem you are solving, who are you serving, and what is your unique value proposition? Your vision should be inspiring, realistic, and aligned with your organization's goals and values. Communicate your vision clearly and frequently to your team, and invite their feedback and input. Your vision will serve as a guide and a motivation for your team to think strategically.

3 Promote collaboration

Strategic thinking is not a solo activity. It requires collaboration among diverse and cross-functional teams, who can bring different skills, knowledge, and insights to the table. Promote collaboration in your product R&D team by creating a shared vision, setting clear roles and expectations, and facilitating effective communication. Use tools and platforms that enable your team to work together remotely or asynchronously, and leverage the power of online communities and networks. Encourage your team to seek and offer support, feedback, and recognition.

4 Provide structure

While strategic thinking involves creativity and flexibility, it also requires structure and discipline. Provide structure to your product R&D team by setting clear goals, milestones, and metrics for your product development process. Use frameworks and tools that help your team organize, prioritize, and evaluate their ideas and actions. For example, you can use SWOT analysis, OKRs, lean canvas, or agile methods. Structure will help your team focus on the most important and impactful aspects of your product strategy.

5 Develop skills

Strategic thinking is a skill that can be learned and improved. Develop the strategic thinking skills of your product R&D team by providing them with training, coaching, and mentoring opportunities. Identify the gaps and needs of your team, and tailor your learning interventions accordingly. For example, you can offer courses on design thinking, customer discovery, business modeling, or data analysis. You can also assign your team challenging projects, expose them to different scenarios, and invite external experts or mentors.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?