Influence is what you have, when you walk into a room and say nothing at all!
In leadership, there is a quiet force more powerful than control; it's the ability to influence without authority. True influence doesn’t rely on titles, roles, or direct power over others. It emanates from your own personal energy, the vibration you carry, the connection you foster within you to that source and hence the connection with others. When you walk into a room, your presence speaks volumes before you even open your mouth. This is personal power, something that cannot be taken or given; it must be cultivated. At the core of this influence lies shadow integration, a journey to achieving peace with yourself where there’s nothing to “fix” and you stand whole and complete.
The Spiritual Foundation: Energy and Vibration
At the heart of spiritual and energetic influence is the understanding that everything in the universe is energy; including us. Our thoughts, emotions, and actions all carry a vibrational frequency. In leadership, it is the same, this vibration is felt by those around us, consciously or subconsciously as you go through your work day
Dr. David R. Hawkins, in his book Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, explores the difference between true power, which emanates from within and aligns with truth and integrity, versus force, which relies on external control and authority. Hawkins introduces a scale of consciousness that maps human emotions, motivations, and behaviors, showing how one can rise to higher states of awareness, fulfillment, and peace. This scale, measured in megahertz, gives insight into the energetic frequency behind each level of human emotion, from fear to love, and ultimately enlightenment. As a leader, when you do the internal shadow work and operate from higher-level emotions like joy and peace, the impact you have on others is profound, creating an atmosphere of growth and well-being. Leaders who operate from lower emotions like fear and anger tend to evoke stress and conflict. Awareness of these states and understanding where you are on this scale is crucial to evolving your influence.
High-vibrational, or anabolic energy, aligns with qualities like authenticity, compassion, love, vision, and empowerment. This is often described as “uplifting, building energy” because it is creative and empowering. It’s the energy that fuels impactful leaders who uplift and inspire those around them. Think about those times you spent with someone and walked away feeling energized and uplifted—this is the effect of anabolic energy. Conversely, low-vibrational or catabolic energy is driven by fear, anger, and victimhood, creating tension and draining those in the room.
Anabolic leaders operate with a focus on long-term outcomes and collective well-being. Their influence doesn’t depend on what they say but rather on who they are being. People are drawn to these leaders, feeling empowered and motivated to participate in something bigger than themselves. This authentic influence naturally follows from the inner work they have done, aligning with their core values, belief in self and higher purpose.
In coaching, there is an assessment known as the ELI, which has come from iPEC, with years of data supporting the model. The premise is that there are 7 levels of leadership you can operate from, see image below. Now, as you do more inner work and integrate that shadow, finding joy and peace, you actually move up through the leadership scale too, becoming more of a transformational leader, who is that visionary, who sees unity and is incredibly creative, who doesn't get triggered and sees the value in everything and everyone. It is always a win win. It does take the inner work to operate from that level most of the time.
Anabolic Energy: Constructive Influence
Anabolic energy is about building, expanding, and creating win-win solutions. Leaders or individuals who harness this energy stretch from creative visionaries to rationalists, and everything in between, as per the image above there are 5 levels of energy leadership in the anabolic energy group. They are focused on long-term outcomes and the collective good where everyone wins. They see the bigger picture, guiding their teams with clarity and optimism. They influence not by what they say, but by who they are BEING and how they show up. People are drawn to them because they feel energized, empowered, and part of something bigger than themselves. They cultivate this because they have done the internal work and it emanates from them.
These leaders don’t need to push or control others because their vision and enthusiasm create a natural pull. Their influence comes from their authenticity and their ability to maintain alignment with their core values and higher purpose.
Catabolic Energy: Destructive Influence
On the other side, catabolic energy is driven by fear, control, and anger. Leaders or individuals operating from this space may use tactics of manipulation, coercion, or blame to get results. It is always someone else's fault, not their own fault, lack of action, or inabilities. This type of energy can temporarily motivate people through coercion, but it comes at a high cost; burnout, disengagement, and a toxic work environment. There are two types of energy leadership in the catabolic group.
Catabolic energy is often reactive. A leader caught in this energy might feel like a victim of circumstances, or believe that force and control are the only ways to achieve goals. While this type of influence can produce short-term results, it’s destructive in the long term, eroding trust, morale, and even the leader’s own sense of fulfillment.
So which group are you usually in? If you are really curious ask me about the energy leadership assessment that you can take, that will give you a report on your exact mix of the above & levels and which two are your primary and secondary modes of leadership in both day to day situations and in stressful situations; when, you know, reasoning goes out the window!
In contrast, catabolic energy is driven by fear, control, and anger. Leaders who operate from this energy use manipulation, coercion, or blame to achieve their goals. Catabolic leaders often feel that force and control are the only ways to succeed, and their influence may bring short-term results but at the cost of long-term well-being, morale, and trust. Catabolic energy erodes relationships, leading to burnout, resistance, and a toxic work environment. A leader caught in this energy might feel like a victim of circumstances, and looks to control information, hoard it, rather than share early and share often. A key distinction here is that catabolic energy is reactive—fueled by insecurity or fear. Leaders in this space may constantly feel under threat and rely on force, rather than connection, to steer their teams. This constant defensiveness stifles creativity and breeds a culture where self-preservation overshadows collaboration.
Influence vs. Persuasion
Understanding the difference between influence and persuasion is crucial for leaders who wish to lead without authority.
Influence is the lasting impression you leave on people through your energy, actions, and the example you set. It is subtle and often happens unconsciously. You influence others by embodying the principles and values you wish to see in them. This is an inside-out approach, where your inner state directly impacts your outer relationships and results. Influence is what you have when you walk into a room and say nothing at all! It motivates & aligns people towards something, without any effort. It’s Passive. Below are the 6 elements of influence that you may or may or not have:
Persuasion on the other hand, is about tactics. It involves consciously shaping others’ beliefs or actions through specific arguments, reasoning, or appeals. Persuasion is often necessary in leadership when you need to align stakeholders, gain buy-in, or present ideas. Persuasion without influence can feel transactional without the deeper connection that influence creates. Persuasion tactics can be used to spur someone to action, or to make a decision without actually earning their sincere buy-in. It’s active! Below are some of the persuasion tactics you can utilise to gain buy in:
Think of influence as the steady undercurrent of leadership, while persuasion is the tool you use to guide and direct. When the two are combined with anabolic energy in your way of BEING, you become a powerful leader who not only drives results but does so in a way that leaves people feeling respected and engaged.
Leaning Into Anabolic Energy to Influence
As a leader, you have the ability to choose the energy you bring to each situation! To lead without authority, it’s essential to recognize and shift away from catabolic energy and lean into anabolic energy. This requires self-awareness and the ability to manage your own emotional and mental state. To integrate your shadow so you don't get triggered, to see the possibilities everywhere, regardless of the blockers and circumstances. This is part of your attitude, which will then help you build strong relationships, where context is exchanged freely and resources are shared. Inside of that you build your own credibility and expertise; eventually leading to opportunities where you might have positions of authority, or at the very least, leadership presence and gravitas.
Below are a few ways to cultivate anabolic energy in your leadership:
- Ground Yourself in a Vision - Leaders who operate from anabolic energy are clear on their vision and purpose. They know what they stand for and are committed to serving something greater than themselves. When you are grounded in a clear vision, it creates a natural influence because others can sense your direction and confidence.
- Lead with Empathy - Empathy is a hallmark of anabolic energy. By deeply understanding the needs, motivations, and challenges of those around you, you can connect on a human level. This builds trust and fosters a sense of collaboration, making it easier to influence without resorting to authority or control.
- Embody the Change You Wish to See - Influence starts from within. If you want others to adopt a certain mindset or behavior, you must model it consistently. When your actions are in alignment with your words, and when you are authentic in your leadership, people are naturally drawn to follow.
- Choose Win-Win Solutions - Catabolic energy sees the world through a lens of scarcity and competition—there’s a winner and a loser. Anabolic energy, however, looks for win-win solutions, where everyone can benefit. In leadership, this means creating environments where people feel valued and heard, which builds loyalty and trust.
- Maintain High Vibration - Maintaining a high vibration means regularly checking in with your own energy. Are you approaching situations with a mindset of abundance, love, and possibility? Practices like meditation, mindfulness, and gratitude can help you stay in anabolic energy, even in challenging situations.
- Always assume Best Intent - Everyone comes at their job with best intentions, given what they know about the job and the context around them. They never intentionally go out of their way to make your day miserable. More often than not they are missing context and usually that context has to come from those above them. The more context (information, decisions, directions, etc) the better the decision making will be on your team and with individuals.
- Do the Shadow Work - Identify your GRAILS (Gremlins, Rigid Rules, Assumptions, Interpretations, Limiting Beliefs, Stories) and Cognitive Distortions and work on them, unpacking them enough to realise they have no validity; most are ancestral patterns & behaviours you inherited when young and you never questioned them. Or they happened in a moment of trauma; that trauma being on a scale of experience. Start pushing on your own thinking & boundaries and testing the validity of these thoughts; this is your biggest gift to yourself and to the relationships around you; that you can give. So get in there!!!
The Silent Power of Energetic Influence
Ultimately, leadership without authority is about mastering your own energy and using it to influence others in a constructive, compassionate way. When you cultivate personal power through high-vibration, anabolic energy, you become a leader people want to follow—not because they have to, but because they are inspired to. This kind of influence transcends tactics, transcends roles, and taps into the deeper, spiritual connection we all share.
By leading with energetic influence, you are not just getting things done—you are elevating everyone around you, creating a ripple effect that goes far beyond the immediate tasks or outcomes. You are influencing from the inside out, guiding with purpose, and making a lasting impact on the people and the world around you.
In coaching teams and individuals, one of the things I say ALL the time is that “Everything starts with a Vision”. It doesn't matter if its a personal vision, a business vision or a product vision. You have to put a stake in the ground and call it! Where are you going, does it inspire you, is it a big enough why to keep you focused and driving forward?
We often talk about visions in the context of leadership and product management, but visions really start at a more personal level. Setting a clear personal life vision is about identifying purpose, values, and long-term outcomes. It is about living a life in alignment with that vision, that includes your words and actions. It is about setting a direction and declaring “this not that” and then clarifying the actions you need to take in line with realizing that vision. A personal life vision mirrors the creation of a product or team vision, with both requiring deep clarity, strategic choices and intention. The difference being that product visions require healthy debate with a team to build alignment and buyin. A personal vision doesn't require debate, but it does require choosing!
What Is a Personal Life Vision?
A personal life vision is a clear picture of the life you want to create, encompassing your values, purpose, and long-term aspirations. It acts as a guiding light for the decisions you make and the paths you take. It helps you to stay focused, especially when life gets choppy. Creating one isn’t simply about achieving goals; it’s about aligning with what truly matters to you on a deeper, more conscious level. Fulfilling on your desires and who you want to be as a human being. It is not only about chasing the materialistic, but also about who you want to be as a conscious human being, about your spiritual philosophies and outcomes in areas such as career, finances, family, friends and social life; it is about the WHOLE human being. By doing so, you create a life that feels purposeful, fulfilled, and authentic. It is a creative process and if you live a life of high integrity, your words actually have power and you will be more likely to manifest your vision, than not.
Ways to Create a Life Vision
Now there are a hundred ways that you can go about creating a vision for yourself, you can write it in a document, you can collage images into a vision board, you can creatively write a story or song; whatever works for you. For me, I do my vision every two years as an online word document, with images included, in the areas of life I want to focus on for those two years. Coupled with this you could also lean into any of the below approaches; what's key is to find the approach that you love as you will be more likely to do it on a regular basis. The idea is to do it regularly, so it becomes a habit in your life. With a vision in place, YOU get to say how your life goes, rather than being buffeted by the winds of change in life.
Visualization and Manifestation: This involves mentally projecting yourself into the future. Close your eyes and imagine the life you want. What does it look like? How does it feel? Visualization can be paired with manifestation practices, where you believe and behave as though your vision is already happening. I actually do this everyday, so I can connect to my vision with images and emotions. The more you can visualise it, the more chance you have of fulfilling it. So work at increasing the color, the sound, the smells, bring it closer, be in the first person and stay connected to those images of the future.
Ikigai: Originating from Japan, *Ikigai* is a concept that translates to "reason for being." It combines your passion, mission, vocation, and profession into a life purpose. You ask yourself: What do I love? What am I good at? What does the world need? What can I be paid for? I will write a separate blog on this, so stay tuned.
Spiritual Purpose Exploration: Many seek their life vision through spiritual practices; whether through meditation, prayer, or mindful reflection. This process helps uncover your higher purpose or calling, connecting with something greater than yourself. A popular way is mindfulness, by taking your mind and focusing it on things like breathing and walking, it allows you to reduce stress and connect to the creative part of the brain; where you are more likely to find your purpose.
Relating Life Vision to Product Vision
Just as we craft a life vision for ourselves, product managers and leaders are tasked with leading a team in creating a vision. Gone are the days where you sat alone in a room and wrote it up yourself, then told others what it was and what they will be doing. A vision provides a guiding north star for the teams, or the product's future, defining the purpose and the outcomes that will drive its evolution and deliver on the organizations vision. I have worked with a lot of teams on identifying their product or team's vision and it is always fascinating to me at how "unaligned" the team is at the beginning and then how, walking them through the exercises, they become super aligned, which drives buy in and increases motivation. Doing it TOGETHER brings alignment AND buyin, it is not the leaders vision, it becomes OUR vision. So so critical to debate the vision and the leader or product manager becomes the facilitator of the debate, rather than the sole writer and together you shape the vision!
What Is a Product Vision?
A product vision is a forward-looking statement that describes what the product aims to achieve in the long term. It is aspirational and focuses on the value the product will deliver to their users or the market/s. Unlike a business vision, which may address broad company goals like market dominance or financial growth, a product vision zeroes in on the purpose and impact of a specific product. It then helps to structure and focus conversations & debate around which strategic goal to focus on.
Key Differences Between a Product Vision and a Business Vision
Business Visions and product visions differ in a few critical ways and how you write up your product vision is not the same as would for your business vision. Below are three elements where they differ:
- Scope: A product vision is narrower, focused solely on the product and the experience it delivers to users. A business vision covers the entire organization and its overall strategic goals.
- Audience: A business vision may be aimed at investors, employees, and stakeholders, while a product vision is geared towards users and customers, offering value and solving problems specific to them.
- Time Horizon: Business visions can span decades, while product visions often look towards a few years of strategic direction, allowing for agility and adaptation to market needs.
Identifying and Creating a Product Vision
When identifying a product vision, the process mirrors the creation of a personal life vision in many ways. Here's how to get started:
Clarify Purpose
Just as you would define your life’s purpose, defining the product's purpose is critical. What is key here is debating with the team and yes, essentially you will be wordsmithing and debating over each singular word until you get alignment. From this will come your vision and I love Geoffrey Moore's Vision Statement structure for product visions. In answering the below with the team, you can work on writing out a vision statement from the answers:
- What problem is this product solving?
- What impact or benefits will this product have on its users and the market?
- How does it align with the company’s core mission?
- What differentiates this product from other similar products?
Focus on Outcomes
Your product vision should help you with your strategic goals and to identify the long-term outcomes you aim to achieve for your users, or customers, that will help you move the dial on product outcomes and deliver on business outcomes. Think in terms of how your product changes lives or solves problems at a deeper level, just like a life vision looks to achieve fulfillment and purpose.
Create a User-Centered Vision
As with life visioning, where you think about how your purpose aligns with the needs of the world, product visions should be centered around the users. Identify who they are and empathize with their pain points, desires, and aspirations that go into your opportunity map.
Communicate the Vision
A product vision, like a life vision, needs to be shared and communicated effectively. In life, you might share your vision with mentors, friends, or a community. In product management, or an organisation, your vision should be communicated clearly to the team, in fact debated with them; then shared with stakeholders, leaders and possibly even customers. Take the time to gather feedback and more data, as your vision might need some tweaking.
Be Open to Change
Just as life changes and our personal vision evolves, so too must a product vision adapt over time. Market conditions, customer feedback, and technological advancements may require refining the vision as you go.
In Summary
Whether you're crafting a life vision or a product vision, the core principles remain remarkably similar. Both require deep clarity of purpose, a focus on long-term outcomes, and flexibility to adapt as conditions change. When you take the time to thoughtfully create these visions—whether for your life or your product—you set the stage for intentional, impactful outcomes that resonate deeply with those they touch.
Like the life vision that manifests your ideal future, a product vision aligns the team around a shared, aspirational purpose, driving towards a better tomorrow for your users and your product. So as you work on crafting your next product vision, take a moment to reflect: What is the vision you hold for your life? How can the clarity of that vision inform the products you build and the value you bring?
Culture is often defined as the shared attitudes, values, and behaviours of a team or organisation.
However, culture is more than just an abstract set of ideals. In companies like Netflix, it manifests as ongoing conversations, particularly among leaders, who hold each other and their teams accountable to the organisation’s principles and values. These values shape expected behaviours, creating a framework where feedback is regularly provided to align actions with the organisation’s cultural norms. In essence, culture shows up in daily interactions and reinforces a collective understanding: “This is how we do things here.”
Every team has its own culture, but this is inevitably influenced by the broader organisational culture—if one exists. A weak organisational culture results in team cultures that take precedence and that vary significantly across the company, leading to inconsistencies in performance, creativity, and innovation. Without a strong, unified organisational culture, teams will default to their own, which may be reactive and misaligned with the organisation's goals and performance will either be there, or it will not.
In contrast, organisations with strong, intentional cultures, like Netflix, are able to foster high performance, motivation, and innovation across teams. These cultures provide clarity on how decisions are made, who gets hired, and what behaviours are rewarded. In such environments, nothing is left to chance, and employees are aligned in pursuit of common goals.
Unfortunately, many leaders view culture as HR’s responsibility, believing that it ends with onboarding. After employees are introduced to the company's values, these values are often forgotten, rarely discussed or reinforced. This neglect can have serious consequences, from reduced creativity to lower employee engagement and a lack of adaptability to change.
Despite acknowledging the importance of culture, many leaders struggle to manage it effectively. Culture doesn’t just emerge naturally over time. While team cultures may evolve, organisational culture must be actively defined, taught, and reinforced. It is a living entity that evolves alongside the organisation, requiring continuous iteration and feedback. Leaders play a crucial role in transmitting and sustaining this culture, ensuring that it aligns with the company’s mission and strategy.
Why Culture Matters
Strong organisational cultures drive innovation, foster collaboration, and improve overall performance. They also shape how decisions are made, risks are taken, and strategies are developed. Intentional culture-building is one of the most powerful tools leaders have, whether they are guiding entire organisations, product teams, or individual contributors.
Leaders who take ownership of culture can influence everything from decision-making to employee satisfaction. However, defining and reinforcing culture requires intentional effort. Here’s how leaders can help shape a strong organisational culture:
Defining Culture Pillars: Principles, Values, and Behaviours
Identifying and Reinforcing Culture
Building a strong culture starts with defining your organisation’s values and principles but here are other things you can also do.
Once defined, culture should be continuously reinforced:
- Onboarding and Orientation: Culture starts from day one. New hires should be introduced to the organisation’s principles, values, and expected behaviours. Feedback from new employees can help refine these cultural elements over time.
- Leadership Behaviour: Leaders set the tone for the rest of the organisation. They must consistently role model the culture and reinforce it in daily conversations and feedback.
- Communication: How information is shared within the organisation reflects its culture. Is communication open and transparent, or hierarchical and closed?
- Recognition and Rewards: How employees are recognised and rewarded signals which behaviours are valued and encouraged within the organisation.
- Peer Interactions: Colleagues influence each other’s understanding of the culture through conversations, feedback and documents.
- Communities of Practice (CoPs): CoPs offer a platform for knowledge-sharing and help employees engage with the organisation’s culture through its practices.
The Leader’s Role in Culture
Leaders have a unique responsibility in shaping and sustaining culture. They should actively role model the organisation’s values and keep conversations about culture alive. Culture shouldn’t be treated as a static document—it’s a living framework that should evolve with the organisation. Leaders can reinforce culture by discussing principles and values regularly and aligning feedback with cultural expectations.
Culture drives innovation, collaboration, and performance. When embedded effectively, it also becomes a lever for strategic decision-making. By focusing intentionally on culture, leaders can influence not only their teams but also the long-term success of their organisations.
Conclusion
A well-defined and effectively implemented culture is essential for any organisation's success. By articulating clear principles, values, and behaviours, and consistently reinforcing these elements, leaders can create an environment that fosters innovation, collaboration, and high performance. As the Netflix example shows, culture is not just an HR function—it’s a leadership responsibility. By making culture a living, breathing part of the organisation, leaders can shape the future of their teams and their business.
Something scarce often has high worth, and this is certainly true for good leaders. While this applies to other roles such as product managers, engineers, and designers, it's especially important when it comes to leaders because of the significant impact they have on those around them.
Why Are Good Leaders So Important in Product Organizations?
Product management is more about people than technology. It’s essential to recognise the human element at work, which directly impacts performance. You can read more about this in my article on the inner life we all bring to the workplace. Conway’s Law states: "The structure of a system is determined by the communication patterns of the people who design it." — Melvin E. Conway. The stronger the communication and culture within the organisation, the better the final product will be. People will feel engaged and motivated. In short: Good leaders create great cultures, while bad leaders breed toxic ones.
Bad Leadership is The Biggest Reason People Leave
You can have amazing talent within your company, but if they're under poor leadership, they’ll soon start looking elsewhere. Losing a skilled employee not only means losing their talents but also the domain knowledge they've acquired. The cost of replacing an employee can range from half to twice their annual salary. Additionally, it takes, on average, two years for a new hire to fully understand the ecosystem and operate at peak performance. Hiring new talent is significantly more expensive than retaining good employees. So, what can you do? Hire the right leaders, train them, support them, given them clear responsibilities and appreciate them.
Google's Research into Good leaders & Great Teams
In 2008, Google thought they didn’t need middle leaders and laid off a significant number. Chaos ensued. As a result, they launched Project Oxygen, aiming to identify what makes a great leader. Through employee surveys and performance evaluations, they identified eight behaviours common to high-performing leaders. If you're wondering why these behaviours are critical, consider how incorporating them into management training can improve turnover, satisfaction, and productivity. In 2018, Google expanded the list of key behaviours by adding two more and updating others.
Shortly after, in 2016, they launched Project Aristotle to explore what makes a team effective. The key takeaway was that team effectiveness is less about who is on the team and more about how the team operates together, focusing on five pillars of effectiveness. The first and most important pillar is psychological safety, defined by Google as: “If I make a mistake on our team, it is not held against me.” Psychological safety enables employees to feel safe in taking risks and being themselves at work.
Good Leaders Exemplify Psychological Safety
If you’ve participated in my workshop on the Key Elements of Team Performance (loosely based on Five Dysfunctions of a Team), you’ll remember why it’s critical for leaders to cultivate psychological safety. There are two key elements:
- Vulnerability-based trust: Team members should feel safe to be authentic and share openly without fear of ridicule or minimisation.
- Operational-based trust: Teams should have explicit agreements about how they operate, their culture, and the behaviours they expect from each other.
How Do You Know You Have a Good Leader?
To me, the most critical quality is having a clear vision. Everything starts with vision; alignment, direction, and focus. Great leaders establish gravitas through their presence, communication, and role modelling, always moving towards the vision. When a leader carries this influence, others look up to and follow them, even without a title. Good leaders use their social capital to help those around them succeed.
They let their teams shine, knowing that real leadership isn’t about ego but about lifting others. They also know the difference between coaching, training, mentoring, and consulting, recognising that coaching is key to career development. They provide consistent feedback. Feedback is a gift; it helps employees address their blind spots and grow exponentially as a result. Good leaders give feedback because they care, not to tear others down.
They’re team players. Great leaders foster collaboration across the organisation, constantly building relationships, sharing context, and creating alignment. They actively encourage debate, knowing that diverse perspectives lead to better strategies and outcomes. They prioritise their team’s growth. By supporting career development and regularly discussing performance, they help individuals achieve their goals.
Good Leaders Don’t Blame
Instead, they work to improve processes and establish psychological safety. When mistakes happen, good leaders look at the bigger picture and often realise that poor decisions stem from missing context; typically due to a leadership gap.
They also have a growth mindset. Positivity is contagious, and a leader who embraces learning from failure will inspire others to do the same.
And lastly, don’t be arrogant. No one knows everything. The best leaders are humble, open to learning, and willing to admit when they don’t have all the answers.
If you have a great leader, make sure to show them appreciation. Recognition goes a long way in making a difference.
A leader’s Job Isn’t Easy
Management comes with its ups and downs, and they’re often more significant than those in other roles like engineering or design. The reasons include:
- Juggling many tasks: stakeholder communication, planning, and technical understanding.
- Managing time and communication effectively.
- Being judged by team results, not individual contributions.
- Giving feedback, navigating tricky situations, and managing conflicts.
- Being available to the team.
- Managing more interactions, including meetings and written communication.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but with time, resilience grows, and relationships make the challenges more manageable.
Two Things Are Clear
- A leader’s job has a huge impact.
- It’s also very difficult to do well.
Because of this, it's rare to find great leaders. But when you do, be sure to appreciate them; they make everyone around them better. If you have a good leader, take a moment next week to acknowledge their great work. It will truly make their day! Remember: Great culture is the foundation of a high-performing organisation, and it all starts with having good leaders who inspire it.
What is Strategic Thinking?
Strategic thinking is all about being intentional and methodical analysis of the factors that could influence the long-term success of a business, team, or individual. It’s about looking ahead, anticipating challenges, and identifying opportunities that could give you an edge. Strategic thinking means considering risks, threats, and new possibilities. Ultimately, it leads to setting clear goals, formulating plans, and coming up with ideas that allow you to thrive in a competitive and ever-changing landscape. You must also factor in economic conditions, market trends, industry trends, tech trends and the resources you have on hand. To think strategically, you'll need a mix of skills; research, analysis, innovation, problem-solving, communication, and leadership, along with the ability to make decisive calls.
Why is Strategic Thinking Important?
In today’s fast-paced business world, the competitive landscape can shift in the blink of an eye. New trends may pop up unexpectedly, and if you don’t act on them, you risk falling behind. By incorporating strategic thinking into your daily routines, you'll sharpen your ability to anticipate, forecast, and seize opportunities. On a personal level, being a strategic thinker means you can contribute more in your role, making you indispensable to your organization. It’s also a great way to show that you're ready to take on bigger responsibilities.
What Does Strategic Thinking Look Like in Business?
In many organizations, strategic thinking comes into play during the strategic planning process. Leaders analyze internal and external data to form the company's strategic direction, or the products strategic direction. This strategy document guides the organization for the foreseeable future, helping leaders prioritize actions that will drive the company forward and helping product people to align the product vision & strategy to deliver on the company's strategic direction. Strategic thinking shouldn’t be limited to once-a-year meetings, though. It's essential to revisit and review your strategic initiatives throughout the year to ensure they're being executed and continuously add value. For business leaders, strategic thinking is crucial for deciding what products to offer, which markets to compete in, which customer segments to target, where to invest and how to allocate resources like time, staff, and capital. Leaders also need to enroll others in the strategic debate and in achieving key objectives and protecting resources from unnecessary risks.
Strategic Thinking in Product
The best strategic thinkers understand the future outcomes that they're working towards and they make decisions that have the highest likelihood of achieving those outcomes. They predict the future, based on what they know today; then they work to realise that future.
Good decisions create valuable outcomes in the future, and bad decisions lead to unnecessary risk. So, we can think of decisions as the basic building block of strategy. This is why strategic thinking is so important for product work. We're always making decisions; some short-term like “What should this button say?” and others that can have impact for months or years to come such as “What should we prioritize?”, and “What is important to focus on right now for our product?”. We can make those decisions tactically by thinking only about the immediate moment, or we can think about each decision strategically; a step towards unlocking a valuable sequence of future options, outcomes, and opportunities, in line with a vision.
Strategic thinking helps us make good decisions. But what exactly is a good decision? A good decision comes from having context and it is not necessarily a “right” decision, that is, a decision that has a successful outcome. We’re predicting the future, and we can’t ever know for certain whether we’ll be right, but if you do the work to gather as much context as possible; company strategy, product opportunities, industry trends, market trends, economic trends, etc, then you will be able to make the best decision, given those rich insights. Every decision involves risk and sometimes more risk means more opportunity for upside. So a good decision is one that strikes the right balance of risk and reward, inside of good context. Balancing agility with decisiveness is critical. Strategic thinkers need to commit to a plan while remaining open to new, promising opportunities. It’s all about staying adaptable while maintaining focus.
Again, I can't stress enough how important it is to get into a strategic debate with your team; strategy doesn't happen in a monologue and alone, it happens in a debate, where other perspectives are shared and debated about. Only then can you identify a great strategy.
How to Improve Strategic Thinking Skills
Key Components of Strategic Thinking
When developing your company’s strategy, you’ll need to focus on several key areas:
- Analyzing business & product opportunities and risks.
- Evaluating the feasibility and cost of potential actions.
- Prioritizing goals and aligning them with the overall strategy.
- Anticipating competitors' actions and other external factors that could impact your plans.
- Reviewing industry, community and technology trends
How to Teach Strategic Thinking
One of the most effective ways to learn strategic thinking is by attending workshops led by experienced facilitators. A good workshop will provide hands-on opportunities to apply strategic thinking to real-world challenges and offer feedback on your strategic plan.
An effective strategic thinking workshop should include:
- Some learning on modern strategies and what strategy is and isn't.
- Group discussions on best practices and tools.
- Learning labs or simulations that allow you to practice strategic thinking immediately.
- Feedback and assessments of your current strategic thinking abilities.
- Guidance in developing a personalized plan to take back to work
As with any skill, you’ll improve at strategic thinking the more you practice it and the more experience you gain. It’s definitely worth the time and effort!
