What is Strategy in Leadership?
Strategy is one of the core responsibilities of a leader. Every leader, regardless of their position, needs to learn to think strategically. Good Strategy will lead to achieving goals, to the best use of resources, and to effective timing and sequencing of actions. Good Strategy is understanding how to best use personnel to work together in teams, and think holistically from a “systems perspective” that understands how actions in one area affect other areas.
Strategy is also about how to move forward and position oneself or the organization in order to take advantage of opportunities or avoid threats. Deciding to form a Strategy
demonstrates the necessity to act. The leader is required to think deeply in order to plan which actions to take next.
The basis of strategic thinking is discovering the critical factors in a situation, then designing, coordinating, and focusing efforts to deal with those critical factors effectively. This type of effective strategic thinking can be divided into four steps. It is paramount that the leader ensures these steps are
followed to create the effective Strategy. A helpful acronym for this method is Critical D.I.R.T.
- CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Engaging with
others, such as experts, advisors, and
mentors, for their opinions. - CRITICAL INQUIRY: Exploring all aspects of
the challenge to get the fullest picture. - CRITICAL REFLECTION: Reflecting on the
results of the critical inquiry and understanding
what is necessary for the situation. - CRITICAL THINKING: Considering options
and creating a Strategy to best advance
the overarching goals and Vision.