Essential Things to Know About Strategic Leadership
Tristan Wright
We help B2B service based business owners that are chained to their desk learn how to grow and operate their business without requiring their daily input.
For new businesses starting up in the last few years, there have been knocks, scrapes, bruises and bloodshed from a landslide of societal and business challenges.
All companies face challenges from time to time because finances, spending, customer desires and political climates are constantly changing. Ideally, you want to be up and running as a business before the first challenge sets in, it just means you have some experience and structure under you to be able to take a wave or two and stay afloat. Unfortunately, it’s not something you can control.
Businesses must be able to evolve rapidly to remain relevant and competitive in an ever-growing market.
There are a number of essential things business owners need to be able to navigate difficulties:
While impactful events aren’t something you can plan, they are something you can anticipate and be ready to adapt to. As devastating as challenges and change can be to the unwary or unwavering, they can be equally beneficial and highly rewarding to early adopters and those willing to reset their path to embrace the new.
Different leadership styles approach change and risk differently. Strategic Leadership has a flexible and innovative approach that allows business owners to:
Being able to anticipate what lies ahead gives business owners a better position to embrace new technologies and tools to stay ahead, such as AI-driven systems and VoIP work environments.
Like all leadership, Strategic Leadership doesn't come naturally, you need to be proactive about setting up the mindset to switch it on. Once it’s there it will be easy to stay with for your business life, but be warned: it is not exactly the easiest of leadership styles to implement.
In this blog, we’ll explain what strategic leadership is and what it takes to become a strategic leader…
What is a Strategic Leader?
Strategic leaders begin every task with the end goal in mind. They develop a set of actions and processes that are targeted to reach a particular goal.
Steve Jobs is a great example of a successful strategic leader. He didn’t just happen upon an amazing computer, he set out with a laser focus to build one.
What’s the issue with this? The issue is not many business owners have everything it takes naturally. Most business owners are the see-what-sticks kind of planners.
Those that are careful planners and analysts are not as likely to have the courage to launch a product, there is too much that can go wrong and the timing is just never right - hitting that sweet spot between fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants and have-a-targeted-plan-on-paper, well it’s going to take some work and discipline.
To be successful, strategic leadership needs foresight, planning and flexibility.
For me, the insight I needed to develop long-term vision and execution came from conquering the odds in my first business. I was lucky enough to bring in an amazing business mentor who helped me work out my business strategies and put some planning in place. That took my business from crippling debt to 7-figures. I used those lessons to build my next businesses and make them completely bulletproof from the start.
How Can I Be a Strategic Leader?
Strategic leaders are visionaries who anticipate and even predict what the future will look like. They explore the different possibilities as well as the challenges and opportunities that may come with change.
Strategic leaders ask, “How can that become profitable?”.
The other important thing is not to get caught up in the day-to-day routine. When routines get comfortable - or obsessed about - there can be no flexibility.
All this needs to have some grounding, you can’t just chase whatever might bring in the most money, doing so will create confusion for your brand and you won’t find the safe haven of a loyal customer base. Every goal you create and mould needs to be 100% aligned with your business mission and long-term vision.
Once you have a vision and goal you need to map your tasks to build working business systems. This way everyone will have their own unique tasks they are accountable for and allow you to scale without tripping over small faults and mismatches.
5 Ways To Improve Your Strategic Leadership Skills
When you constantly question the ways things are done you can find improvements to your systems, processes and innovations that lead to new solutions and better products and services.
If you are ready to level up, here are five ways to improve your strategic leadership skills
1. Adopt a big-picture mindset
Getting stuck in a small-picture mindset means you can’t see what’s ahead - not even next week, you are just focused on what is happening today and how that affects your workload. Make it a habit to pull back and see the big picture and play with ideas about what comes next and what your response might be - not just for you, but for everyone, and everything around you.
A big-picture mindset involves knowing what’s happening around you, not just in your business but also with your target audience, industry and the world market.
Big picture thinking helps identify:
2. Delegate
Delegate responsibilities that are above your skill level as well as easy, repetitive tasks that are holding you back or constantly being pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. You might have had to carry the whole load when you started out but you can’t manage that forever. Learning how to effectively delegate and trust the team you build is an essential part of leadership of any kind. In terms of strategic leadership, you need to be sure that the daily tasks you and your team are getting to are the ones that make your long-term goals successful.
When you trust and empower your team with high-value tasks it will improve their confidence, experience and problem-solving skills so they can perform under pressure and help get through a crisis when necessary.
3. Be a Great Communicator
There is so much to be gained through excellent communication skills. To earn this badge be completely honest and transparent in everything you say and do about your business. Take the time to get to know your team members so you know how to talk to them in the way that will be most meaningful to them. Some people love to chat while others will want to keep it sharp and to the point.
Being a great communicator will help you in networking and social situations, talking with your team and building great relationships with your clients.
I’ve said this before in many previous blogs, the only way to get everyone in your team working towards the same goal (and being totally motivated to work hard) is to communicate your goals, expectations and the rewards that come with task completion.
Remember that communication isn’t just talking, it’s also about actions - if you say one thing and do another you send a confused message about what’s important. Communication is also about listening, constructive criticism and feedback so keep it a two-way street to encourage your team to speak up, share their ideas and have a personal investment in your business success. To get their buy-in, treat every idea seriously and follow through on testing and refinement to see their ideas come to life.
4. Find Positive Engagement
To get your team to follow you as a leader they need to like and respect you - at least on a professional level. When you engage with your team you get to know their personal struggles and desires and you can choose to make moves that will empower them towards personal success. This could even be with training and education that isn’t directly related to work, health and fitness opportunities, or a flexible structure workday so they can pick up their kids from school.
At the same time, you want their respect and loyalty. To be a positive influence you’ll need to be consistently positive - which sounds logical but it will take some effort.
A positive mindset will include things like:
5. Stop and Relax
Innovation and ideas aren’t going to come to you when you're constantly on the move and busy. To see your business clearly and get inspiration and new ideas you need to take a break. That might be taking a weekend out of business - a long weekend or a week every quarter to pause everything and relax. This can’t be a burnout recovery break - it needs to be a genuine regular step back from the business to recharge and reassess your objectives and direction.
For me, a big part of this is ongoing personal development as well. You can’t expect your business to grow if you aren't going to be doing the self-reflection growth work that allows you to expand and evolve.
How can I build strategic leadership into my business?
Strategic leadership will take effort but the results are amazing, as you’ll get better cooperation and efficiency from your team who will thrive on your engagement and direction. This motivates employees, builds skills and resilience in the organisation, encourages innovation and helps nurture a positive culture.
The benefits of creating a future-focused and flexible business are huge.
Having a mentor or business coach with experience is great to help keep you focused on your growth and development, so make sure you book your free ‘meet and greet’ call today so we can start building your strategic leadership skills now.
Essential Things to Know About Strategic Leadership - FAQs
Q: What are the 6 essential skills of strategic leadership?
A: Strategic leadership involves a combination of skills that enable leaders to set a clear vision, make strategic decisions, and drive organisational change. Some of the essential skills of strategic leadership include:
Strategic thinking: the ability to analyse complex situations, identify patterns, and anticipate future trends to develop a long-term vision and plan of action.
Innovation: the ability to think creatively and generate new ideas to stay ahead of the competition and adapt to changing market conditions.
Risk management: the ability to identify potential risks and develop contingency plans to mitigate them.
Communication: the ability to effectively communicate the vision and strategy to stakeholders and motivate them to achieve the desired outcomes.
Collaboration: the ability to build and manage relationships with diverse stakeholders and create a culture of teamwork and cooperation.
Adaptability: the ability to be flexible and adjust the strategy as needed in response to changing circumstances.
Q: What is the importance of strategic leadership?
A: Strategic leadership is crucial for the success of any organisation. It provides a clear direction and purpose, aligns resources and activities towards common goals, and helps organisations navigate the complex and rapidly changing business environment. Effective strategic leadership enables organisations to anticipate and respond to challenges, innovate and adapt to new opportunities, and achieve sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
Q: What is a good example of strategic leadership?
A: There are many examples of strategic leadership in the business world, but one that stands out is Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs. Jobs was known for his strategic vision, innovative thinking, and ability to create products that revolutionised entire industries. He transformed Apple from a struggling computer company into one of the most valuable and influential companies in the world by focusing on user experience, design, and integration of hardware and software. His strategic leadership enabled Apple to create iconic products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad that changed the way people interact with technology.
Q: What is the focus of strategic leadership?
A: The focus of strategic leadership is on setting a clear direction and purpose for the organisation, aligning resources and activities towards common goals, and creating a culture of innovation and adaptability. Strategic leaders must be able to anticipate and respond to changes in the business environment, identify opportunities for growth and competitive advantage, and make decisions that balance short-term and long-term goals. They must also be able to inspire and motivate their teams to achieve the desired outcomes and create a shared sense of purpose and values.
Q: What is the difference between leadership and strategic leadership?
A: Leadership and strategic leadership are two distinct concepts, although they are closely related. Leadership is the ability to influence and inspire others to achieve a common goal, while strategic leadership is the ability to set a clear direction and purpose for the organisation, make strategic decisions, and drive organisational change. While leadership is focused on day-to-day operations and achieving short-term goals, strategic leadership is focused on long-term vision and planning, and creating sustainable growth and competitive advantage. Effective strategic leadership requires strong leadership skills, but not all leaders are necessarily strategic leaders.