The power of technology has never been more important to the long-term success of a company. Technology is providing digital infrastructure for effective processes, deepening customer relationships and transforming business with normal times into dynamic, mobile and interactive experiences. Today’s IT leaders champion technology’s role in enterprises and strives to improve the profitability and productivity of the organization.
As your world seems to move at a twisted speed, there is a key characteristic between you and your team’s success: the ability to think strategically. A survey of 722 CIOs found that only 25% believed their IT group was seen as a true strategic partner of the business. The main reason for this lack of confidence in group strategic capabilities is the weakness in strategic thinking. The #1 talent management problem pointed out by IT leaders is the need to cultivate strategic thinking. Researchers Delisi, Moberg and Danielson summed up their findings when evaluating more than 600 IT executives: “IT managers have a serious lack of their strategic knowledge… It is obvious that most of us don’t understand, for example, how to work is not only understood, but not just on assignment tasks, but on the efforts of the environment to build Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Compabies of Comp
Are you capable of discovering key strategic insights deep in data and information cleaning every day? Are you capable of confidently conveying your strategic insights to the CEO to get the resources you need to position the company well in a competitive environment? Can you set the strategic direction and align with the rest of the organization by clearly outlining your goals, goals, strategies and strategies? Answers to these questions may make your company and your career progress.
Although technical expertise is a bastion of its capabilities, it is becoming increasingly important for IT leaders to compete, exchange and execute strategies in their fields and beyond. As its ecosystem expands, understanding the connection between products, services, external customers, internal customers, suppliers and market trends requires a holistic perspective on the business. Although 42% of global CIOs think they have the necessary skills for the CEO role, only 4% of existing CEOs in the world’s largest companies are former CIOs. As CIO and ITC President Louie Ehrlich pointed out: “Over time we have to become business strategists, beyond our role as a facilitator of process transformation, and it works.”
Three advanced disciplines of strategic thinking can be developed to enhance your ability to integrate technology and strategy into actionable innovation, resulting in competitive advantage. The first discipline is the ability to regularly combine or combine people and their insights. Strategy is often a man-made annual event that manifests itself on a huge PowerPoint slide deck without new thinking. The lack of strategic insights and real innovation in the program, it will be outdated when completed, which is why few people actually use the program to drive daily activities.
The second discipline is the ability to compete or turn your strategic insights into competitive advantage. The reason why competitive advantage emerges is that the company can provide high value to its customers. In my research with hundreds of IT leaders, one of the main challenges they express is that they become so “task-oriented” that they often forget how their initiatives help organizations realize their value. Instead of focusing on achieving their goals, they are consumed by what sometimes becomes active for activities. IT leaders need to have their disposal tools and technologies to analyze competition and identify unique value positions in their value chains. Only in this way can they design strategies that drive higher value.
The third and final discipline of advanced strategic thinking is the ability to advocate for your strategic plan throughout the organization. Packing your own strategy on a smooth, graphic-infused slide deck and expecting the rest of the organization to execute immediately is a wishful thinking. The ability to advocate strategies includes leaders’ understanding of the impact without authority at functional areas and levels to align priorities and gain commitment. It also requires understanding how to create appropriate actions and behaviors that lead to long-term strategic habits sustain success.
Its leaders are increasingly aware that strategic thinking is no longer a “good” skill. While it may be comfortable to keep your technical expertise warm, great IT leaders realize that this is the team’s ability to strategically think about market trends, understand customer needs, distinguish from competitors, and set strategic directions, which will play an important role in their level of contribution and success. A CIO Executive Committee study found that the number of CIOs able to become “strategic-oriented game changers” doubled in three years, from 12% to 25%. Are you and your team that elite team?
Rich Horwath is CEO of the Strategic Thinking Academy, who has helped over 50,000 leaders around the world develop their strategic thinking abilities. Rich is the author of the new book Elevated: Three Disciplines of Advanced Strategic Thinking. He is a strategic bestselling author for The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and has appeared on ABC, NBC and Fox. Read the Strategy Coffee Blog and sign up to visit www.strategyskills.com for a free copy of your Strategy Thinker newsletter.
