Developing the Strategic Thinking Skill of Seeing the Big Picture

Applying Systems Thinking

o Big-picture thinking
o Systems thinking
o Elevating perspective
o Understanding paradoxes
o Understanding causality

External and Internal Organizational Contexts

o Understanding contexts
o Porter's five forces
o Understanding internal direction
o Considering stakeholders

Understanding the Organizational Value Chain

o Value and value chains
o Supply and value chains
o The SIPOC diagram

Adopting a broad view can mean taking several steps:

try to understand your organization's strategies and business environment
consider the impact of your decisions on the organization and other departments
identify the underlying reasons for your actions
consider how the parts of your organization interact, and
develop a long-term vision

Maria's able to anticipate opportunities in terms of green products and designs. She's also able to link her decisions with
the organization's strategic direction and overall business goals.
She realizes how her decisions can impact customers and others outside the organization. She also contributes to the
organization's business goals of producing innovative, high-quality buildings and structures
Benefits
Taking a broad perspective is an important aspect of thinking strategically and can have several benefits. It helps you to
anticipate internal and external opportunities and challenges. You learn to understand your organization's strategic
direction better, so you can make decisions that align with organizational goals. Taking a big-picture view can also help
you understand your role and contributions in relation to your organization's goals. Finally, you can realize the impact of
your work on stakeholders in and outside the organization.
The ideas and tools associated with systems thinking can help you uncover all your alternatives and gain a sense of the
big picture. Systems thinking entails thinking of an organization as a large system, with its departments or divisions as
various subsystems.
In addition, the organization is part of a larger system, in the form of its business environment.
Systems thinking requires you take on a holistic view of your organization and situations you have to deal with. So you need to
consider how each system works and how subsystems are interconnected. To do this, you need to understand your actions and
decisions in the larger context, while also being able to focus on details.

Using systems thinking helps prevent people from attempting to apply short-term solutions to long-term problems.
Knowing That problems dont exist in isolation helps you to solve Those problems completely, without overlooking
aspects of the problems in linked areas or accidentally giving rise to new problems So solutions are more far reaching
and better address both the roots of the problems and the various effects

A fair amount of managerial or supervisory work is routine - once youre used to it, you can do it with little or no critical
thought. Generally, ifs only when something unexpected happens or youre faced with uncertainty that youre prompted
to explore your understanding of how things are or how they work.
To broaden your perspective, aim to think critically more often, reflecting on and questioning what you know. what your
role is, and what impact you can have.
Systems thinking requires attention to detail as well as a broad and complete view of your organizations. Through bigpicture thinking and analysis, you develop a structured way of balancing these two perspectives. The guidelines for
strategic thinking provide the structure for shifting from a details view to a broad view and back again.
As a result, you learn how to balance the urgent issues in your department against the issues that are important to your
organization. This means solutions you develop have a longer-term positive effect.
People naturally look for and notice differences. When you begin to look for similarities in seemingly different things, it
often results in a change of perspective and enables you to look past boundaries.
You should practice seeking out similarities among different companies, internal departments, people, situations, and
problems you encounter.
For example, lean philosophy was developed and implemented in the Japanese motor industry. Its tenets and
practices were then adopted by industries as diverse as health care and financial services, providing dramatic and
tangible results.

Systems Thinking Tools

Elevating your perspective
You may need to elevate your perspective to engage in "big picture" thinking. To do this, you can

develop a reflective approach think critically more often, reflecting on and questioning what you know, what
your role is, and what impact you can have, and

look for similarities rather than differences change your perspectives and look past boundaries

Understanding paradoxes
Strategic thinking opts for a process that is adaptive and generative being open to contradictions, challenges, and
testing your own views, and making connections where seemingly there are none. To develop a systems thinking
approach, you should

avoid reductionist thinking that breaks down information to uncover a single, unquestionable truth, and as a
result ignores the complexity and importance of context, and

explore generative approaches that help you add to existing information and understand connections

When working with paradoxes, you need to find ways of becoming comfortable with the tension involved in dealing with
complex circumstances. Conscious analysis and intuition help make sense of such situations.
Understanding causality
When considering cause and effect from a systems perspective, you need to look past apparent linear connections to
the more complex interactions beneath them. You need to assess what is happening, instead of what should be
happening which can lead to confirmation bias.
To help you understand these complex relationships, you can use

hypothesis testing ask yourself "what if" questions, then follow up with a series of "if...then" hypotheses, and

influence diagrams determine the directional flow between elements by linking them with directional arrows
and identify the elements as positive and negative

A reductionist approach involves breaking down information,

eliminating anything thats judged invalid or contradictory, in an
attempt to uncover a single, unquestionable truth. Both in
science and business, this approach ignores complexity and
the importance of context.
As an example, a manager tries to reduce a problem involving
low productivity to a single cause, like a flawed departmental
process or unmotivated employees.
In a generative approach, you consider what you can add
rather than what you can remove from the information at hand.
You branch out from one idea or issue to others, and make
connections.
For example, a manager associates a problem involving low
productivity with a range of other problems, like ineffective
human resources management and poor communication
among different departments
Confirmation bias happens when you look for information that
will validate your beliefs. This often happens because it's easier
to confirm an idea than spend energy on challenging it and
coming up with something new. The danger of confirmation
bias is that you could miss critical information. You can counter
the tendency toward confirmation bias by using hypothesis
testing. Using hypothesis testing, you begin by asking a "what
if" question such as "What if flexible working hours increased
productivity?"
You can also use a basic influence diagram to understand the
multidirectional nature of the cause and effect different
variables have on a decision and how they interact to influence
it. In this type of diagram, the issue under consideration is
displayed in a rectangle, and the variables are the ovals.

Five Forces Factors to Consider

Purpose: Use this job aid when you ar e consider ing the exter nal factor s that may influence your
or ganization.
Bargaining power of customers

volume bought
number of supplier s
level of supplier fixed costs
availability of substitutes
pr ice sensitivity of customer s
str ategic impor tance of pr oduct to
customer , and
knowledge of pr oduction costs of pr oduct

Threat of new entrants

cost of initial investment and level of fixed

costs
cost advantage of existing player s
br and loyalty of customer s
existence of contr olled patents and licenses
access to r aw mater ials
scar city of impor tant r esour ces
contr ol of distr ibution channels
r elationships between customer s and
existing supplier s, and
cost to customer s of switching supplier s

Bargaining power of suppliers

a few supplier s dominate the mar ket

switching costs fr om one supplier to another
is high
ther e ar e no substitutes for a par ticular
input
a supplier 's customer s ar e fr agmented,
which leaves it with little power , and
supplier s decide to pr oduce the whole
pr oduct themselves

Threat of substitutes

customer s can pr oduce the pr oduct

themselves
switching costs ar e cheap, and
ther e ar e no close r elationships with
customer s

Rivalry among competitors

ther e ar e many similar -sized player s

ther e is little differ entiation between the
pr oducts
ther e is low mar ket gr owth
bar r ier s of exit ar e high, due to ear lier
investment, and
All player s have similar str ategies

Leading Teams: Launching a Successful Team

Alison:
Hello everyone! I'm so glad we're finally together as a group. As you know, I spent quite a bit of time assembling the
team and we have a great cross-section of skills. Why don't we start by making a few introductions, since I'm not sure
everyone knows each other.
Great! Let's get things moving now, shall we? As you know, this team was formed to develop our company's marketing
campaign for the upcoming season. We have two months to get it off the ground.
Anna: Is this going to be a large campaign? I only have experience working on smaller projects.
Alison:
It's going to be an extensive campaign. But don't worry, Anna. The others have lots of experience. I have no doubt we'll
pull together a great campaign with all your input!
Alison: Hi, everyone. I just wanted to remind you that we have to submit our package for the CEO's review a week from
today.
Devin: No problem. We're actually just putting the finishing touches on it now. Today I'm going to edit all the text, then
tomorrow I'll review the graphics.
Alison:
That's great, Devin. Do you mind if I interrupt you for a moment? I just want to find out how Anna's work is coming along.

The stages of team development

Stage

Characteristics

Leader's strategies

Forming

The team starts to focus on the goals, roles, and its

purpose.

Find people in your organization who have the

necessary skills and the time to be part of your
team.
Ensure that members feel comfortable and
knowledgeable about the group.
Clarify the team's goals and outline the planned
schedule.
Build enthusiasm by talking about why the group
will be successful and the goals you know team
members will accomplish.

Team members are enthusiastic and motivated by a

desire to be accepted.
Team members are polite to each other and wait for the
leader to get the meeting started.

Storming

This stage is characterized by conflict as team members

struggle over roles and responsibilities.
This stage can be highly creative as team members
generate and challenge ideas and discuss important
issues.
Team members must learn to voice disagreement
openly and constructively while staying focused on

Be open to every team member's input.

Ask team members to share their ideas.
Ensure that everyone stays on track with the
team's goal.
Help the team define a shared vision.

The stages of team development

Stage

Characteristics

Leader's strategies

common objectives and areas of agreement.

Norming

This stage is characterized by team members moving

toward unity.
Team members make decisions by consensus and
negotiate differences.
Team members have learned to trust each other and
their leader.

Help team members feel confident that they're

doing a good job.
Show members that they'll meet their objectives
to instill confidence.
Create schedules for the project and for
meetings that respect every team member's
availability.
Try to ensure that all members can attend every
meeting.

There's a sense of agreement and cohesiveness.

Team members feel comfortable expressing their ideas,
as well as their disagreements.
The team is finally beginning to feel like a real team
members support each other and work together toward
goals.
Performing This is the most highly productive stage of team
development and is characterized by unity.
The team has common goals.

Act as a facilitator.
Make sure everyone is involved.
Deal with difficult team members.
Keep tabs on the team's progress.

Team members feel confident making decisions and

sharing responsibility for processes.
Team members are more autonomous with a lower
dependence on the team leader.
Team members know what they're doing and can get
things done with minimal supervision.
Team members have learned what works for dealing
with disagreements.
Adjourning The end of the project, and often, the dissolution of the
team.
During this stage, team members are dealing with their
impending separation from the team.
Team members may feel insecure and reluctant to let
go, or they may lose interest before they complete all
their tasks.

Have a final meeting with the team where you

discuss the things that worked well and the
things that didn't.
Get team members to talk about how they felt
about the group and what it accomplished.
Give the group feedback about its performance
as a team.
Give each team member individual performance
feedback.

Marlene: I need people for my team who can design software, but who can also get along well with the rest of the team.
Greg:
I agree that's really important. If you can't get along with your team members, how can the team be a success?
Marlene: That's right, Greg. Now, I'm aiming to have the team together by the end of the week. QA needs the new software in four
weeks to start testing.
Heather: I'm not sure that's possible. Software design tends to be a slow process. At least, that's how it always seems to be in my
experience.
Greg: With all due respect, I disagree. If the team pulls together, there's no doubt in my mind we can do it!
Marlene:

Well, that's something we can discuss at our first meeting. Do either of you have any questions about the project?
Heather: No, none from me. It seems like it'll be the same old, same old.
Greg:
Yes, I have one question. I worked on a similar project last year, and we had problems getting the software to work on different
systems. Do you anticipate that being a problem on this project?
Marlene: We do have one solution in mind, but again, that's something we can discuss at our first team meeting.
Heather: Problems already? We haven't even started working on the project yet! How typical.
Greg:
Don't worry, Heather. If the team works together, we'll get through any trouble spots.

Assess candidates to determine if they have the necessary job

-specific technical skills. These are the specific areas of
expertise needed to successfully complete the work market
research, finance, and software programming are all examples
of areas of expertise.
For example, if youre creating a web site, team members
must have web design Skills. Or, youre creating a logo for a
client, your team members must have graphic design
experience.
Team members should have team-readiness qualities, which
are the characteristics critical for working on your team.
Evaluate candidates based on these qualities: collaboration,
communication, commitment, participation, and solutions
orientation.
Assess a potential team members team and organizational
culture fit by determining whether tie has me personality traits
and characteristics necessary to fit with your team and
organizational culture.
For instance, your company might emphasize punctuality,
creativity, and leadership ability as traits needed to fit in with
its culture.
Collaborative team members work closely with others to
accomplish tasks and achieve goals.
Communicative team members express feelings and ideas
clearly, directly, honestly, and with respect for others and for
the betterment of me team. Constructive communication is
positive, confident, and respectful.
Committed team members care about their work, the team,
and the teams work. Their commitment to the team motivates
them to do whats best for the team.
Participatory team members tend to have a can-do attitude.
They take initiative to help make the team a success, and
theyre fully engaged in the teams work. For example, they
participate in meetings by listening intently and giving their
input.
Solutions-oriented team members are willing to tackle
problems proactively. They bring problems to the forefront and
collaborate to find solutions and form action plans. They dont
blame, complain, or avoid problems.

Problems and Strategies during Team Formation

Newly formed teams often run into a few common problems, which you can overcome using certain
strategies.
Problem

Strategy

Actions to take

Unfamiliar with other Have team members introduce

team members
themselves.

Allow all your team members to explain who they are, their
backgrounds, and what they bring to the team and project.
This will remove unfamiliarity and foster respect among
colleagues.

Not clear on the

team's purpose

Clarify the team's purpose.

Explain the team's goals in clear, unambiguous terms.

Explain exactly what the team will be doing, with what
resources, and by what time.
Be open and honest about reporting lines, strategic priorities,
and other underlying concerns that may exist.

Don't understand
the team's context

Use an organizational chart to

explain the team's context.

Let team members know how the team fits into the
organization as a whole.

Don't understand
responsibilities

Use your knowledge of the organization to let team

members know what's going on and to set team goals in the
context of organizational strategy.

Help team members understand

their responsibilities and those of
their teammates.

Make sure each team member has a clearly defined job role
within the team.
Give your team members the information and reassurance
they need to form a team.