Welcome to the new manager podcast. I'm your host, Kim nickel. Hello and welcome. I'm glad you're here. I hope you're doing well. And today, we are just going to Dive Right In. I want to talk with you about the skill of strategic thinking. It's one of the top skills that come to light that people need as they move into people manager roles. And the first thing I want to tell you about.
This is what That tricky is that you think it's something you don't know how to do, or there's this realization of, oh, strategic thinking. That means thinking differently than how I am now and that's true, but it's helpful to remember that right now. You do think strategically, but you just call it thinking, are you just call it? Well, obviously, this is how things work. Because, remember, when we're thinking about, what does it
mean to think strategically? We were thinking in terms of relationships between people resources. You know, how thing, how one thing influences our effects another. And so when you move into a manager role, you already have had years of strategic thinking in your own life and in your own career, you've had thoughts that informed the decisions you made that shaped the choices that you
saw a available to you. There are so many subtle ways that just didn't stand out in your mind as an intentional, strategic choice or it might have bright. Like sometimes if you if you intentionally change Industries or you realize you're an underrepresented person in your industry or in your company that sense of distance will create an awareness of. Okay. Like, how am I going to do this? And the way that you answer that question, how am I going to do? This that is your strategy.
That is your strategic thinking so you already have it and part of the work I do with my clients is helping them to understand. How are they currently thinking strategically? What's your current operating strategy? Because once you have clarity about that, it makes it a lot easier to begin to expand the way that you think strategically, so that you can then grow and That internal
strategic operating system. So, for example, a lot of folks that I work with have the Strategic thinking of, in order to be successful. You work hard seems obvious, right? Like that's my strategy. I'll simply work really hard. I'll keep my head down. Don't want to draw too much attention to myself. I'll just work hard. Keep my head down, you know, don't want to B2 self-aggrandizing, I want to be humble. So just work hard. Keep my head down. Another big one is learning by
observation. I'll just learn what's expected by observing the people around me and I'll understand without having to ask a direct question. And without anybody teaching me exactly what's expected. And this comes up a lot, especially if you identify as an underdog or an underrepresented, Person, the sense of kind of reading the room to understand. How do I need to be in order to succeed here?
I'll just learn by observation. I don't want to ask for direct help because I'm worried about what people will think. If I do, I just need to sort this out another element of strategic thinking. I'll be I'll just be resourceful. You know, like, I'll just figure this out on my own. I'll have to be resourceful. I don't have a lot of resources. So I'll have to be Forceful on my own, don't ask for help. We talked about that just a
moment ago. A sense of walking on eggshells, this sense of needing to be very careful, that things are a little bit precarious and if you miss step or if you're careless somehow something very bad will happen. That can't be repaired and just an overall sense of high-stakes. So if you're if you're thinking is that there's always Is a sense of things being high stakes than that. Also creates a, you know, a feeling of pressure creates a sense of, I need to do things. Exactly?
Right? I have to figure this out on my own and what's really interesting is that this set of strategic thinking thoughts. Right? Like if that is what has been driving you through your education through your Adult Career life. They can be very useful. They can be very effective in getting you to the stage of advancement and success and achievement. There's nothing in correct or wrong about that often. The reason why we have our current strategic thinking is because it has worked.
It's been very effective in the past. And so, then we do it again and again, and again and then it starts to feel risky or Hard to begin to challenge that. That when you are moving into a manager role, it becomes very important to question. How are you currently thinking about things? Like, what is your current strategic perspective? And will it serve the situation you're in now? Or is it time to shift or update that strategic thinking? So that You can be more
effective. You may have outgrown a level or outgrown, a particular strategic thought that you have and it might be time for something else. One of the things that I've seen can get really problematic is when you're a person who is very good at learning by observation. What tends to happen is that then when you are managing other people, you will expect that. They will do that too. Because for you, it's just obvious. Obviously you simply learn by observation.
You read the room, you notice what's expected and then you course correct yourself. And you will be confused about why the people you manage are not like that. This is also where the self-awareness of the more you understand about. Yourself, the more you realize other people are not you, and so, they might have different internal operating manuals. They have different ways of thinking, strategically, of ways that have worked for them.
And so, part of the growth stage, then, as you're in this leadership, role of managing people is learning, how to stretch beyond what is familiar and what has worked for you and to begin to expand your skill set. So instead of just keeping your head down, staying quiet learning by observation. Just working hard, not asking for help. Now, you may be required to do the opposite of that. So instead of doing all the hard work, now, it's about delegating or now.
It's about facilitating. How can I make things easier, instead of keeping your head down? Now? It's about advocacy. It's about asking for resources. It's about promoting people. Our team, it's about promoting yourself and advocating for yourself. It's not just learning by observation. It's also helping to convey information, clearly and timely and in a way that is direct.
So it's easier for people to understand what your expectations are or what their requirements are having different kinds of conversations and maybe instead of expecting other people to be as Forceful as you are. It's about having more direct conversations about what is needed. What is available? What do you do? If there is a gap, right?
So it, we start to think of things really differently and what's nice is that, you know, if you've lived so much of your life with this feeling of walking on eggshells, like, I have to get everything just right. Otherwise, it falls apart or something will break and I won't be able to repair it. When you start to learn these alternative ways of thinking about how you work with others and think like thinking strategically in a more,
expansive way. It creates a greater sense of safety, a greater sense of resilience. It allows you to kind of set down the burden of I have to do everything exactly right. And it starts introducing a bit more. It's a bit more compassion, a bit more ability to adapt in the moment with the different people that you're working with. So it benefits you on a personal level because it can create a lot of anxiety, right.
When you have this thought of like, I have to do a right and there's no room for error creates a lot of pressure, a lot of anxiety. And when you are managing people, all of a sudden, you know, it's a different job. It's a It Dynamic. And I found it can create a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress because also as a human were really concerned with connection and belonging we want to feel connected with people. We want to feel a sense of belonging. It makes experiences easier.
It makes experiences more satisfying, it just feels good. Right? And so there's always a part of you that is going to be tracking for potential. Harmony and wanting to avoid that. And that is always going to be doing a little internal calculation of how much energy will it take to manage other people's emotions. And that's where if you're thinking, how do I say this in a way that doesn't create a
meltdown in the other person? Or how do I say this in a way that they won't lash out at me or they won't shut down, or they won't. Cry or they won't be angry or they won't think. You know this about me like when you are playing in your mind over and over and over again, how do I say this in order to create the result that I want?
A part of that calculation is the awareness that, like, how will you need to like, how much energy will it take for you to manage this other person's emotional life. And this is, I think so fascinating, because it often happens on a Very subtle level, like, it's happening, subconsciously, all the time. And this is where I see a lot of folks. Struggle to have those direct conversations because internally, there's an alarm going off. That says, it's not worth it.
It's not worth the effort. It will only create more work for you. What if it breaks the relationship? And you can't repair it. Like, there's a lot of fear and anxiety and stress that gets bound up. When we're not aware of how we're thinking about our work relationships and our relationships with the folks that we managed. So, you know, strategic thinking is something that you already have. It's something that you need to develop and hone as you continue in your career and the first
step is understanding. What is your current thinking? What is your current strategic? Thinking what has helped you to get to this point? What has helped you be successful here? And when you can begin to understand and see that clearly, then you have the ability to ask is this still helpful for the situation? I am in now. Is there another way to look at this? How else can I think about this? What's the big picture that I'm missing here?
Right. So when you start to think in those marks pants of ways because you have that clarity about how you currently think, you start to see what I what I call like door number three. So instead of, you know, it's this way or it's that way, you start to find all of these options, you start to find door number three. The thing that you didn't even think, About was available or
possible or could work. And it all begins with first slowing down, getting curious, taking a look at, how are you currently thinking about things and then beginning to ask some questions and what's neat? Is that as you learn how to do this? Like this becomes a skill that you'll use for the rest of your life and for the rest of your career, so it creates this really robust and resilient. Aunt, skillset around. How you think, how you make
decisions, how you feel? Like, even your sense of like, letting go of the sense of dread about what may or may not happen in a conversation that you need to have or with a decision that you need to make, it really makes a huge difference and it's one of those things where it really is work. You have to do for yourself and within yourself, it's it can be really tricky. To you know, like get the information just passively consuming.
So I say that while acknowledging and celebrating that you are here listening to this what this podcast but do take time to notice for yourself, how you're currently thinking. What is the strategy? That's got you here. And then where are you now? Where are you going? What is this strategic thinking that you will need. For that because it might need to change and just be prepared that you might not want to change because might not feel safe, right? And that's normal. It's a human thing.
That's why I'm telling you about it because if you understand and know it, then it won't trip you up in the same way. It's a lot easier to move forward. So, that's what I have for you today. I hope you enjoy the rest of this week, and I will talk to you next time. Hey, before you go. If you like this podcast, please leave a review. Tell me why you listen, and what has helped you. Thanks so much. I'll see you next time.