Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/tools-for-the-strategic-leader/5023142/
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In 1998, Seattle elected a new mayor and for the first time in my career, my colleagues and I were stumped about how to engage the city’s leader in advocacy for human services. This mayor didn’t seem to be interested or want to read our briefing papers. Our director hired a strategic communications consultant who led us through two days of intensive reflection. What had we been trying that didn’t work? What was our new mayor’s learning style? He was an architect (visual) and urban planner (systems focused). The consultant challenged our assumptions and helped us reframe our thinking. Perhaps the mayor wasn’t disinterested — maybe we needed to communicate with him differently. We decided to use more visuals, PowerPoint and big picture, systemic approaches that could excite him with their potential to leverage change. These ideas worked and taught me the power of reflection, reframing, and systems thinking.
Strategic Leadership is a trending topic with lots of theories about the necessary skills, mindsets, and tools for success. John Pisapia, as ...