Our leadership team has plenty of operational talent, but we lack a strategic voice and everyone is too quiet during long-term planning. How do we assess our leadership team to see if we have a gap in strategic thinking?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Many entrepreneurial leadership teams are packed with great executors but lack strategic depth. If your quarterly planning sessions consist of quiet agreement and a lack of debate, you have a major leadership team health issue. A functional leadership team must have a healthy mix of both tactical execution and strategic vision.

To assess your team, look at your Accountability Chart and evaluate each member using the GWC™ filter. Ask yourself if they truly have the mental capacity to think strategically about the future of their department, or if they are simply great at managing the current daily workload. If your leaders are constantly trapped in firefighting mode, they will never have the headspace for strategic thinking.

You must also foster healthy relationships where team members feel safe to challenge ideas. Use your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ to practice the IDS® process on strategic issues, not just tactical ones. Encourage healthy conflict and push your leaders to voice their opinions. If the silence continues, you may need to reorganize your seats. You might have a great operational manager in a seat that actually requires a strategic leader. Realizing this gap is the first step to strengthening your team so they can help you drive the company forward.