SD as Coach - Think far. Think Ahead. Think Beyond- Part 2- The HOW

In the first part of the article, we looked at the dimensions of What Thinking far, Thinking Ahead and Thinking Beyond may include. In the second part, we will discuss the How of developing Thinking far, Thinking Ahead and Thinking Beyond.

Please share your comments, ideas to make this thinking broader and better. Your inputs are important for this dialogue.

Whilst at one end feedback on this aspect is largely limited, there is also thin evidence on support offered as to ‘How’ to develop this ability. Thus, many senior professionals tend to struggle to both know what is missing essentially and also in their initiative to skill and develop this ability. Considering this is a Big differentiator for stepping into Senior, Top management roles, it is an important part of our discussion on Executive development and a lot of coaching interactions are to help clients think far, think ahead and think beyond. This ability to envision into the future is a highly valued capability at leadership levels. Important to develop this a few roles prior to transitioning to a Global Vice President role, equivalent or beyond. 

Reflect & Analyze - As we grow in our careers, we receive less and less critical feedback. Reflection thus plays a vital role and this is where you ask yourself, when was the last time you were given developmental feedback and whilst it may be sketchy, can you draw a pattern on what is being said.

1. Think of the last few managers you have worked with and write down specific feedback you have received. The tiniest detail is important. It is important to note all big and small feedback on thinking far, thinking ahead and thinking beyond aspect. Include both good and not so good experiences and write both positive and developmental aspects of the feedback. 

2. Analyze if you can assess a trend here in terms of what you are being told in different forms and ways. Over the years I have seen, there is always a trend, a pattern waiting to emerge.  The moment we agree to open the window, we begin the journey of seeing things differently. The nudges we receive can be transformational if only we are willing to listen in.

 Eight ways of Developing the Ability to Think Far, Think Ahead, Think Beyond-

1. Think of an Idea - Our work lives, we say, have limited scope to think far, think ahead and think beyond and our schedules are brimming over with timelines. In such a context, I would say, lets not focus on ideating at work only, and be open to working on an idea, that is beyond work and ignites your passion. How about ideating a passion project to cultivate this thinking. Examples could include- How to provide two jabs to all Indians...How to build a bicycle friendly country... How to build an EV eco system in India... How to increase digital literacy, or any other idea that has large canvas and offers scope to Thing Big, Think Scale. An idea that is big enough for you to work upon and a problem you would passionately enjoy solving. An idea whose time lies in the future tense is a good place to start cultivation of thinking far, ahead and beyond.

2. Start Writing - We think of many ideas but when we make a choice and focus on one, writing always helps. The process of writing over a period of time also shows progress. Even if its not dealing with an idea, writing as a habit does help bring in clarity. For example, Start writing and documenting feedback to assess trends, Start writing about your strategic process of thinking next steps of your work programs. In context of thinking far, ahead and beyond, Think of what would the Title of your biography be and what would you want your life story to be about. You can now work backwards to see what all you need to do to make your biography a reality. Start writing about what you would want the title of your bestseller to be! this is thinking ahead.

3. Develop Habit of Reading - Reading brings in excellent perspective and focused journals, magazines, research, books, are important tools on developing strategic views into your industry, understanding markets, trends, the world of politics, sports and all else. Reading broadens your horizons and someone rightly said- Reading and travelling are two important sources of education that one must invest early on. It is important to keep your reading focused on relevant topics of interest and what you want to build your knowledge base on.

4. Networking Beyond - Networking with Executives both inside and outside your company, within the industry and those outside the industry is critical to developing a multi-dimensional view of your industry and positioning of company therein and importantly what’s happening beyond the industry too brings in a fresh outside in perspective. Being part of industry conferences, networking with industry leaders, academicians, policy makers, can be a good way to develop perspectives that are broad based. Subscribe to Think Tank sessions.

5. Leverage the start-up world - Staying ahead in field of technology and business is important and it can be done by interacting with leading academia, start-up world and thus knowing where future capital is being invested in and what ideas are being developed. Eco-system is there for all to leverage and yet few come forward and add to it or take away from it. Plan what technology or business interests you and initiate conversations with relevant stakeholders in start-up world.

6. Planned time to Think - Taking time to unwind and planning for thinking time exclusively is a vital must. If you do not step away from the tactical operational work, you do not get to step into the future forward world of thinking far, thinking ahead and thinking beyond. This requires investment of planned time to develop a view. Plan your planned Time away from current role to allow for time to think.

7. Dialogue for Ideation - Having open ended conversations with millennials and young thinkers within your company, and tuning into what they are thinking, will place you in synch with your people’s thought process and this effort must extend beyond your team. Whilst this may seem not much to begin with, a conversation on ideation about future of your workplace can be a good way to start the thinking process on design for future with customer specs from teams already being discussed. Start thinking what future of work may look like and you may have a project ready to experiment your learnings with.

8. Thinking Ahead in your role - Think of how you can do a one-up or two-up level role. What do you have in plentiful that will support you and What would you need to develop to execute in that role. If you are in No. 2 or No. 3 Role think what No. 1 does. You can also be interested in lateral roles at higher levels and the same thinking applies here too. Read the blogs of these individuals to understand how they approach an idea, a situation and what do they talk about . You will start understanding what a big think appears to be like. Seek to understand how these roles are done differently or similarly outside your company to understand this at industry level. Start planning your thinking ahead today and observation is a good tool to use.

One more dimension – Often in the world of business, I hear this person thinks of only his/her role and not beyond. Now your commentary on this can be-  this is my role, so I am being sincere to it and staying within the scope. Rightly said - However your aspirations for growth require you to think beyond. So, if you want to leap, you need to know where you will land and that is usually beyond your current role. Hence, leaping requires you to prepare for next role, whilst you are delivering today’s role flawlessly. Your current role is the ticket to your future role.

A highly tangible benefit of above is - it makes you appreciate the next role and its challenges even more. You tend to develop a bigger and broader perspective and your expanded view begins to gets visibly noticed. You are thus well on your way to thinking beyond.

 In summary

You are progressing well to move into the senior leadership role and what would multiply your chances of success are – Start by being observant of the nudges you are receiving and listen for the big message behind the words that are being spoken to you. Read, Network, Engage within and outside to develop a broad and wide perspective and have a long term view of what you can deliver and what value you can create. It is always good to have diversity of views - like your teams, your leaders, other teams, other leaders, your manager, your stakeholders, your industry experts, experts outside your industry. This strengthens your perspective and adds immense value to your outlook.

As you begin this journey, you will realize you have the toolkit to start thinking far into the future, of thinking ahead in addition to what you are focusing on now and be good at predicting trends and proposing carefully calculated positions of thinking beyond, all of this while catapulting your career into a move far, ahead and beyond.

My big idea is to decode what future of leadership looks like and I am busy writing, reading, networking, ideating and setting time aside for this. I am loving it. You will too! :-)

 Thanks for your time!