In the last two posts we covered what strategic thinking really means and common myths people have about it. In this next entry in our series on strategic thinking, we’ll move on to a more challenging topic: the unexpected emotional toll that can arise from implementing strategic management in your organization, and the costs of taking a strategic approach .
For many leaders, embarking on a strategic planning approach can be invigorating and lead to substantive long-term change. But along the road to improvement, there may be lots of ups and downs.
In this post, we’ll touch on four negative feelings that commonly arise during the process of thinking and acting strategically—and tips for successfully navigating them .
1. Loss of Control
When the work we do is more tangible, and the outcomes we achieve are more immediate, we naturally develop a feeling of control. While this sort of work may vary in scale or scope, it’s usually predictable or even routine. But the strategic planning process can be far more ambiguous, with outcomes that are much more uncertain.
For many people, being put in these circumstances can understandably provoke anxiety. It’s human nature to want concrete answers; when a problem announces itself, we want solutions, and fast. In business and in our personal lives, we don’t sit well with uncertainty.
When this happens, many leaders are tempted to impose control in any way they can, and not in productive ways. They may embellish data to make up answers, micromanage direct reports in attempts to accelerate outcomes, or obsess over challenges, frustrating everyone in their vicinity.
A far healthier response to feeling a loss of control is to acknowledge the things you can’t control and focus on the things that you can. Is this an age-old cliché? Sure is—but it’s also timeless advice. Try to pinpoint when and where you feel anxiety during your strategy execution, and work from there. Along the way, be sure you ask your stakeholders for help when you need it.
Quote
“Strategic managers need to be aware of emotions, anticipate their likely presence and effects, and manage the situation as necessary.”
– Ethel Brundin, Feng Liub, and Thomas Cyrona, “Emotion in strategic management: A review and future research agenda,” in Long Range Planning, Vol. 5, 2022
2. Fear of Failure
No one likes to fail—even those of us who champion the self-assured mantra that if you’re not failing, you’re not trying (or at least nor hard enough). Failing just hurts.
Under ordinary circumstances, most of us can accept a reasonable risk of failure. But because strategic thinking is a lot more intangible, and thus less quantifiable, the likelihood of failing at it may seem to be higher. Predictably, many leaders, even former failure embracers, find themselves developing a newfound fear of it.
Many leaders try to cover their fear of failure by trying to look competent and sound smart. They embellish data, exaggerate results, and even take credit for others’ work in order to silence their insecurity. I don’t have to tell you that this sort of business environment rarely ends well. You’ve probably seen leaders do these things, so you’ve no doubt seen how they can backfire.
If you find yourself preoccupied with failure to an unhealthy degree, try to interrupt your negative thought patterns by reminding yourself of the areas you’re competent in. Look back on the times you’ve achieved great results and how you did it. A fear of failure often distorts our self-perception, making reality (aka, potential undesirable outcomes) seem worse than they are.
Your best defense against a fear of failure is an honest assessment of where you’ve been successful before. Can you do X [ insert fear-provoking strategic objective ]? Maybe, maybe not. But chances are you’ve succeeded at plenty of other challenging tasks. So why not give yourself the benefit of the doubt?
3. Fear of Letting Others Down
If your self-image is tied to your (perceived) success, rest easy: you’re definitely not alone. We all want—and often need—to appear to others as competent, confident, and in control. Chalk it up to human nature or something else. But the bottom line is that when we face uncertainty in our work or ambiguity about outcomes we are expected to achieve, we get stressed.
While a fear of failure is driven by a fear of looking incompetent, a fear of disappointing others is rooted in the fear of losing approval or respect from people who are important to us. In these situations, again, a little perspective can do wonders. It’s important to remember that we’re almost always our own harshest critics.
Results that we perceive as “disappointing” may be completely understandable in the eyes of others. If we’ve done a good job building trusting relationships with colleagues and team members, they are often more than willing to offer us grace when new initiatives are rolled out, like building a long-term strategic approach . And when things don’t go as expected, they are also probably going to be much more forgiving than we fear.
The reality is that if you’re going to do strategic work well, at some point you will make a mistake and disappoint someone. The question is, how will you respond? How will you take responsibility for your mistakes and learn from them, and how will you make sure the relationships that are important to you can weather uncertain times?
Tip
When it comes to the dark art of managing emotions during a time of strategy execution (or really, any other transitional period that entails taking an approach to strategic planning), a sense of humor and humility can work wonders.
Not only can a little self-effacement and willingness to acknowledge reality help lighten the mood, it signals to team members that a) you’re human; and b) you’re trying your best, too, just like them.
4. Loss of Immediate Gratification
For many professionals, not getting immediate gratification during a project is incredibly frustrating (the same goes for being unable to provide it). The fact of the matter is that proof of a successful strategy will always be more ambiguous and take longer to achieve.
Waiting for it requires patience and determination, two things that don’t always come easy in a fast-paced work environment. The longer decisive feedback takes to arrive, the more likely we are to second-guess things, feel a loss of control, or become preoccupied about failing.
The best strategy for dealing with this is to set short-term (strategic) goals and interim milestones. Breaking down strategic initiatives spanning months or even years into chunks can allow you to see and celebrate progress on the way to your longer-term strategic outcomes.
Learn to be gratified by the process of developing and empowering others, of building more strategic plans and solutions, and being able to maintain a long-term perspective. These are admittedly not easy things to learn. But a shift in mindset can go a long way when it comes to ensuring effective strategic planning .
Learn more about taking a stronger approach to strategic planning with these blogs:
The work of thinking and acting strategically brings with it a much higher level of pressure than other types of work.
Learning to withstand the pressure emotionally is critical to being seen by others as strategic. If we aren’t able to handle the pressure—the intensified political dynamics, the higher level of risk, the broader degree of exposure of our work, and the emotional toll that comes with doing strategic work—our strategy execution will be short-lived.
Having a strong understanding of the unique management beast that is the strategic planning process is a true competitive advantage . Get this right, and you’ll be set up for success.
Taking a Strategic Approach to the Future Means Cultivating Emotional Resilience Now
All the strategic thinking and planning in the world will fall apart if you’re not taking the steps to cultivate your emotional resilience. Working with a leadership coach is one key step you can take to build a stronger emotional foundation.
Find out we can help you become a better strategist and leader. Contact us today.