I find that even the most talented organizational leaders find the subject of strategy development somewhat intimidating. Quite often, our conversations about how things are going in the organization quickly turn to issues that are clearly tactical rather than strategic. With the demands and pressures associated with meeting quarterly expectations, it’s no wonder that many of the most important aspects of strategy development keep getting pushed to the back burner.

In many situations, I have found that the greatest challenge that the leadership team needs to overcome is their inability to take the time to think strategically before having to make strategic decisions. To help refine your strategic thinking skills, you should focus on developing your abilities in four areas:

  1. Anticipating future trends
  2. Challenging the status quo
  3. Better interpreting the information at hand
  4. Becoming a more proactive learner

Developing these four skills might seem somewhat daunting, but there are some very simple actions you can take immediately to support your efforts to become a better strategist.

To get better at anticipating future trends, proactively broaden your perspectives and routinely look from the outside inward. Focus on identifying change sooner and visualizing the future state of your business by looking backward.

If you want to challenge the status quo, focus on empowering your team to challenge long-standing assumptions and openly critique conventional wisdom. Be introspective. Embrace constructive criticism and allow critical thinking to produce new perspectives.

We all want to better interpret the information we have at hand. To do this more effectively, focus your efforts on amplifying weak signals and getting more comfortable combining analytical reasoning with your strong business intuition. Try to connect the dots more effectively by gathering more data points and exploring multiple approaches long before selecting the path forward.

Lastly, and I think most importantly, become a more proactive learner. Embrace a culture where experimentation thrives but also encourages experiments that fail fast. Proactively expose yourself to models and cultures that lie outside your comfort zone. Dive deeper and establish the use of regular checkpoints and after-action briefings for better course corrections. Take each of the lessons learned and disseminate them widely into your corporate culture.

Strategic thinking is both an art and a science. Developing this valuable skill can set you apart from your peers and easily become a core competency that allows you to better reflect on whether or not the actions you’re taking today are indeed moving you closer to your long-term objectives.

If you want to kickstart the strategic thinking process in your organization, take the time to set up a meeting in the near future that is focused solely on an open conversation about how your team can begin to better anticipate future trends. You will be pleasantly surprised by how impactful this simple step can be in helping your team become better strategists.