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Leading by Strategically Thinking - Nu Leadership Series

By: Daryl G.

“ A skilled Transition Team leader will set the general goals for a Transition, and then confer on the other team leaders working with him the power to implement those goals.”
Richard V. Allen

Many managers depend on their corporate experience to assist them in making organizational decision. However, in the rapid climate of economic changes, a leader can falter if solely depending on his or her past experiences. Therefore, it is important that today’s leaders strategically think and not depend on past achievements. Why am I making this declaration? The past can both help and haunt an organizational leader.

The past provides a leader with an arsenal of proven solutions. This strategy works in a stable, predictable environment. Conversely, it also betrays a leader when this isn’t the case. In times of rapid change and uncertainty, a leader’s past knowledge becomes a liability because a leader can make the wrong assumptions. Obviously, this problem of shortsighted thinking can destroy an organization over the long run. If a leader makes organizational planning with faulty assumptions, any planning will ultimately produce inferior results.

For that reason, duality, as strategic tool, is hard for any organization to accomplish but is a necessary ingredient for effective 21st century organizations. Wacker, Taylor, and Means, authors of The Visionary’s Handbook, argue that effective organizations must micromanage to stay close to emerging changes; they also admit that the future destabilizes the present. This problem leaves organizational strategists in a quagmire of constant environmental change. In market terminology, this problem is called a chasm. Therefore, all successful leaders must cross this chasm to stay within market parameters.

References:

Moore, G. (1991). Crossing the Chasm. New York: HarperBusiness.

Wacker, W., Taylor, J., & Means, H. (2000). The Visionary’s Handbook. New York: HarperBusiness.


© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Examine how leaders should strategically think during organizational decisions and not solely depend on past experiences. Read the series on strategic thinking in the Nu Leadership Series for more management depth. Nu Leadership is a column that explores the changing workforce and social environment as it relates to leadership development.

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making and leadership. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in strategic leadership. For more information, please visit http://www.darylgreen.org.

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