Strategic Thinking Skills

Habit #2 Agility

The Strategic Thinking Skills

Systems Thinking

Reflection

Reframing

1Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic Leader. Charlotte, NC: IAP

Strategic Leadership requires

the ability to think through

Synthesis as well as Analysis;

Nonlinearly as well as Linearly;

Implicitly as well as Explicitly.2

Habit 2

Skills Sets Needed

Executive

Managerial

Supervisory

Technical Interpersonal Conceptual

Katz, 66


Habit 2

Conceptual SkillsIf an individual possesses conceptual skills that

individual has developed the ability to apply information and concepts to practice. This involves the ability to see the organization as a whole and to understand how various parts of the organization relate to and affect each other.

Conceptualization involves diagnosis and analysis. Conceptual skills refer to the ability to discern meaning in and to establish relationships among events and bits of information that at first glance would appear to be discrete and unrelated.

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The Strategic Thinking SkillsSystems Thinking

Systems thinking refers to leaders’ ability to see systems holistically by understanding the properties, forces, patterns, and interrelationships that shape the behaviors of the systems which provide options for actions. This definition requires that leaders think holistically, defining the entire problem by extracting patterns in the information one collects before breaking the problem into parts

6Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic

Leader. Charlotte, NC: IAP

Habit 2

S y s t e m s T h i n k i n g

Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic Leader. Charlotte, NC: IAP 7

Examples – Systems Thinking SkillsGood Habits• Try to extract rules and/or patterns from the information available• Find that in most cases external changes require internal changes• Search for the cause before taking action. • Find that one thing indirectly leads to another• Try to understand how the facts presented in a problem are related to each other• Try to identify external forces which affect your work• Try to understand how the people in the situation are connected to each other• Investigate the actions being taken to correct the discrepancy between what is desired

and what exists• Look for fundamental long-term corrective measures• Look for changes in the organization’s structure that lead to significant enduring

improvement• Look at the ‘Big Picture’ in the information available before examining the details• Seek specific feedback on your organization’s performance• Think about how different parts of the organization influence the way things are doneBad HabitsView relationships individually as opposed to being part of an interwoven networkBreak the problem into parts before defining the entire problem




Reframing Reframing refers to leaders’ ability to switch attention across multiple perspectives, frames, mental models, and paradigms in order to generate new insights and options for actions. It enables one to sort through problems and opportunities, to see problems in ways that allow them to map out different strategies, and identify trends before others see them.





Examples – Reframing HabitsGood Habits• Seek different perceptions• Track trends by asking everyone if they notice changes in the organization's

context.• Ask those around you what they think is changing• Engage in discussions with those whose values differ from yours• Use different viewpoints to map out strategies• Recognize when information is being presented from only one perspective • Listen to everyone’s version of what happened before making a decision? • Engage in discussions with those who have different beliefs or assumptions

about a situation?

Bad Habits• Find only one explanation for the way things work? ® • Decide upon a point of view before seeking a solution to a problem? ®• Create a plan to solve a problem, before considering other viewpoints? ®• Discuss the situation only with people who share your beliefs


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Reflecting

Reflection refers to leaders’ ability to weave logical and rational thinking together with experiential thinking through perceptions, experience, and information to make judgments as to what has happened and then creates intuitive principles that guide what is happening in the present to help guide their future actions.

Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic Leader. Charlotte, NC: IAP

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Examples – Reflecting HabitsGood Habits• Review the outcomes of past decisions• Reconstruct an experience in your mind • Consider how you could have handled the situation after it was resolved • Accept that your assumptions could be wrong• Acknowledge the limitations of your own perspective• Ask “WHY” questions when trying to solve a problem• Set aside specific periods of time to think about why you succeeded or failed• Frame problems from different perspectives • Connect current problems to your own personal experience and previous successes • Stop and think about why you succeeded or failed• Reconstruct an experience in your mind to understand your feelings about it• Take into account the effects of decisions others have made in similar situations

Bad Habits• Ignore past decisions when considering current similar situations? ® • Ignore your past experiences when trying to understand present situations


What does the research show?


Do Successful Executives and Managers Think Differently than less successful ones?

YES, INDEED!!!

Do Successful Executives and Managers Think Differently than less successful ones?

YES, INDEED!!!

Successful Leaders Think Differently than Less SUCCESSFUL Leaders!

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REFL REFR SYS T STR T

Benchmark

Less Succ

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Pisapia, Reyes-Guerra & Yasin, 2006Pang & Pisapia, 2006 N=900


Successful Benchmark Managers and Benchmark Executives Think similarly

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REFL REFR SYS T STR T

Managers

Executives


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A Comparison of Aspiring Leaders in 4 Countries Methodology

Research Design

Exploratory multiple site sample using quasi experimental method contrasting use of systems thinking and reflection by location, gender, and age.

Timeline: 5 months

Sampling Plan

Sample size: 328 respondents

Sites chosen from lead researcher’s work sites.

Purposeful sampling of students preparing for educational leadership positions at 4 Universities.

Comparison group of practicing educational leaders

Data Collection

Instrument: The Strategic Leader Questionnaire. STQ©v4 measures the participant’s capability to think strategically. It included 17 items from Systems Thinking and Reflection items.

Translated into Mandarin and Malay and back translated into English.

English version used for comparison group, USA, and HK samples

Reliability – Exceeds .70 Alpha Standard Reflecting =.74 – Systems Thinking =.87 STQ Scale = .93

Validity. principle axis factoring method. Two factors (Systems Thinking and Reflection) with Eigenvalues greater than 1.0 accounted for 52 percent of the variance.

Data Analysis

Anova - SPSS Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic Leader. Charlotte, NC: IAP

Reflection and Systems Thinking use rise as age rises

Age group 20-25 used both Reflection and Systems Thinking skills significantly less than other age categories.

No other significant differences were present in the data

A g e & Sy s t e m s T h i n k i n g

20-25 26-34 35-44 45-542.8

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3.8

4Chart Title

A g e & Re fl e c ti o n

20-25 26-34 35-44 45-542.8

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04/10/2023 Pisapia, J. (2009) The Strategic Leader. 21

More Effective leaders use the three strategic thinking skills significantly more often than Less Effective leaders.

Pisapia, Reyes-Guerra & Yasin, 2006 - Pang & Pisapia, 2006 - N=900

There is a cumulative impact - The strength of the relationship between strategic thinking and leader success increases as leaders use the three dimensions in tandem.

Skill use improves with age, experience, and education– the younger you are the less you use these skills.

Strategic thinking skills can be developed through training. There is a significant relationship between strategic thinking capabilities and self directed learning.

Agility of the Mind

STQ Study Findings

How can these results be used to select and develop leaders and organizations?

SELECTION

SUCCESSION PLANS

DEVELOP LEADERSoRitz CarltonoPlaytex

STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATIONS


SYSTEMS THINKING

AGILITY

ANTICIPATING

ARTICULATIN

G Statement of Intent

REFLECTING

REFRAMING

The Strategic Leadership Framework

The Strategic Thinking Protocol

The Takeaway - A shared statement of intent forms a psychological contract with followers and guides the organization’s actions.

23Pisapia, J. (2009) The Strategic Leader.04/10/2023

Pisapia, J. (2009). The Strategic Leader. Charlotte: NC: IAP

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He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." - Lao Tzu

Directions: With 4 strokes of your pen connect all the dots. Do not lift your Pen from the Page


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The Final Exam

Business

Strategic Thinking Skills