Thriving Thursday: Strategic Thinking Skills

Employees often need to make quick decisions while also thinking about and balancing long-term goals, future risks, and the company’s strategic goals.

The benefits of strategic thinking skills training are that it helps people learn how to step back from immediate workplace pressures so that they can consider the bigger picture and make better strategic decisions. In other words, it is about greater awareness and the ability to anticipate change rather than simply reacting to it after problems arise.

Strategic thinking is also closely related to innovation, collaboration, and workplace decision-making, and employees who think strategically are often good at recognizing patterns, noticing opportunities, and visualizing how their actions may impact organizational goals.

It can also be useful to understand how strategic thinking and strategic planning differ. Strategic thinking focuses on vision, awareness, and seeing connections across the organization, while strategic planning is more to do with the actual steps needed to achieve a goal.

Thriving Thursday is a monthly skills topic presented by Melody Wright, Manager of Learning & Development, for Human Resources & Strategic Talent Management. This session is open to all faculty and staff.