All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, 

but what none can see

 is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

--Sun Tzu

Mujeres y Allies—One of the distinctions that can impact your career is the degree to which you are seen as strategic versus tactical.  Someone who is tactical is often the person who is focused on the details and the specific road map for a project.  The strategic person is the one who can take the perspective of the big picture, the larger journey—she sees the key people who will need to come along, the roadblocks that may be encountered, and knows the story to tell about reaching the destination.  Companies need both tactical and strategic thinkers, of course!  If your goal is to be seen as a leader or someone who should be, it’s essential to find a way to be seen and heard as a strategic.  So what is strategic thinking?  It’s a process to think about, assess, process and create the future for you, your team or your business.  This week’s #3LVCareerHacks is about developing strategic thinking skills that can get you noticed.

Uno, dos y tres. Let’s do this con ganas!

Early in your career your dedication to your role, your responsibilities, your job description forces you to be completely focused on specific tasks and key deliverables.  This is the life of an “individual contributor”.  A senior leader, however, delivers results most often through and with others. This requires seeing a goal or project through a broader lens.  Start looking at the work you do through the lens of your boss, your peers, and your customers.  What’s your work look like from all the other angles?

One of the best exercises for strategic planning is to ask a team to write the newspaper headline they most want to see written about their project.  Once written, their job is to work backwards and ask what had to happen in order to reach this future state.  A “futuring session” requires creative approaches to seeing all the many steps, issues, challenges that may arise as the project unfolds.  It also can reveal unexpected consequences for each step when going back in time and prevent mistakes.

The strategic thinker is often the person who sees connections and relationships among different industries or sees emerging trends that are game changers.  This happens because they are continuous learners.  They read books, articles, watch documentaries or listen to podcasts constantly to expose themselves to other thinkers or to learn about creative ideas.  If you don’t know where to begin, you may want to ask a mentor for suggestions or join an online community that is hosted by innovative thinkers.    

That’s it. #3LVCareerHacks on improving your strategic thinking.

Got a comment for us? Give us a shout at @SavvyLatinaInfo @LatinaVIDA360 or on our Facebook Group. We’d love to hear from you!  

Live Your VIDA with Intention! 

--Abrazos,

Your LV Familia!

P. S. Remember, here are the other LatinaVIDA resources for you:

• Evernote Notebook of Curated Work-Life Resources, Readings and Tips

• Join our Private Facebook Group

• LatinaVIDA360 Podcast Latina Leaders in Conversation and NEW Career Power Hacks

• Our #Slack Community to Share Experiences with LatinaVIDA Circle Guide

• Past #3LVCareerHacks Newsletters (please share with friends and family)

• Latina Cubicle Confidential: A Personal Blog from our Co-Founders

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