Become a Proactive Leader with Situational Awareness

I want to talk about situational awareness this week , which can cover many different scenarios , from avoiding awkwardness in a meeting to knowing the difference between a good decision and a bad one , and from displaying appropriate behavior to better understanding the market that you are in .

When we lead others , our awareness needs to be amplified so we understand even the most subtle of comments and we are able to analyze future opportunities for the organization . This helps us be a more effective leader overall . Please enjoy the episode . Welcome to the Finance Leader Podcast , where leadership is bigger than the numbers . I'm your host , Stephen McLain .

This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting . Please consider following me on Twitter , facebook , instagram and LinkedIn . My usernames and the links are in this episode's show notes . You can also follow Finance Leader Academy on LinkedIn , thank you .

This is episode number 134 , and I'll be talking about developing the critical skill of situational awareness , and I'll be highlighting the following topics Number one do you ever find yourself not knowing what is happening around you ? Number two more situational awareness leads to improved business decisions . And three how to improve your situational awareness .

Author Stephen Covey said every human has four endowments self-awareness , conscience , independent will and creative imagination . These give us the ultimate human freedom the power to choose , to respond to change . All around us , conversations are taking place and decisions are being made .

Our team shares subtle and sometimes obvious hints in how they are doing with their tasks and in their personal lives . Are you able to pick up on these hints and actions taking place around you ? Do you know what to do ? There are other examples of situational awareness .

You are in a meeting and those in the room are being aloof to a decision they want you to make , are being aloof to a decision they want you to make . Are you aware of how everyone is working together to get you to commit to something that may need some additional analysis ? Here's another example your company should go in another direction in the market .

Can you see the industry signals that it would be wise to make such a shift ? These are just three examples of situational awareness Paying attention to your team , paying attention to how people want us to act and how we should be watching our market or industry so we make the best strategic decisions .

You may be thinking that this sounds like the skill of reading the room , which it does a lot , but reading the room is mostly for what is happening in the very present situation in front of you what is happening right now , so you make wise choices to not make a critical professional error .

Reading the room is a fundamental skill which we all need to learn and apply . It may very well keep you from saying or doing something awkward . Before we keep going , I want to highlight a few episodes so far from this year in case you missed them . The first one is episode 128 , which is personal accountability strategy for success in 2025 .

That was very popular , so I definitely recommend you going back and listening to that one If you need a little help on some personal accountability with your goals this year . The next is episode 130 , embracing change and driving success for finance leaders embracing change and driving success for finance leaders .

And finally , the third is episode 132 , mastering genuine positivity without the pitfalls . This was also one that people found very interesting , so I do recommend you going back and listening to those three episodes . I believe these three episodes can really help you in your professional journey . Thank you again for listening to the podcast . I appreciate your support .

You can subscribe to the podcast on the platform you are listening to right now , and you can also subscribe to my weekly email by going into the show notes or onto financeleaderacademycom . I will never share your information , thank you .

Leaders are required to look beyond their own task list to anticipate , to estimate , to project , to predict and maybe even to guesstimate what is happening and what could happen in the future . This relates to the market , to technology , to the economy , to our competition and even with our own peers and our team members .

Perceiving accurately what is happening around you can deliver big results to how you make better decisions and how you relate to others . In my Army career back in the year 2001, . Before I transferred to finance , I was assigned as the unit intelligence officer .

I had never worked in military intelligence previously , so I had to quickly learn my role and responsibilities . Now , my wartime duties differed vastly from my peacetime duties . Back on the base , I was primarily responsible for security , like the physical security of weapons and other sensitive items .

I was also responsible for submitting and tracking security clearances and who could access classified equipment and classified documents . My wartime duties required me to know and make my best guess on what the enemy would do , how they were organized and what equipment they were using .

I had to get good at anticipating enemy movements based on known doctrine and other specific variables . In turn , I had to prepare my unit on likely contingencies so we were prepared to make better decisions on how to deploy our forces . Sound strategic decision-making involves analyzing factors beyond what is happening today .

You must be forward-thinking and looking for indicators and variables specific to your industry , be aware of market and industry trends that affect your organization and how it serves to analyze your own deployment of resources to serve your customer better . One other topic to consider is groupthink . We don't talk about groupthink enough .

Groupthink is a leadership failure because we don't encourage our team to challenge paradigms , assumptions and even decisions before they are made . Groupthink is a culture where the extreme need for alignment gets everyone to agree without challenging the process . Or , even further , we have leaders who don't want to be challenged .

Leaders need to create the atmosphere for pushback on processes so the organization does not fail . How can you tell if groupthink is happening ? It's when your team agrees way too quickly and fails to identify obvious problems in decision-making ideology .

It may be prudent for senior leaders to perform a groupthink exercise to verify if that is happening by introducing flawed logic on purpose to see if your team says anything . Further insecure leaders will surely be a guarantee to groupthink as the predominant method for making decisions . Now how is everyone going on goals and CPE completion for this year ?

Please listen to episode 131, . Stay on Track for Long-Term Success . Our first check-in for 2025 , if you need a prompt for reviewing your goal setting for 2025 . Do you have a professional certification ? I always recommend earning one certification because it signals your commitment to being a professional and in being current on practices in the profession .

Now , once you earn that certification , you must have a plan to maintain it by earning continuing professional education credits . This will creep up on you if you don't have a plan to earn CPEs each month . So don't wait until month 12 and you need to scramble to earn credits . Let's look for ways to maintain your certification right now .

Now back to my Army career . Now in the military , we teach and encourage improved situational awareness for our leaders and our troops . You have to be prepared to counter the enemy's current move and future moves , so you best deploy your unit to gain the momentum to win .

This ability translates to business so easily , but you have to learn it and learn how to recognize it , plus how to apply it to your industry and market . It can mean different offers and a different product service mix .

Now let's talk about developing the critical skill of situational awareness Number one do you ever find yourself not knowing what is happening around you ? Do you operate in your own bubble sometimes , or stay isolated , paying attention around you and what is happening around you ?

Do you operate in your own bubble sometimes , or stay isolated , paying attention around you and what is being said is important . This can give you key indicators on how people are doing , how they're feeling and what your peers in the executive team are thinking . How connected are you with your peers ?

Staying connected around the organization gives you an edge on information for better decision making and just knowing what is happening , what concerns that may be bubbling and what assumptions are being used in planning . Watch for peer and senior leader alignments . Are you an insider or an outsider ?

I want you to be an insider , so you have that inside track on plans and thoughts that are happening with your senior leaders . Knowing what is happening beyond your own senses again gives you an edge . How are people and teams aligning on strategy , resource use , new products and services , new markets and maybe even new investments or divestments for the future .

Number two more situational awareness leads to improved business decisions . Being able to reach signals will give you an advantage when it comes to your competition , and this includes your in-house competition too , the industry overall , your customers and your team .

More accurate information leads to better decisions and if you can figure out not so obvious information , that can help you even more . Now , regarding your competition , can you tell what new offers or product-service mix that they have or will have ? There are also analytical tools available on the market to compare companies in your industry .

We don't talk about these very often . In whatever industry your organization is in , there's probably a service on the market or an analytical tool that you can subscribe to so you can analyze market data to help do comparisons on product and service delivery . I have done these several times as a consultant with a few companies .

From a strategic standpoint , you have to ask what do your customers need ? Do they know what they need ? What is their behavior ? What are future behaviors that will drive need ? What products will your competitors introduce which could change the entire marketplace ?

Now research and take a look at BlackBerry on this phenomenon specifically , for when Apple introduced the iPhone back in 2007 that had a virtual keyboard . Now , blackberry refused to concede the thought of the customer switching over from the physical keyboard , a big mistake that eventually saw their market lead erode .

I want you to combine experience , intuition and wisdom to make critical decisions in a more informed manner . The more non-standard information you can collect , or at least be aware of , of , helps to refine your own work . Being able to piece together things happening around you can give you that edge .

On analyzing your data , you may be able to consider factors not thought of previously . Another key area that can help with more situational awareness is conducting negotiations .

When negotiating contract terms or payment terms , it can be beneficial to understand and know word cues , facial expressions , body language , tactics and other issues when working through a business negotiation . Number three how to improve your situational awareness . Practice being mindful . Pay attention more to your surroundings and to what people are saying .

Look for cues , look for . Are saying Look for cues , look for particular words , look for unique behaviors . Sometimes have no other thoughts than just to pay attention more . Listen and be observant . Connect better with your peers , your team and the senior leaders .

When you become better connected , you will learn more and then you can become part of the informal leadership or information channel . Be intentional when looking for variables and factors that affect your work portfolio or the metrics you are responsible for . Look beyond your daily list of tasks .

Watch for and listen more intently to how people speak , what metrics they are interested in and what they are focused on . What is driving their work ? Knowing the business environment drives better decisions . In the Army , we teach , coach and mentor junior officers to improve their situational awareness , to make better decisions in the deployment of their troops .

Sometimes you have to act quickly once you become more aware , and this is especially true in military situations . An enemy that is more adept at maneuvering can get the upper hand in a combat operation .

Very similarly , like in business , when you combine more awareness with better judgment and risk-taking , you can become much more improved at achieving decisive victories . Now for action today . How well do you read signals around you ? You need to self-analyze your ability to be more aware of your surroundings and the business environment .

Again , here are a few tips to follow . The first is practice more active listening . Second is to look for meaningful words , actions and expressions . Next is to be watchful of trends in your industry and , finally , connect with your peers and senior leaders of the organization . Situational awareness is a great skill to possess .

Continue improving , picking up on cues and key words that can help your own professional demeanor and in your duties . Now please check out financeleaderacademycom for more information that can help you in your career progression . I offer courses and also offer several free downloadable guides .

My most popular guide , become a Finance Leader , covers several key topics that you can apply right away as a finance professional . Again , you can find the guide at financeleaderacademycom . The link is in this episode's show notes . Today I talked about the importance of situational awareness and I highlighted the following points .

Number one do you ever find yourself not knowing what is happening around you ? Number two more situational awareness leads to improved business decisions . And three , how to improve your situational awareness . The business environment can be difficult to navigate , so it's vital to know what is happening around you . Improving your business acumen is a critical skill .

Also , when you combine that with understanding the current state , plus add leadership and risk taking , then you can better and more quickly analyze threats and opportunities , which can lead to improved organizational and even personal performance . I hope you enjoyed the Finance Leader Podcast . You can find this episode wherever you listen to podcasts .

If this episode helped you today , please share it with a colleague . Until next time , you can check out more resources at financeleadercademycom and sign up for my weekly updates so you don't miss an episode of the podcast . And now go lead your team and I'll see you next time . Thank you .