Colleagues,
 
This week we’ve been looking at the difference in thinking between urgent and strategic leaders. Each respond to a different set of criteria by running a mental algorithm to produce options when confronted with issues. 
 
While urgent leaders prioritize urgency, symptoms, and history, strategic leaders focus on importance, problems, incremental action, and people.
 
When two leaders are confronted with an urgent issue, an urgent leader reacts by looking to alleviate the symptom by drawing on past experience. In contrast, the strategic leader first looks underneath the symptom to diagnose the problem. They then determine if the problem itself is critical to the organization’s health and purpose. They quickly identify key stakeholders and consider how different options will impact those people. 
 
This doesn’t mean that urgent leaders are incapable of thinking strategically, it just means that they default to an urgent response. So, how do we move from an urgent algorithm to a strategic one?
 
The first requirement is to be intentional by acting instead of reacting. Consistently asking yourself some questions at the outset and at the conclusion of an event will help you shift your default thinking.
 
When first confronted with a situation:

1. What’s the problem?
2. Is this critical to our core purpose or organizational health?
3. Who will this impact and do I need to speak with them?
4. What can we do to make the situation better right now?

 
When deciding on a course of action:

1. Will this address the root problem?
2. Does this align with our core purpose?
3. What will this require of the people involved?
4. Will this improve the situation immediately?

 
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at more specific strategies and tools for identifying problems and developing solutions. In the meantime, asking these questions will help reprogram your algorithm.
 
It is a crazy time and if you can only take one thing away from this discussion it should be to always stop and ask, “what’s the problem?” This one change will make a huge difference.

Do good and stay well,

​Frederick

Colleagues,
 
We’ve been looking at our default thinking patterns, or algorithms, this week. Yesterday we discussed the four parts of a strategic leader’s mindset:

• Importance (over urgency)
• Problems (instead of symptoms)
• Incremental change (not history)
• People

 
It seems obvious to include people as a consideration when dealing with issues, but often times the people are an afterthought. So, why factor people into your algorithm?

1. You are more likely to include the right people in the process of dealing with the issue. Stakeholder input is essential, but often overlooked.
2. You are less likely to formulate a solution that depends on people doing something that they are unable or uncapable of doing. OR…
3. You factor in training and support to help people do something they can’t or won’t currently do.
4. You consider solutions that will actually lead to people’s growth (which may ultimately eliminate the problem)
5. You are more likely to identify people who can do what you were planning to do, thereby freeing up your time and helping to build leadership capacity in your organization.

 
When we are working on an urgent mindset, we are focused on satisfying the urgent need. With a strategic mindset, we focus on the underlying problem and how it is impacting people. 
 
Imagine there is an issue with too many meetings. An urgent mindset solution would be to create a policy that limits the lengths of meeting, allows them only on certain days, or to require people to take “Effective Zoom Meetings 101” before they can schedule a meeting.
 
A strategic mindset would recognize that people are scheduling these meetings, and that if there are more now than pre-pandemic, the meetings are filling some kind of need. By working with people to uncover the need, a strategic leader can help develop solutions that both meet the need and decrease the number of meetings. It’s not that an urgent mindset couldn’t also do this, but it is not the default thinking pattern.
 
Tomorrow, I’ll give you a handy list of questions to help you reprogram your algorithm.

Do good and be well,

​Frederick

Colleagues,
 
Yesterday we looked at the algorithm – the pattern of thinking – of busy leaders. That algorithm prioritizes urgency, symptoms, and history. Strategic leaders think differently, and their algorithms coincide with the four traits of strategic leader:

1. Acting with intention on a daily basis
2. Solving problems
3. Enacting relentless incremental change
4. Developing people

 
Also, unlike the busy leader algorithm that runs on autopilot, a strategic leader’s algorithm occurs at a conscious level. This allows strategic leaders to adjust the algorithm based on the unique and changing context of any given situation.
 

The strategic leader avoids the trap of acting based on history and can thus be more mindful of context as a critical factor. Further, by being people focused, solutions are more likely to meet both individual and group needs. 
 
Finally, by acting incrementally, actions are timely and provide either immediate improvement or valuable feedback. 
 
The three epiphanies give us permission to break out of old habits. Rewriting our algorithm to be more strategic allows us to generate wiser options to address the most important problems. Over time, we improve our situation and spend less and less time on the treadmill. 
 
Tomorrow, we’ll look more closely at why focusing on people is critical for getting off of the treadmill.

Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

Colleagues,
 
This week we continue our work on developing a strategic mindset.  
 
When we type in a topic and hit a button and on our browser our results pop up, but what’s happening in that space between the click and the list of results? Your search engine is running an algorithm in order to get the “best” results. But what goes into the algorithm and why are they the “best” results? 

Colleagues,
 
Yesterday you reflected on your actions from the previous day and your thinking behind your choices. As we wrap up this week, let’s look again at the three epiphanies:

1. There is not enough time.
2. I choose where I invest my time.
3. My choices reflect my priorities

 
The big idea is that we should be making intentional decisions about how we spend our time. 
 
The subtext to this emphasis on intentionality is that we often make decisions unconsciously.
 
You followed me through my busy day on Monday and we dissected some of my thinking on Wednesday. We saw a couple places where I could have been more intentional about my decisions. But what about you? 
 
Take 2-5 minutes and reflect on the things you identified yesterday.

• If you could rewrite your day, what would you have changed?  
• If you knew ahead of time that you weren’t going to get everything done, and you knew about the unanticipated things that came to you, how would you have spent your time?

 
The three epiphanies empower you to choose and to be aware of your values in making those choices. When you are intentional about your choices, you can begin to get off the treadmill of the urgent.
 
Next week we will focus on rewriting your mental algorithms to emphasize importance over urgency. 
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick