How To Think Strategically As A Leader

There’s a lot to think about as a leader. There are goals to pursue. There are people to manage. And every day new problems arise that make pursuing those goals or supporting those people more difficult. Amid all these demands, it can be difficult to think any more deeply than just reacting to the moment.

Leaders know they need to think strategically, but often don’t know how to find the time to do so.

But strategic thinking isn’t about carving out large blocks of time to ponder problems. Instead, often it’s about reframing existing situations—asking new questions that promote new ways of thinking.

So, in this episode, we’ll review five relatively simple questions leaders need to ask often to develop the habit of thinking more strategically.

0:00 Introduction
1:04 What are the real priorities?
2:30 What does success look like?
3:52 What obstacles will we face?
5:05 What resources do we need?
6:19 Who else do we need?
7:58 Conclusion

Ideally, these are five questions to be asked at the beginning of every new project. It may seem like thinking through each of these every time will require a lot of time. But if you focus on the first question first, and identify the real priorities, then you’ll find you can save some time by offloading nonurgent, unimportant tasks. And that time saved can be time spent thinking about the other four. And over time, these questions will become second nature and require less time to ponder. When that happens, you’ll think more strategically as a leader and your team will be more able to do their best work ever.

//DO YOUR BEST WORK EVER
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//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.

He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.

A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.

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//MUSIC
"Appreciate That" by David Cutter https://www.davidcuttermusic.com