What do you do if your coaching and mentoring practice lacks strategic thinking?

Think of your practice as a treasure map; assessing gaps is like spotting where X marks the spot, but you've got to figure out where the map is incomplete. It's a mix of detective work and honest reflection—sifting through your goals, outcomes, and feedback to spot where the gold of strategic thinking hasn't yet been unearthed. Time for a strategic treasure hunt!

Finding the gaps is just the start—now it's about equipping yourself with the right gear for the journey ahead. Imagine each new skill and tool as a piece of your adventurer's kit, with resources like strategic planning courses and SWOT analysis as your compass and map. It's about transforming those gaps into paths that lead to treasure troves of success and fulfillment.

Venturing into the wilds of strategic improvement? Don't go it alone! Engaging with fellow explorers (peers and mentors) can shine a lantern on unseen pitfalls or hidden paths in your strategy. Think of feedback as the secret messages and maps shared by those who've navigated similar journeys—priceless insights that can steer you toward undiscovered wonders.

With your adventurer's kit in hand and a map of feedback to guide you, it's time to navigate the strategic seas with precision. Crafting a clear vision and mission is like setting your sails, while tools like the Balanced Scorecard act as your compass and sextant, helping you chart a course toward the blue oceans of success. It's about turning your strategic voyage into a tale of triumph.

The journey of strategic thinking is an epic saga, not a short story. Establishing your metrics and checkpoints is akin to setting up lighthouses along your coast—beacons that help you navigate and adjust your course as needed. Regularly scanning the horizon and interpreting the signs ensures that your strategic voyage is ever on the path to discovery and growth.

In my coaching practice, I always start the relationship with a client by thinking "bigger". What more is behind the request? How would that affect the long-term vision? It's important to ask those questions and look at the future in both life and business contexts, which requires stepping away from the operational problem-solving mindset. The long-term vision is a North Star that helps not only with prioritisation and focus but also with motivation and challenges that stand in every's client way.

The shift from operational thinking to strategic thinking is not an easy one. I would use the the scenarios that clients are presenting as part of team coaching sessions where we look at operations vs strategy. As an exercise each coach could draft a strategic vision and look at how it might apply to that type of business. I would have everyone share their projects in a group session so that as a group everyone learns and shares in feedback. I would do this on some regular cadence until everyone is able to demonstrate the shift in thinking to a more strategic mindset.