The Power of Strategy Coaching
“‘If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.’”
The greatest ability any leader has is the ability to think: clearly, distinctively and independently. Great thinking is the necessary starting point for effective strategy, competitive advantage, transformational change and business success.
And yet thinking that is really distinctive is remarkably rare. Most business sectors are led by several companies with essentially identical strategies who then compete on the quality of execution. Winning on execution is a brutal and relentless task. Very rarely do we find a sector with a leader that has shown truly distinctive thinking.
The great thinking that typifies the leaders of these firms is rare because it’s hard and personally risky. It is truly independent, often contrarian and very distinctive. Yet, in most organisations, thinking like this is almost non-existent. Not because these executives aren’t smart but often because the organization itself mitigates against the best thinking. As Henry Ford said: ‘Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.’
In 25 years in leadership and strategy roles in Mining and Oil & Gas I have so often seen the way that corporate culture and organisational forces stop great thinking. Peer pressure between members of the executive can drive towards conformity. Speaking out seems to create far greater reputational risk than going with the flow. Like the peloton in the Tour de France, senior executives fall in behind the CEO. It takes courage to break ranks. Short term performance measures can easily lead to a culture of incrementalism. Similarly, executive remuneration systems are more likely to reward steady progress than a risky, contrarian idea.
The best thinking takes courage and needs to be protected while it develops. As in the natural world, good thinking needs a ‘midwife’ to ensure it develops until it’s ready. This can be a lonely and risky time. Share them too early, before they’re fully formed, and they can be stillborn. Few corporate cultures provide a warm embrace for a poorly formed radical idea that might upset the status quo!
So leaders need help crafting great ideas. A ‘Thinking Partner’ who has no agenda other than helping them develop the most incisive, distinctive and effective ideas and plans. The focus of executive coaching has largely been around leadership behaviours. Yet, surprisingly, there has been very little focus on providing coaching for the leader’s most important activity of all; thinking about the business. This is Strategy Coaching. Having spent 25 years in leadership and strategy roles in large firms in mining and Oil & gas I’ve seen that this is one of the greatest needs in large organisations to ensure that their thinking stays fresh.
As Nancy Kline, one of the foremost coaches in the world says: ‘Thinking for yourself is the thing on which everything else depends. Until we are free to think for ourselves, our dreams are not free to unfold.’
“‘You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.’”
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