Master strategic thinking: How to think strategically in 10 minutes – for Project Professionals. Strategic Thinking is the #1 skill for advanced Project Managers, and this video is your playbook.
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How to Think Strategically – for Project Professionals
As a project professional, you won’t just manage tasks and timelines. You’re operating within a complex strategic landscape where your decisions can make or break organizational objectives. Yet too many of us get trapped in the weeds of day-to-day delivery, missing the bigger picture entirely.
Strategic thinking isn’t just for C-suite executives. It’s an essential capability for any project manager who wants to truly add value. So, what does it mean to think strategically, and how can you develop this crucial skill?
What is Strategic Thinking?
Let’s start with what strategic thinking isn’t. It’s not operational thinking – that’s about efficiency, processes, and getting today’s work done. It’s not tactical thinking either – that’s about solving immediate problems and optimizing performance within existing constraints.
Strategic thinking is fundamentally different. It’s about understanding the broader context, seeing patterns and connections, and positioning your projects to deliver maximum long-term value. It’s asking not just ‘how do we do this?’ but ‘should we be doing this at all?’
The truth is, strategic thinking requires you to zoom out from your project bubble and see the organizational ecosystem your work exists within.
Understanding the Context
This brings me to the first pillar of strategic thinking: context. You need genuine business acumen – understanding not just what your organization does, but why it does it, who it serves, and what forces shape its environment.
This means diving into organizational strategy documents, analyzing market data, and developing your interview and critical listening skills. You need to be comfortable with tools like PESTLE analysis to understand external forces, SWOT analysis to assess organizational capability, and value chain analysis to see where your projects fit in the bigger picture.
But here’s the thing – context isn’t just about reading reports. It’s about asking the right questions of the right people and genuinely listening to the answers. Tools like Wardley Maps can help you visualize the strategic landscape and understand how different components of your business ecosystem evolve.
Mastering Time Horizons
The second pillar is time. Strategic thinking operates across multiple time horizons simultaneously. You need to understand whether you’re optimizing for next quarter, next year, or the next decade.
This is where organizational strategy charts and scenario analysis become invaluable. You’re not just planning for the most likely future – you’re considering multiple possible futures and designing strategies that remain robust across different scenarios.
I’ve seen too many project managers focus solely on delivery dates without considering the strategic lifecycle of what they’re building. Will this solution still be relevant in three years? Are we solving today’s problem or tomorrow’s opportunity?
Setting Direction with Flexibility
Strategic thinking also requires what I call ‘principled flexibility’. You need frameworks that set clear direction while allowing for adaptation as circumstances change.
This is where tools like GOSPA – Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Plans, and Actions – or OGSM frameworks become essential. They help you cascade from high-level strategic intent down to specific deliverables, whilst maintaining line of sight between daily actions and long-term objectives.
The key is building strategies that are robust enough to provide direction but flexible enough to adapt when reality inevitably differs from your plans.
Engagement at All Levels
This is where many project managers struggle. Strategic thinking isn’t a solitary activity. It requires the interpersonal skills to engage with people at all organizational levels – including those at the very top.
You need gravitas to be taken seriously in strategic conversations. You need listening skills to truly understand different perspectives. And yes, you need the courage to speak truth to power when strategic directions aren’t working.
This means developing your negotiation and influencing capabilities. It means learning to challenge assumptions respectfully and build coalitions around strategic initiatives. Because strategy without buy-in is just an expensive planning exercise.
Measuring Strategic Value
Strategic thinking must also be grounded in measurable outcomes. This means defining success criteria and projected benefits upfront, not as an afterthought.
You need to be comfortable with business case development, benefits planning, and financial analysis techniques like discounted cash flow. Tools like OKRs – Objectives and Key Results – help translate strategic intent into measurable outcomes.
But remember, strategic value often extends beyond immediate financial returns. You’re looking at competitive advantage, organizational capability building, and long-term positioning.
Understanding Risk and Complexity
The reality is that strategy doesn’t always work out as planned. Strategic thinkers embrace this uncertainty rather than ignoring it.
This requires scenario planning, perhaps using techniques like the Delphi method for expert input or Monte Carlo simulation for complex risk modeling. You need robust contingency planning and sophisticated risk analysis capabilities.
More fundamentally, you need a complexity mindset. Strategic challenges are rarely simple cause-and-effect relationships. They’re complex, interdependent systems where small changes can have large, unexpected consequences.
Tools like systems thinking approaches – influence mapping, iceberg models, causal loop diagrams – help you understand these interdependencies. Frameworks like Cynefin and the Stacey Matrix help you assess the nature of the strategic challenges you’re facing.
Portfolio Design and Project Selection
Strategic thinking also means understanding how individual projects fit within broader portfolios. Not every good project deserves resources. Strategic thinkers excel at prioritization and decision-making under uncertainty.
This requires tools like sensitivity analysis, decision trees, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. You’re not just asking ‘can we do this project?’ but ‘should we do this project given our other options and constraints?’
Execution: Where Strategy Meets Reality
But here’s the crucial point – strategic thinking means nothing without execution capability. You need to supplement strategic thinking with robust capabilities around planning, delivery, and tactical problem resolution.
You must remain sensitive to shifts in circumstances and be ready to adapt. You need the operational skills to translate long-term strategic intent into immediate, actionable plans.
The best strategic thinkers I know are also excellent executors. They understand that strategy and delivery aren’t separate disciplines – they’re two sides of the same coin.
Conclusion
Strategic thinking for project professionals isn’t about abandoning the details of delivery. It’s about ensuring those details serve a broader purpose. It’s about understanding context, managing complexity, engaging stakeholders, and delivering measurable value across multiple time horizons.
The question isn’t whether you can afford to develop strategic thinking capabilities. In today’s complex organizational environment, the question is whether you can afford not to.
So, what’s your next step? Start with context. Understand your organization’s strategic landscape. Then build from there. Because the projects that truly matter are the ones that serve strategic purposes – and that requires strategic thinking.
Recommended Videos to Help with Strategy and Business Acumen
Carefully curated video recommendations for you:
- What is Business Acumen? | Video
- Adriana Girdler’s Best Project Management Advice: Get Strategic
- What is Strategic Project Definition? | Video
- How to Survey Changes to Your External Business Environment | Video
- Transforming Business with AI: The Biggest PM Opportunity in 20 Years?
What Kit does a Project Manager Need?
I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own.
Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs
Note that the links are affiliated.
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