The Fine Art of Strategic Leadership

Inc. magazine is a magazine discussed about Start-ups and it is circulated around Canada and US. I just got a copy of its May 2012 issue with its main headline “How to nail a Start-up; Three little words: listen, learn, adapt” and when I opened that article, I was like… “um… okay…” cus to read it is too irritating since I am currently not in my mood to read, and the article was like 5 full-pages, so yeah… I just did some skimming and not really interested in that.

May 2012 Issue of Inc.

My preference on the contents was more to simple, short displays (I’m not calling them articles since I don’t really think they fit enough to be ones) like quotes, comments, tips, or even advertisements. One thing really caught my attention is a tips on page 8 which titled “The Fine Art of Strategic Leadership” by researcher Paul Schoemaker. And this is it:

The Fine Art of Strategic Leadership: Interpret, Align, and Learn.

• Interpret. Ambiguity is unsettling. Faced with it, the leader is tempted to reach for fast (and potentially wrong-headed) solution. A strategic leader holds steady, synthesizing information from many sources before developing a viewpoint. 
• Align. Consensus is rare. A strategic leader must foster open dialogue, build trust, and engage key stakeholders, especially when views diverge. 
• Learn. As a company grows, honest feedback is harder and harder to come by. You have to do what you can to keep it coming. This is crucial, because success and failure—especially failure—are valuable sources of organizational learning.

I couldn’t agree more. But somehow there should be more to it, don’t you think? It’s not that it’s too simple; it’s too general. I don’t think it works literally the same way for everyone. There must be other formulas to complete that list—different things for different personals.

So, how about you? What's YOUR Fine Art of Strategic Leadership?