Strategic will: How to cultivate strategic courage?
Strategic courage is the ability and willingness to take calculated risks and make tough decisions in pursuit of long-term goals. It's about the willingness to make changes to achieve an impact. Unfortunately, Norwegian organizations often lack this willingness. We are too preoccupied with solving everyday problems and even if we see that there are opportunities, we are too slow to take them. We are not ambitious enough. We have to have a crisis before we make big changes.
But it wasn't always like that. In kindergarten, we sat side by side with potential astronauts and football stars. Everyone built castles and were rock stars in the making. We were the king of the hill, princesses and fort designers!
Naturally, these ambitions fade with age, but it's important that we don't lose the will to think a little bigger. As a leader, you have a responsibility to create a culture that moves forward towards something bigger and better. Whether you're leading a small team or a large organisation.
5 tips for creating and cultivating strategic will
1: Be a role model
If you as a leader don't dare to show strategic will, you can't expect those under you to do so.
This is a lot about clarity.
Strategic prioritization. A strategy often has many elements. You need to be clear about what are must-win battles and what comes second. Prioritizing also helps others understand where to put the pressure and that they need to prioritize too.
Tell them what you do and why. If you can show how you think when you make decisions and how you execute your strategy, you give those below you the confidence to show courage and determination.
Live by the company's values The values of a business are there to help people understand how to behave. How to make decisions. What not to do. Create peace of mind. Make sure your decisions and actions align with your organization's core values. Think employer branding.
Clarity is also about being open about things that happen. Many people avoid breaking negative news "to protect employees". You don't want your employees to worry. Perfectly natural, but then you're pacifying those who have the will and ability to solve any problems.
2: Teach the team to think growth
It's pretty simple math, really. Without growth, you won't make more money than last year. And without more money than last year, there will be no salary increases. Or other fun things!
Presumably, increased costs will mean that cuts will actually have to be made somewhere. That's why it's important to teach the team to look for and attack growth opportunities.
Have a clear purpose. A mission. A goal. We call it "purpose". And it's not just about giving people a reason to come to the office or wherever they work, it's about giving them a strategic direction so they dare more. Making it easier to make the decisions that get you there.
Create a strategic opportunity space. The strategy often sits on the top floor, and not with those who will implement it. It is allowed to be entrepreneurial in the company, but it must be in line with the company's strategic direction. As a leader, you must create this strategic room for maneuver and clarify where employees can express their will.
Encourage them to see opportunities. Make sure employees see the importance of participating in industry organizations, staying on top of trends and simply being ahead of the curve. This will help them see opportunities and give them more confidence to make strategic suggestions ("Others have succeeded with this, so we think it can work here too").
Don't be afraid to show numbers. People realize that more should come in each month than what goes out. The more people understand what they can contribute to the numbers and how they affect their finances, the easier it is for them to make good choices.
When people understand the importance of growth, it creates positive energy. People collaborate better, are more ready to adapt to changes in the market and think more long-term. Understanding financial sustainability creates strategic will.
3. Create psychological safety
If people are not fully confident in their colleagues or organization, they will never dare to make decisions or share thoughts on what is smart to do. They will burn out and waste your time and others' time escalating issues that they could have solved themselves.
Make sure people get to know each other, you and the organization well.
Encourage people to be themselves. Let them understand that diversity is a strength and that by being themselves, they contribute to creating a better whole. In other words, make sure people are confident enough to offer themselves.
Create room to fail. Thomas Edison is often quoted as saying that he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb before he got it right. People need to have the courage to try to get things right, even after they've failed. That learning process can be difficult for people, but if you as a leader approach it as learning and not criticism, you build the courage and will to succeed.
Pavlov's dogs have taught us that behaviors that are rewarded are repeated. Recognize and reward team members who show strategic courage. Make sure to celebrate every time you succeed! This not only creates confidence, but also a desire to contribute.
4. Learn to manage risk
In all strategic choices, there is also a risk of making mistakes. That's why you need courage and determination, because if you just play it safe, you'll never get anywhere. But it's good to have some methods to manage and minimize the risk. There are books on this, but there are some practical steps that may have more effect.
"Mentoring" scheme. It doesn't have to be so formal, but having a slightly more experienced colleague to spar with is smart. Then you can weed out the worst stupidities.
Learn stress management. Risk management often involves dealing with uncertainty and stress. People need to be comfortable with these emotions. We simply need to have some emotional intelligence. There are lots of courses on this, but talking to each other is often enough.
Share experiences. Regular self-reflection together is hugely beneficial. It stimulates learning and provides a shared experience database that makes it easier to identify potential risks.
Talk about how you assess risk. Probability and consequence. What do these terms mean to you? What scenarios do you envision? Best case? Worst case? Practicing talking about these things develops your ability to stand in it.
As mentioned, there are plenty of formal risk management courses, scenario mapping software, etc., but at the end of the day, it's all about creating a culture of sharing experiences.
5: Facilitate continuous learning
Strategic will is very much about the willingness to learn and the willingness to take the consequences of what has been learned. Therefore, facilitating evaluation and follow-up after decisions, projects and initiatives is something all businesses should do. Create a feedback loop/strategy loop that ensures that you constantly develop your business, set new goals, get a better picture of the market situation, create better strategic alternatives and make better choices.
It's not easy. Technology evolves. Customer behavior changes. Things happen in the industry. That's why you need to encourage your team to be on the ball and adapt new knowledge quickly. They need to be able to adapt to change. The consequence of not doing so quickly becomes an outdated strategy. But you also need to make sure that learning is mapped and pushed upwards in the organization.
A simple method can be fixed surveys such as SSC (Stop-Start-Continue)
Stop: What should we stop doing?
Start: What should we start doing?
Continue: What should we continue with?
Key takeaways
Most people who have been through a strategy process have gone through all the ideas in this article, but then the learning part fails. You make a strategy and take some actions, but then the strategy disappears into a drawer and is not picked up again until a new leader comes in.
Strategic management is about constantly evaluating and developing strategy, brand platform, values and positioning. If you want to cultivate strategic courage and will, strategy work must be taken out of the drawer and into the consciousness of each individual!
The road ahead towards more strategic will
At Mission, we're getting better and better at helping people define purpose and giving them the tools to bring vision and strategy to life in their organization. Together with you, we create culture, brands and brand expressions that help you cultivate clearer leadership and strategic courage.
Send us an email at hello@mission.no or call us on 24 10 35 00