Experiences That Enable One to Become an Expert Strategic Thinker.

AbstractStrategic thinking is a skill needed by leaders at all levels of the organization. In this qualitative study, 10 experienced ministers were interviewed and identified the characteristics that were most important to the development of their expertise. The eight key experiences contributing to the development of the ability to think strategically for the study's participants were Being Mentored, Other Ministers, Spiritual Discernment, Education, Practical Ministry Experience, Challenging Experiences, Experience in Other Cultures, and Reading Books. Recommendations are made for developing strategic thinking skills.IntroductionMany leaders lament that "we need more strategic thinkers". Capstone courses are offered in many bachelor and graduate programs to help students pull together all the details they have learned and develop their strategic thinking skills, but many are dissatisfied with their effectiveness (Blaney, 2012; Jones, 2007; Singh, 2012). Strategic thinking has long been considered a leadership responsibility, and the development of strategic thinking in people at all levels is a concern of leaders and adult educators.Strategic thinking is a distinctive leadership activity oriented toward the discovery of novel, imaginative, competitive strategies and envisioning significantly different futures (Heracleous, 1998). Strategic thinking is different from day-to-day management thinking, which is referred to as operational thinking, in that it is longer-term, takes a broader view, and focuses at the high level of key issues (Hanford, 1995). Literature ReviewStrategic ThinkingStrategic thinking has been in the literature for decades; however, because the term is often used interchangeably with strategy, strategic management, and strategic planning, its meaning needs to be clarified. Mintzberg (1994) emphasizes that "strategic planning isn't strategic thinking. One is analysis, and the other is synthesis" (p. 107). Strategic thinking is not merely another name for everything under the strategic management umbrella, but it is a particular way of thinking with specific and clearly discernible characteristics. Mintzberg argues that while strategic planning is the systematic programming of preidentified strategies from which an action plan is developed, it often gets in the way of strategic thinking. Strategic thinking uses intuition and creativity, and "its outcome is an integrated perspective of the enterprise, a not-too-precisely articulated vision of the direction" (p. 108). Mintzberg articulated three false assumptions about strategic planning: that prediction is possible, that strategies can be detached from the subjects of their strategies, and that the strategy-making process can be formalized.Hamel and Prahalad (1989) have described strategic thinking as crafting strategic architecture. They also emphasize creativity, exploration, and understanding organizational inconsistencies. Strategic thinking involves thinking and acting within a set of assumptions and action alternatives as well as challenging existing hypotheses and options which possibly may lead to new and more opportune choices (Hamel & Prahalad, 1989). According to Mintzberg (1995), strategic thinking is the ability to "see through" and consists of three sets of components:* Seeing ahead-seeing behind (having a good vision of the future based on an understanding of the past);* Seeing above-seeing below (having a "helicopter" perspective, from a wide scope, then taking a walk to see reality); and* Seeing beside-seeing beyond (having lateral thinking and the capacity to envision the future), (p. 79)Strategic thinkers are described as "visionaries" who "can see differently from other people and pick out the precious gems that others miss" (Mintzberg, 1995, p. 81). The ability to see those "gems" depends on the ability to use intuition and creativity to synthesize (Mintzberg, 1995). …