Four Things a Strategic Leader Must Do
Walk humbly, Seek wisdom, Act courageously
The Front Page by BG
Four Things a Strategic Leader Must Do
Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts, is a fascinating book about how warfare has evolved, but even more so (to me), it is an excellent book on what it means to be an effective leader at the strategic level. The authors contend that the following four things must be done for a strategic leader to be successful. As you can see they apply just as well to everyday organizations as they do to military organizations.
"[Leaders] need to comprehensively grasp the overall strategic situation in [their industry / organization] and craft the appropriate strategic approach - in essence, to get the big ideas right." (emphasis added)
"They must communicate those big ideas, the strategy, throughout the breadth and depth of their organization and to all other stakeholders."
"They must oversee the implementation of the big ideas, driving the execution of the campaign plan relentlessly and determinedly."
"They have to determine how the big ideas need to be refined, adapted, and augmented, so that they can perform the first three tasks again and again and again."
Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
THOUGHTS
Humility prevents confidence from becoming arrogance.
A strength overdone becomes a weakness.
If you want to change, to grow, to become a better person; then you need to build into your daily routine those rhythms of life that will result in the change you seek.
Are you pretending to be ok when you actually need help?
Are you giving others your full attention?
Stopping and taking the time to think through a challenge, issue, plan, etc. is becoming a lost skill much to the detriment of ourselves, our organizations, and our society.
QUOTES
“Trace the origin story of any creative breakthrough, and it is possible to find the point where someone changed the question.” - Hal Gregersen in Questions Are The Answer
“System Thinking is the cognitive skill of the 21st century. . . system thinking is simply thinking about something as a system: the existence of entities-the parts, the chunks, the pieces-and the relationships between them” - Edward Crawley in Ask an MIT Professor: What Is System Thinking and Why Is It Important?
“Virtuous courage, in contrast, is more than boldness for boldness’s sake. Courage is measured not by the risk it entails but by the good it preserves.” - Karen Swallow Prior in On Reading Well
"There's nothing more powerful than a humble person with a warrior spirit who is driven by a bigger purpose." - Jon Gordon on LinkedIn
LINKS & BOOKS
How to Keep a Commonplace Book (And Why You Should) - YouTube
Your Brain at Work The Book - NeuroLeadership Institute
How to Stop Delegating and Start Teaching (hbr.org)
The PARA Method (buildingasecondbrain.com)
Blackwing - Pencils and tools for a balanced life (blackwing602.com)
NOTE: BG is now a certified facilitator of the SDI 2.0 assessment that is pointed towards developing Relational Intelligence (RQ) from CoreStrengths.
Leadership Training & Strengths Assessments | Core Strengths
The Back Page by Lauren
1914 | Sainsbury's Ad | Christmas 2014 - YouTube This is such a beautiful story, and it happened in numerous places on the front in 1914. The podcast below tells the story so well.
Fuzzy Feelings | Apple Holiday Film - YouTube. “Sometimes, seeing things through a new lens can make all the difference.”
Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Official Music Video) - YouTube. On the 65th anniversary of her hit song Brenda Lee released the official music video. AND it’s Number 1 on the Billboard charts. As it should be.
A Holiday to Remember | Chevrolet - YouTube. The storytelling of this commercial is absolutely beautiful. You forget that you’re being sold a vehicle, yet afterwards you don’t forget that the vehicle was a Chevy.
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Until next time!
BG Allen and Lauren Allen