Thinking is a valuable resource

How do you get your boss to support a strategy thinking program in your organisation? This is one of the questions I have been asked to address during the Master Class for the CPA Congress 2010: Navigating the New in Adelaide on 3 November, and it is a tough question.

I have worked for and with a lot of organisations and my experience tells me that "thinkers" are treated with some suspicion. All too often, thinkers are labelled by others in the organisation in one of two ways:

• Thinkers are the opposite of Doers or Achievers
• Thinkers are engaged in internal politics and scheming

Why is this the case? Sometimes the reason is that thinkers see beyond the bottom line and do not allow this year's profit to dominate their thinking and actions. Traditional management encourages strong focus on today's bottom line and the actions needed right now. As soon as you start thinking, you see new possibilities and future directions. You see ways to change things which may have an impact on today's bottom line or require spending more money from the current budget.

All too often the adage "action this day" is the driver for modern managers (there's actually a lot behind the adage but they just see these words). If they don't see you taking action today, if they see you talking or writing or even just thinking, they feel you are not doing or achieving.

More often, it is a problem of understanding and communication. Everybody thinks at work and they usually think about their work. Thinking becomes confused with management, leadership or planning, which is usually the domain of the senior management team (for more on this, see our previous post on Who makes a Good Senior Management Team).

Thinking provides the basis for corporate growth if you create the communication channels to take advantage of it. There are interesting ideas and thoughts throughout your organisation at all levels. Often those new to the organisation or at levels below the senior management team don't like to communicate their thoughts to those in authority. This may be a fear of the consequences in the workplace, but sometimes it is the natural fear of putting your ideas out there for discussion by others. How will the idea be received, will you be ridiculed, will it be a blot on your copybook?

The two fundamental channels for discussion of ideas within organisations are private conversations between peers and contributions in meetings. The first usually goes nowhere because there is no encouragement to take the ideas from those private conversations out of the peer level and into the levels of authority and influence in the organisation. The second is just as hard because speaking in meetings is public speaking, and many, many people fear speaking in public. An additional issue is that meetings are often structured as management tools or decision making forums, neither of which creates the environment for active thinking contributions.

Those labelled as "thinkers" within organisations are usually great listeners who hear the contributions of others and make themselves a channel of communication. They analyse what they have heard from within and from outside the organisation. They organise those ideas and they take the proposal to higher levels. These listening skills are often lacking at the senior levels of the organisation, so the ideas and proposals are viewed as coming from the thinker.

Often the ideas and proposals are from outside of the thinker's own role (the result of listening), who are treated as lacking the required expertise and experience.

As a result, the thinker is viewed as being ambitious and scheming to advance their personal position in the organisation. While this may at rare times be true, it is actually very unusual. Most thinkers understand that if the idea advances the organisation, everyone will benefit. In fact, those that use labels such as "thinker" will be playing internal political games themselves.

I remember well the stunned reaction of a senior management team when I presented a detailed strategy and action plan that eliminated my own role from the organisation. Before the presentation, I was seen to be talking to a lot of people at all levels of the organisation, therefore I was plotting. It never occurred to any of them I would advise they change the nature of my own position and employ a person more suitable to the needs of the organisation (BTW the recommendation wasn't accepted!).

It is difficult in most organisations to bring people on board a strategy thinking program. There are ways though, key among them:

• Strategy thinking is a leadership activity so make the decision to be a leader
• Don't hide what you are doing and why, but plan your communication
• Listen and analyse what you hear
• Tell stories and have conversations with people at all levels of the organisation and externally
• Identify key allies and participants and help them to also lead and communicate
• Find third party endorsement and examples where strategy thinking has worked

Thinking is not confined to those labelled as "thinkers" - everyone in an organisation thinks. Those labelled as "thinkers" are usually leaders with excellent listening and analysis skills. They present ideas that come from throughout the organisation and are channels of communication and innovation.

If you place thinking in its true context, a valuable resource that exists within and throughout the organisation that can lead to long term business success, you will be a long way on the path of getting your boss behind you and taking your team with you.