11. Vision and critical thinking

Vision and critical thinking

Having a clear and compelling vision is the starting point of any leadership endeavor. Visions that are supported by strategic thinking and embrace innovation and change, are all the more powerful. 

In his book On Becoming A Leader, Warren Bennis says: “The first basic ingredient of leadership is a guiding vision……..Unless you where you’re going and why, you cannot possibly get there”.

TED Talk speaker, Simon Sinek, expands on the order in which you should develop your vision and strategy. First determine “the WHY” of your vision. Namely what is the Core Purpose of your existence as a person and as a company. Only then you should determine WHAT you are going to do to achieve  your purpose, and HOW will you do it.

If your WHY is solid you can always change the WHAT and the HOW in response to changing market conditions. Take for example Steve Jobs’ purpose …. That did not change from the early days of the Apple I to the world-changing iPhone.

In fact, the WHAT and the HOW of your vision and strategic plan cannot be fixed over time – it must be agile and innovative. The ability of an organisation to re-invent itself is the hallmark of long term survival and success.

But the ability of any leader to create a powerful vision and strategic plan – WHY, WHAT, and HOW – depends on the quality of her or his strategic thinking.

Developing Your Critical Thinking Skills

Here is an approach for significantly improving the quality of your critical thinking:

1. Develop a curious, growth-oriented mindset. Read and study a lot.

2. Follow selected renowned strategic thinkers.

3. Practice the following at least twice a week. Document each step in your Critical Thinking Journal:

a.  Identify a situation, issue, or dilemma for your practice.

b.  Define your desired outcome for this situation.

c.  This about the Big Picture and the broad context for the situation.

d.  Study everything you can about the situation.

e.  Think about several out-of-the-box creative solutions for the situation.

f.  Consider how each solution may bring about your intended outcome, consider the intended and unintended consequences of each solution.

g.  Ask yourself all the questions you can about each solution. Think about all the questions others may ask you.

h.  Access your intuition, values, and beliefs about each solution.

i.  Then using everything you’ve learned, decide on the best course of action.

In this module you will learn how to:

a. Create and communicate a compelling vision

b. Develop your critical thinking skills

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