Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and GOLA giving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellovledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode three point fifty five. Today's episode is all
Speaker 2: about a topic that separates good leaders from the ones
Speaker 2: everyone remembers, and that's how to be more strategic. I
Speaker 2: don't care if you're running a startup with three employees,
Speaker 2: managing a team of frontline workers, or you're in the
Speaker 2: c suite of a global company. Being more strategic is
Speaker 2: not optional. It's the difference between spinning your wheels every
Speaker 2: week chasing fires and actually steering your organization toward a clear,
Speaker 2: intentional future. So I'm going to break it down and
Speaker 2: make it simple, actionable, and real. Let's start with a question,
Speaker 2: when is the last time you got out of the
Speaker 2: weeds long enough to ask where am I really trying
Speaker 2: to go? For most leaders, the answer is not recently enough.
Speaker 2: So what does it mean to be strategic? Being strategic
Speaker 2: is not just about thinking big. It's about intentionally connecting
Speaker 2: your daily decisions to a larger plan. Think of it
Speaker 2: like driving at night with your headlights on. You're making
Speaker 2: decisions every second, speed lane direction, but you can see
Speaker 2: the road ahead and you know your destination. The best
Speaker 2: leaders don't just react, they direct. Step one, Know the
Speaker 2: game you're playing. Strategy starts with clarity. What's your team's mission?
Speaker 2: What's the most important outcome your chain this year, this quarter,
Speaker 2: or this month. If you can't answer that in one sentence,
Speaker 2: you're not being strategic, You're being busy. Take time every
Speaker 2: week to step back and ask what game am I playing?
Speaker 2: What does winning look like? And don't assume that your
Speaker 2: team knows either. Your version of winning may look completely
Speaker 2: different from theirs. Spell it out, over communicate it. Repetition
Speaker 2: builds alignment. Step two play chess, not checkers. If you
Speaker 2: want to be more strategic, stop thinking only about your
Speaker 2: next move. Chess players look several moves ahead. They anticipate obstacles,
Speaker 2: counter moves, and opportunities. What does that look like? In leadership,
Speaker 2: it means looking at the impact of your decisions, not
Speaker 2: just today, but three months from now. It means building
Speaker 2: contingency plans. If you're launching a new initiative, ask yourself
Speaker 2: what could derail them. What will my competitors do? How
Speaker 2: will this impact my team's bandwidth? Don't just react, Run
Speaker 2: scenarios in your head and prepare for more than one outcome.
Speaker 2: Step three ruthlessly prioritize. Strategic leaders say no more than
Speaker 2: they say yes. And it's not just because they're negative.
Speaker 2: It's because every yes dilutes your resources in your focus,
Speaker 2: Your time, money, and attention are limited. What are the
Speaker 2: three things that really move the needle for your team?
Speaker 2: Put those at the top of your list. Everything else
Speaker 2: either supports those priorities or it gets cut. And here's
Speaker 2: a tool. At the start of each week, write down
Speaker 2: the three most important things that must happen for your
Speaker 2: team to move closer to its goals. Then protect your
Speaker 2: time to make that happen. Don't let meetings, emails, or
Speaker 2: small fires distract. Step four measure what matters. Being strategic
Speaker 2: means making decisions based on evidence, not gut feelings. What
Speaker 2: are your key metrics? Are you tracking them weekly? If not,
Speaker 2: you're leading blind. Data is not just for analysis, it's
Speaker 2: for leaders who want to win. Find the numbers that
Speaker 2: matter most to your strategy. Revenue, customer satisfaction, employee turnover,
Speaker 2: project milestones and make them visible. Review them regularly. If
Speaker 2: you're off track, adjust if you're ahead, ask why, and
Speaker 2: then double down. Step five, develop your strategic muscles. No
Speaker 2: one wakes up and becomes a strategic leader overnight. It
Speaker 2: takes practice. Here are some quick drills you can do.
Speaker 2: Schedule thinking time every week every thirty minutes to step back,
Speaker 2: review your plan and adjust, and find a mentor or
Speaker 2: appear to challenge your thinking. Bring them your plan and
Speaker 2: ask what am I missing? Where am I weak? And
Speaker 2: study winners outside your industry. How do championship teams, military leaders,
Speaker 2: or top performers in other fields approach strategy? What can
Speaker 2: you steal and apply to your world in some common
Speaker 2: pitfalls to avoid. There are three traps that kill strategy.
Speaker 2: Being too tactical, only living day to day, never looking
Speaker 2: up and chasing every shiny object, getting pulled in a
Speaker 2: thousand directions, and confusing motion with progress. Just because you're
Speaker 2: busy doesn't mean you're winning. Avoid these and you'll be
Speaker 2: miles ahead of most leaders. So leadership without strategy is
Speaker 2: just luck. You can have all the charisma, work, ethic,
Speaker 2: and experiences in the world, but if you're not strategic,
Speaker 2: your results are always going to be average or left
Speaker 2: up to luck. The good news you can start being
Speaker 2: more strategic today. Step back, clarify your mission, prioritize what
Speaker 2: really matters, measure your progress, and keep sharpening your thinking.
Speaker 2: Do that and you won't just be a leader, you'll
Speaker 2: be the kind of leader who actually makes things happen.
Speaker 2: This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast, and I
Speaker 2: thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.