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Recently I posted “Leader, Strategically Keep Thy Mouth Shut”. The title was startling perhaps, but the principle is important. I wrote the post to encourage leaders to think strategically, especially when making quick decisions. Many times a leader says something or does something in a quick response which can negatively impact other people or the organization. Sometimes it is best to say nothing until the best answer can be decided. This often requires the work of more than just the leader answering the questions. One reader asked me to expand on the phrase “thinking strategic in the moment”; specifically how I do that.
Again, it should be understood that this post addressed decisions which should require some thought. Most leaders make hundreds of decisions a day and many of those require very little thought. If a leader is asked a question where an answer has already been clearly defined then the leader can answer quickly. When the issue, however, has an undetermined answer, especially if the answer could alter the direction of the organization, impact other people or require a change in the organization’s finances, then the leader needs to learn to think strategically in the moment. That may result in saying nothing at the time.
With that in mind, how does a leader think strategically in the moment? Here are 5 thoughts of how I do this:
Leadership is influence, so the words a leader says are powerful…
Therefore, leaders must choose their words carefully…
I see leaders get excited, underestimate the power of their influence. fail to realize …
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It has been a couple weeks since I dropped our youngest son Nate off at college. He is attending Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Our oldest son is a senior at Austin Peay State University and is living at home to save money this last year. Nate is our first to change cities of residence and he is 8 hours from home. In the process of him leaving I have learned a few things:
Leaders create capacity so others can grow…
That’s what leaders do…
Great leaders:
Paint the void – Allow others to see what could be accomplished…
Empower the team – Give the tools, resources and power to accomplish the task…
Release – Let go of the control so others can lead…
Repeat – As often as possible…
If you are always the doer and never the enabler then you are not a leader. More than likely you are simply an obstacle of all your team could accomplish if you got out of the way.
Any questions?
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