A governance style

Strategist

Shape what’s next.

You tie every decision back to where the business has said it is going.

The question a Strategist is most likely to ask

“Does this still make sense against where we are trying to get to?”

How a Strategist describes the value they bring

“I connect the decision in front of us to the direction we have committed to.”

You connect the decision in front of the board to the direction it has committed to, and keep long-term value in the room.

Contributes

Direction and opportunity

What the research findsDirectors carry habitual routines for taking in information and forming judgments, and those routines shape how a board works.van Ees, Gabrielsson & Huse (2009)

What a Strategist brings, and what to watch

Every perspective brings strengths — and creates its own blind spots.

What they bring

  • Connect decisions to direction
  • See the opportunity in front of the business
  • Keep the horizon in the conversation
  • Bring ambition to the plan

Where to lean in

  • Bring what is changing in the market to every meeting.
  • Translate the strategy into the two or three priorities it implies.
  • Keep long-term competitiveness on the agenda.

Watch for

  • Can carry a plan past what the organization can execute
  • Can get ahead of where the business actually is
  • Can assume alignment that has not been tested
  • Can treat governance detail as someone else’s work

What helps

  • Ask how the strategy actually gets executed.
  • Spend time on what is blocking implementation.
  • Put measurable milestones under the ambition.
The growth question

“What evidence strengthens this strategy?”

Working with a Strategist

What the other three bring to the same table.

StewardTests what the plan risks.They are protecting something specific, and it is usually something that matters.Ask: “What are we protecting?”
CatalystMoves the plan into action.They will push past the plan, and the agenda has no room left in it.Ask: “What would we drop?”
NavigatorTests the plan’s assumptions.They will change the picture you were planning against.Ask: “What would we watch?”

The four perspectives

Any of them can be a board’s strength. A board needs the range.

StewardStability and judgmentStrategistDirection and opportunityYou are hereCatalystMomentum and innovationNavigatorAwareness and adaptability

Which perspective do you bring?

Ten questions, about three minutes.

Take the assessment