Jeroen Kraaijenbrink

There are three types of leader. Those that stand in front of their people, those that stand behind their people, and those that stand next to their people. Which type of leader are you?

In the volume of leadership typologies, it is hard to see the forest for the trees. There’s visionary leaders, transformative leaders, servant leaders, transactional leaders, humble leaders, and so on and so forth.

To simplify things I’d like to divide leaders into three broad categories: leaders that lead from the front, leaders that lead from the back, and leaders that lead from the side.

Leading from the FRONT
Visionary type of leaders that lead by example. Work in front of the troops, directing and paving the way for their people.

+ Key benefits: innovation power, perceived as strong, aligned team
- Key risks: dominance, can feel unsafe, can create weak followers

Leading from the BACK
Servant type of leaders that support their people. Focus on people’s needs and try to help and facilitate them where they can.

+ Key benefits: people-centric, needs-driven, empowerment 
- Key risks: can be seen as weak, pampering, lack of vision

Leading from the SIDE
Mentoring type of leaders that guide their people. Work in a peer-to-peer, feedback, and equality-based relation

+ Key benefits: openness, hands-on, collaboration-driven
- Key risks: invisible as leader, legitimacy issues, unclear decision-making

As we can see, all three have their pros and cons. This means that there is no single best or worst way. But, we can have preferences. My personal preference is leading from the side: standing (or sitting) next to people rather than in front or behind them.

Which type of leader are you?
Which type of leader do you prefer?

#leadershipdevelopment
#managementdevelopment
#changeleadership

A good consultant can make the difference for your organization. But, what is a good consultant? And, how to find one that is worth the fee? Look for these nine value-added skills.

Being a good consultant isn’t easy. You need to be a jack of all trades to help your client and warrant the often high fees asked. As part of the research done for my book, “Strategy Consulting,” I’ve identified nine skills a good consultant has:

1. Attentive Listener. Be attentive and keep a close eye and ear on what is happening, and on what is being said and not said. Ask many questions and be comfortable with silence.

2. Principal investigator. Guide the gathering of information, judgments and opinions. Identify patterns and generate insights that other people do not see.

3. Discussion Leader. Foster a productive dialogue and make sure that people contribute, listen to each other and generate insights and decisions in a collaborative way.

4. Critical Inspirator. Bring in refreshing opinions and ideas that people within the organization have not thought of. Challenge the ideas and views held by the client.

5. Communication Channel. Use what you pick up and channel it to those who need to hear it. Don’t gossip and always be ethical, keep the organization’s interest in mind.

6. Progress Manager. Monitor and make sure sufficient progress is made and that things proceed according to plan. Guide the organization and adjust when necessary.

7. Stable Anchor. Serve as an emotionally stable “tower of strength” who maintains and creates the necessary calm in the organization while going through change.

8. Moral Guide. Apply high moral standards and influence the client’s ethics. Don’t preach or lecture, but guide the organization toward what is right.

9. Practical Educator. Share knowledge and skills with the client in order to improve their capabilities. Create an environment that stimulates and supports learning by doing.

For all consultants: do you have these nine skills and do you apply them in your work?

For all clients of consultants: does your consultant have these nine skills?

If so, great. If not, you know what to do.

#strategyconsulting
#consultant
#growthmindset

A competent strategy consultant is a “Master of Four,” mastering four critical skills and combining them in a balanced, integrated process.

Being a good strategy consultant isn’t easy. You have to combine a variety of different roles, balance them, and be able to smoothly switch between them while working with a client.

The work of a strategy consultant can be described along two dimensions. The first is Content vs. People. On the one hand, you have to focus on content; on the strategy and plans that need to be developed. You also need to focus on people, because those are responsible for developing and implementing the strategy.

The second dimension is Ask vs. Tell. On the one hand, a strategy consultant needs to ask a lot of questions, to help people clarify their thinking and get ideas, issues and insights on the table. A competent strategy consultant also brings in their strategy expertise to guide the client confidently through the process.

Based on these two dimensions, we can identify four key roles and skills of the competent strategy consultant:

Facilitator
Strategy requires a competent facilitator who can guide a client through the process by asking the right questions at the right time. As a facilitator they know the steps to take, how to trigger people to contribute, and can integrate and summarize what is being said.

Strategist
More than merely a process facilitator, a competent strategy consultant is able to take the lead in designing and formulating strategies. Based on the inputs received through facilitation, they can identify patterns, draw conclusions and formulate strategies.

Coach
Strategy implies change, and change has a profound effect on people. For effective strategy and implementation, the strategy consultant should be able to carefully listen and relate to people, and coach them throughout their own individual journey.

Educator
A competent strategy consultant facilitates learning. By working with people from the client in a systematic and transparent way, these people learn and develop competences through learning-by-doing. Not just individually, but also as a team and organization. 

Masters of Four are strategy consultants that master all four competences. Perhaps not at an equal level, as each individual has their unique strengths and weaknesses. But, all four skills need to be developed at a basic level at least.

Are you a Master of Four? Is your consultant a Master of Four?

If you want to become one, have a look at the Certified Strategy & Implementation Consulting (CSIC) program on strategy.inc. Our February cohort is sold out, but in September we will start with a new cohort. You can share your interest via our contact or registration form.

→ Join my community and subscribe to my Soulful Strategy newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU

#strategyconsulting
#changemanagement
#coachingskills

How do you create a culture in which disruption, change and innovation are normal and part of everyday business? Do as Netflix did: create a “No Rules Rules” culture of freedom and responsibility.

Most companies are stuck in routine, day-to-day work and find it hard to change and innovate, let alone to embrace disruption. Yet, especially in the fast-changing and disrupted industries many organizations are in, doing so is key to survive and thrive.

As Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings and INSEAD professor Erin Meyer reveal in their book “No Rules Rules,” Netflix has found a way to achieve this and make disruption, change and innovation part of the normal way of working.

They did so by creating a culture of freedom and responsibility. Let that sink in; freedom AND responsibility. It is that particular combination that has made it work. Not just freedom, not just responsibility, but both.

Their formula is deceptively simple and consists of three key elements that develop through three consecutive steps. The three elements are:
• Talent: hire the best of the best
• Candor: open, honest and transparent feedback
• Remove controls: take away rules one by one

Repeating these three elements in three phases in which the bar is constantly raised, leads to the following nine-step approach.

Step 1
• Build op talent density by creating a workforce of high performers
• Introduce candor by encouraging loads of feedback
• Remove controls such as vacation, travel, and expense policies

Step 2
• Strengthen talent density by paying top of market
• Increase candor by emphasizing organizational transparency
• Release more controls such as decision-making approvals

Step 3
• Max-up talent density by implementing the Keeper Test
• Max-up candor by creating circles of feedback
• Eliminate most controls by leading with context, not control

Is it perfect? Of course not. 
Does it always work? Of course not. 
Aren’t there downsides? Of course there are.

But, for a long enough period of time, Netflix has demonstrated that this way of working can indeed lead to a culture in which disruption, change, and innovation are much more common than in the average organization.

The lesson? Don’t imitate exactly what Netflix did, but understand the underlying mechanisms and adjust them to your own organization.

#culturematters
#talentmanagement
#innovationmanagement

Do you react or do you respond? And do you even know the difference? You should, because reacting and responding are very different with very different outcomes.

We all have moments where we feel overwhelmed by all the information bombarded at us and all the things that are happening in the world. As a result, our focus is often outward—like a frightened animal we look anxiously around us.

In that mode, we often react. We’re in autopilot mode where we instantly react to what we see or hear around us. A good example of this is social media, where one message easily leads to an instant chain of sometimes quite extreme reactions.

What we want, though, is to respond. The main difference is that a response is thoughtful, non-automatic. Instead of directly reacting based on our impulses, we pause a moment, reflect on the situation, think about how we want to respond, and then respond.

This doesn’t have to take long. It takes more than the typical 10 seconds of the parental “count to ten” advice. But it’s also not even a few minutes. 90 seconds seems a good middle ground. Not too short to still remain in reaction mode, and not too long for a response to come.

The best way to spend these 90 seconds is not simply counting. As illustrated in the visual, you’re spending them best if you:
• Take a deep breath
• Resist the urge to act impulsively
• Name how you feel
• Put your ego aside
• Think through the consequences

And then you can respond.

This applies to every aspect of life and to every situation—except instant crises of course. The 90-second advice is relevant in your private life as well as in business, in particular in any interactions with other people.

Like any change, changing from someone who mostly reacts to someone who mostly responds takes time and effort. So, be patient with yourself.


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#mindsetchange
#selfdevelopment
#patience

The worrying levels of failure in strategy largely exist because there’s far more bad strategy than good strategy. This is how you recognize both and improve your strategy.

In his 2011 book, “Good Strategy Bad Strategy,” Richard Rumelt outlines a compelling view on why there is so much failure in strategy. His most remarkable conclusion: the situation is so bad that merely having A strategy is already a competitive advantage—because most others have not.

To recognize what a proper strategy looks like, he distinguishes between bad strategy and good strategy.

BAD strategy has one or more of the following features (Rumelt’s descriptions, p32):

1. FLUFF. Fluff is a form of gibberish masquerading as strategic concepts or arguments. It uses “Sunday” words (words that are inflated and unnecessarily abstruse) and apparently esoteric concepts to create the illusion of high-level thinking. 
2. FAILURE TO FACE THE CHALLENGE. Bad strategy fails to recognize or define the challenge. When you cannot define the challenge, you cannot evaluate a strategy or improve it. 
3. MISTAKING GOALS FOR STRATEGY. Many bad strategies are just statements of desire rather than plans for overcoming obstacles.
4. BAD STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES. A strategic objective is set by a leader as a means to an end. Strategic objectives are “bad” when they fail to address critical issues or when they are impracticable.

In contrast, this is what GOOD strategy contains (Rumelt, p77):
1. A DIAGNOSIS that defines or explains the nature of the challenge. A good diagnosis simplifies the often overwhelming complexity of reality by identifying certain aspects of the situation as critical. 
2. A GUIDING POLICY for dealing with the challenges. This is an overall approach chosen to cope with or overcome the obstacles identified in the diagnosis.
3. A SET OF COHERENT ACTIONS that are designed to carry out the guiding policy. These are steps that are coordinated with one another to work together in accomplishing the guiding policy.

With these two lists of features of good and bad strategy you can now evaluate your organization’s strategy. Is it a good strategy? Or a bad strategy?

→ Join my community and subscribe to my Soulful Strategy newsletter here:https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU

#strategyexecution
#strategicplanning
#changeleadership

Giving and receiving feedback is quintessential for learning and development. But, doing it constructively is difficult and I see it go wrong more often than not. These five principles will help.

Constructive, engaged feedback is at the heart of learning and development—individually, in teams, and in organizations. Destructive feedback (criticism, cynicism, skepticism, and so on), on the other hand, is detrimental and kills all learning, creativity, and openness.

Therefore, it is essential to know or learn how to give feedback in an engaged manner. There’s tons of advice you can find for this. I’ve boiled them down to the following five principles:

Principle 1: Drop your armor and be ready to be vulnerable
Feedback only works if both sides dare to be vulnerable, also the one providing feedback. You want an open dialogue focused on learning, not a fight about who knows better. Therefore, drop your armor, dare to be vulnerable, and acknowledge you may be wrong.

Principle 2: Sit on the same side and put the issues in front of you.
Giving and receiving feedback is a collaborative process. This is best reflected when you sit next to each other—literally or figuratively. In this way, you put the issues addressed in front of both of you rather than between the two of you. 

Principle 3: Be candid and provide honest and specific comments.
Once the first two principles are in place, the context is right for communicating openly in a truthful and straightforward manner. Doing so is essential for giving engaging feedback. You want and need to be open and clear about what’s good and bad.

Principle 4: Give twice as many positive as negative comments.
Feedback too often focuses on the things that can be improved. To make it picked up by the receiver, though, it needs to come with positive comments as well. A good rule of thumb is to give two or three times as much positive feedback as negative feedback.

Principle 5: Don’t make it personal (it is already personal anyway).
Giving and receiving feedback is a highly personal thing, triggering emotional responses at both sides. To make it not more emotional than necessary, focus the feedback on what people did rather than on who they are.

Providing feedback in this way is not easy. But if you manage to do so, it can open the door. Not just for learning and improvement, but also for better relationships.

#managementdevelopment
#hrexecutive
#communicationskills

VUCA. You may have heard the term, and you may even know what the acronym stands for. But what does it really mean?

VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. It has become a widely used term to refer to the increasingly hard to control and understand world around us. This is what it means:

Volatility - The speed and extent of change in an industry, market or the world in general. It is associated with fluctuations in demand, turbulence and short time to markets. The more volatile the world is, the more and faster things change.

Uncertainty - The extent to which we can confidently predict the future. Part of it is perceived and part of it is objective. Truly uncertain environments are those that don’t allow any prediction, also not on a statistical basis. The more uncertain the world is, the harder it is to predict.

Complexity - The number of factors that we need to take into account, their variety and the relationships between them. The more factors, the greater their variety and the more they are interconnected, the more complex an environment is. The more complex the world is, the harder it is to analyze.

Ambiguity - Lack of clarity about how to interpret something. A situation is ambiguous, for example, when information is incomplete, contradicting or too inaccurate to draw clear conclusions. The more ambiguous the world is, the harder it is to interpret.

In practice, the four terms are related. The more complex and volatile an industry is, for example, the harder to predict and therefore more uncertain it will be. Yet, all four represent distinct elements that make our environment - the world, a market, an industry - harder to grasp and control.

Knowing this now, which factor is making life in your industry most difficult, volatility, uncertainty, complexity, or ambiguity? And what can be done about it?

#insights
#futureleaders
#vuca

To effectively help their clients, strategy and implementation consultants need to leverage four drivers at the same time: Content, Process, Mindset and Behavior. Master these skills and you will be amongst the best in the world.

The classical strategy consultant focuses primarily on the content-aspect of consulting. They do extensive analysis and based on that analysis, they give advice. While this model has been a great source of revenues, it is not enough for real change and effective strategy implementation.

To truly achieve organizational change, a strategy and implementation consultant needs to address key drivers. We can organize them along two dimensions: explicit vs. tacit and cognition vs. action.

The explicit part of consulting is what we see. It concerns the mechanics of strategy and the steps it takes to develop and implement it. The tacit part is what is under the surface; what happens in people’s mind and what is needed to change their day-to-day behavior.

The cognitive part of consulting concerns the mental aspect; what happens in our minds and how we think. The action part concerns what we do; the processes and behaviors required.

Based on these two dimensions, these are the four drivers of strategy and implementation consulting:


CONTENT
The strategy itself, as well as the roadmap and action plans that follow from it. This driver focuses on what the organization should look like in the future (point B), where it stands now (point A) and how to bridge the gap between A and B.

PROCESS
The steps, actions and tools used to develop and implement strategy. To define points A and B and the actions to bridge the gap between them, you take certain steps and actions and use certain tools to execute them.

MINDSET
What happens in people’s minds; their values and beliefs; at the top and across the organization. Without the right mindset or shift therein, strategy and implementation will remain unsuccessful.

BEHAVIOR
In the end, it is people’s behaviors, habits and routines that need to change. Not addressing these will not bring the success you want. Therefore, also behavioral change requires dedicated attention.

Unfortunately, there are not many places where you can develop all four skills. It is for this very reason that Timothy Tiryaki and I have developed the Certified Strategy & Implementation Consultant (CSIC) program. It is carefully designed around the four drivers so that you develop all the skills required to be an effective consultant.

Our next cohort starts on February 7th and there are still a few spots left. If you have at least 10 years of experience, 5 of which in a facilitating, coaching or managing role, and aspire to enhance your strategy and implementation skills, this program may be for you. Visit our website strategy.inc for all information and registration.

Are you ready to develop the skills to master all four drivers?

#strategicleadership
#changemanagement
#growthmindset

It’s trendy to say that bosses, managers and leaders are entirely different people and that we need less of the first two and more of the last. Let’s stop this misguided stereotyping and focus on what good bosses/managers/leaders have in common.

LinkedIn, as well as many business sites, magazines and blogs, are full of two types of messages:
1. We need LEADERS, not MANAGERS because managers are BAD!
2. We need LEADERS, not BOSSES because bosses are BAD!
(caps and exclamation marks added intentionally)

Here’s the reasoning:
• A manager is someone focusing on setting objectives, monitoring and controlling, while a leader inspires people and engages them toward a long-term vision.
• A boss is someone bullying around, dictating their subordinates what to do while a leader serves their people and helps them grow and perform.

This is nonsense and missing the point. It’s a language game where we replace one term (boss or manager) with another (leader) and thereby pretend we’re making progress while we’re not.

The first real point is: there are good bosses/managers/leaders and there are bad bosses/managers/leaders.

The second real point is: good bosses, managers and leaders share a number of key paradoxical skills. They are able to:

1. Pay attention to the long-term AND the short-term
2. See the big picture AND have attention to details
3. Inspire with a vision AND set clear objectives
4. Serve and coach AND guide and instruct
5. Delegate to others AND make tough decisions
6. Initiate change AND maintain the status quo
7. Innovate and take risk AND minimize and control risk
8. Build relationships AND keep a healthy distance
9. Rely on intuition AND make calculated decisions
10. Focus on people AND on systems and processes
11. Start from purpose and values AND aim for efficiency 
11. Trust and empower AND use checks and balances
13. Use their natural charisma AND their formal authority
14. Sit next to people AND stand above them
15. Leverage their unique strengths AND do their job

Whether we call these people boss, manager, leader, or anything else is not so important. What counts is whether they have these paradoxical skills.

Leaning to any one side of the paradoxes does not qualify someone as a leader, a manager or a boss. If the person at hand is not able to combine both sides of all paradoxes, it simply means they are not perfect and that they can still learn and develop as boss/manager/leader.

Time for action. Whenever you see someone make the distinction between a boss, a manager and a leader, explain to them why they got it wrong.

→ Join the community and subscribe to my Soulful Strategy newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU

(PS, sorry for the strong position in this post, but I can’t stand it when I see unuseful stereotypes like this being repeated time and again)

#managementdevelopment
#leadershipdevelopment
#growthmindset

Psychological safety is essential for individual and organizational performance. This is what great leaders say (and mean!) to create it.

There’s a lot of not-so-safe working environments. While physical safety is mostly okay, psychological safety is more of a problem. People too often feel not safe to speak out, differ in opinion, signal a problem, or simply be themselves.

This is a problem, because psychological safety is a basic requirement for good performance. While fear may have been part of the management repertoire in the past, it has no place anymore in any modern working environment.

Let me be clear. I don’t mean cushioning, pampering or “anything goes” nor do I mean a lack of challenge or demand. An organization is not a country club. Organization’s have a purpose and need to produce and perform.

There’s no contradiction here. An organization can be psychologically safe and at the same time demanding. Stronger, having both is essential for any organization to perform well. So, it’s all about balance.

This makes it even more important to recognize psychological safety for what it is. These ten phrases are a great start:

1. I’m listening.
2. I am here to support you.
3. I trust your judgment.
4. It’s okay to disagree.
5. Tell me more.
6. Your perspective matters.
7. Thank you for your honesty.
8. What do you need to succeed?
9. It’s great to see you taking risks.
10. Let’s learn from this mistake together.
11. Let’s give everyone a chance to speak.

How many of these have you recently heard in your organization? And how many have you used?

—-

#emotionalintelligence
#peopleskills
#managementdevelopment

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Soft skills get you promoted.

But soft skills are often misunderstood.

This visual by George Stern offers a clear guide. Not just for what to do—but also what not to do.

Some standout reminders:

↳ Work Ethic: It’s not about hours. It’s about outcomes.
↳ Adaptability: Plans change. So should you.
↳ Emotional Intelligence: Pause before reacting. Always.
↳ Communication: Simple > Smart-sounding
↳ Integrity: Soft skill, hard requirement.

If we want better teams, better leaders, better organizations, we need to go beyond box-checking and start practicing these skills with intention.

Which of these do you see most often missed or misused in your workplace?

But read on...

So far, so good, and so far what others have said before. 
But here’s the real thing…
…Even “soft vs. hard skills” is an outdated divide.

This is why Timothy T Tiryaki, and I are working on something new:
A future skills framework that moves beyond the soft/hard binary.
It’s grounded in complexity, change, and what strategy actually demands today.

It’s not 100% ready yet—but the first results are extremely promising. And when it is ready, you’ll want to see it first.

#SoftSkills #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #FutureSkills

According to 50 years of textbook wisdom, strategy is a linear, structured process from SWOT to measure and control. But, did you know this model was already called ‘traditional’ and ‘distorted’ 40 years ago? Time for a recall.

There’s an extremely persistent myth about strategy: that it is a linear, step-by-step and largely analytical process. It goes like this:
• You do a SWOT
• You define a mission, vision, purpose or high level goals
• You generate alternatives, options or scenarios
• You choose and define targets and initiatives
• You implement
• You measure and control

There’s variations of this model, but altogether this is the dominant approach we find in strategy textbooks for about half a century. And not just back then, also today.

Most strategy scholars and experts today accept that this is not how strategy goes in reality. They realize that the world is too dynamic and complex for such an approach to work, and that strategy needs a more dynamic, short-cycle approach with more place for creativity, agility and iteration.

Nevertheless, this model is so persistent that as soon as people speak about strategy, it is this model that comes to the surface.

But guess what? There’s an interesting 1984 article by Roy Wernham in Long Range Planning about “The Awful Gap Between Strategy and Action.” In this article, Wernham calls this the “traditional” approach that doesn’t have much to do with reality. Here’s the most interesting quote from that article:

“it is oversimplified for presentational or teaching purposes to the extent that it seriously distorts the reality” (p35).

This is 1984. Almost 40 years ago. Do you still subscribe to this traditional approach?

Wernham’s alternative (right side of the picture) may be realistic, but it is not very compelling. Therefore, we need an “in-between” approach that acknowledges the fuzziness of the real world, but at the same time provides method and structure. I call such an approach “Short-Cycle Strategy” and it is the heart of my teaching, mentoring and consulting.

#strategyconsulting
#changemanagement
#developmentmanagement

Do you effectively communicate your strategy? Probably not because bad communication is the number one cause of failing strategies. These six practices show you the way.

So you have your shiny new strategy, but somehow its execution is a mess—if it happens all…

Recognizable? Then I bet bad communication is a critical cause of your failing execution. To resolve this and get your strategy executed, you will need to significantly step up the volume and quality of your strategy communication.

To see how, @Alex Brueckmann has put together an informative set of six best practices in a LinkedIn post that he shared earlier this year.

These are the six best practices:

1. OVER-COMMUNICATE
• Provide regular updates to ensure everyone is informed and aligned with the strategy.
• Encourage dialogue and feedback loops to address uncertainties.

2. INDIVIDUALIZE and listen in 1:1s
• Tailor communication to individuals' needs and give space to process.
• Understand individual perspectives and concerns.

3. Use TEAM meetings to go deeper
• Shape collective understanding and terminology.
• Address rumors and provide answers to burning questions.

4. Make strategy a topic EVERY DAY
• Link it to daily tasks and decision-making to reinforce alignment.
• Relate everyone's work to strategy to create a sense of contribution and accountability.

5. MASS communicate face-to-face & digitally
• Use every possible platform and a variety of media.
• Ensure consistent messaging.

6. Use Storytelling to MAKE IT STICK
• Illustrate the journey, challenges, and successes to make strategy relatable.
• Address hearts and brains to inspire commitment.

Personally, I like #4. It aligns closely with the approach to strategy that I outlined in my book, The One-Hour Strategy. Making strategy a topic every day, and part of everyone’s job, is such an important aspect of successful strategy communication and execution!

Do you know any additional best strategy communication practices that you can recommend? Share them in the comments so that we learn and improve together.

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To further step up your strategy expertise and be part of a growing community of like-minded strategy enthusiasts, join our Strategy Reinvented Conference on April 10-11, 2025 in Amsterdam. Register latest by October 31st to get the lowest price possible, using Strategicbird10 as your promo code. After that date, this 32% (!) discount will no longer be available.

#strategyexecution
#businessmanagement
#communicationtips

Strategy is often seen as cold, calculated and analytical. To make it engaging and work in practice, we need to re-humanize it and give it soul. This is Soulful Strategy.

The traditional image of strategy is one of predictive analysis, calculated decisions and SMART objectives. If you think about it, this is a very de-humanized approach to strategy. Emotions, judgments, creativity and everything else human is ruled out systematically.

And then we are surprised that failure rates in strategy remain astonishingly high…
 
Strategy is (or should be!) a deeply human activity. It needs our full human capacity to be developed and executed. And it affects our role, position and relationships as humans at work.

Thinking about a term that best covers a re-humanized approach to strategy, I’ve landed on Soulful Strategy. It means the following five things to me:

1. Strategy that Matters. Soulful Strategy goes beyond growth, profit, or shareholder value. It stands for strategy with purpose, strategy that makes a difference and that is meaningful to people and our planet.

2. Whole-Person Strategy. Soulful Strategy counter-balances the overly rational-analytical left-brain activity that traditional strategy has become. It embraces and leverages people’s imagination, opinions and emotions.

3. The Social Side of Strategy. Developing and implementing strategy changes people’s mindset, positions and relationships. Soulful Strategy therefore puts the social aspects of strategy front-row.

4. Strategy that Inspires and Moves. Soulful Strategy touches people’s hearts and passions and moves and drives them to use their talents and skills in the best possible way—for themselves, the organization, and the world at large.

5. Inclusive Strategy. Strategy is not just for gray suits and board rooms. It is for everyone, at every organizational level and it goes beyond just for-profit companies. Soulful Strategy is a way of thinking, acting and living that crosses all boundaries.

Lofty goals, right? Indeed they are. But they must. Because strategy is too important to simply let it be where it is.

This is also the reason I’ve started a LinkedIn newsletter with this very same name: Soulful Strategy. In this newsletter you can expect refreshing no-nonsense strategy insights feeding your intrinsic motivation to learn more and become a Soulful Strategist.

The first edition came out last week and explains in some more detail what Soulful Strategy is and why we need it. If you want to join a community of engaged strategy-minded people that share a common mindset, then this is your newsletter.

→ Subscribe to the Soulful Strategy newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/e_ytzAgU

#soulfulstrategy
#strategicplanning
#strategyconsulting

If you still believe in “knowledge is power” and in withholding information from people, think twice. Here are 7 reasons why you want more transparency.

In a post from Spring this year, Jakob Bovin shared an important overview of seven consequences of a lack of transparency. They are so important to be aware of that I repeat them here as a gentle reminder:

❌ Lots of Rumors
Without clear and open communication, employees will tend to speculate to fill the information void, leading to rumors that can distort the truth and cause confusion.

❌ Poor Strategy Alignment
Strategy is dynamic and must be communicated constantly. Without transparency, departments may pursue conflicting objectives, making it hard to move in a unified direction.

❌ Low Trust & Morale
Transparency is key to building trust. When it's missing, employees may doubt the sincerity and integrity of management, which will rapidly demoralize the workforce.

❌ Culture of Secrecy
An opaque environment will breed a culture of secrecy, where open collaboration and knowledge sharing become impossible, reducing the effectiveness of the organization.

❌ Loss of Purpose
Employees need to understand how they contribute to the mission of the organization. Lack of transparency can make it difficult for them to see the value of their work.

❌ Duplication of Work
Without clear communication, teams may inadvertently work on the same tasks, leading to inefficiencies and wasted resources.

❌ Increased Toxicity
Ultimately, lack of transparency can foster a toxic work environment. Mistrust and politics thrive. Employees may feel anxious, disengaged, or unwilling to take risks.

I suppose no further convincing is needed. Each and everyone of these seven points is in itself already a sufficient reason to increase transparency. And together they express one simple message: be transparent.

Be transparent.

Is there enough transparency in your organization?

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Most skills frameworks are stuck in the past.

They still distinguish between “hard” and “soft” skills—technical know-how vs. interpersonal ability.

That distinction made sense in a world of stable roles and predictable problems.

But the world has changed.
And so have the skills that matter most.

Today, we need a different category: Power Skills — the strategic, system-level capabilities that help people navigate complexity, lead change, and shape the future.

Think:
→ Grasping situations quickly
→ Shaping responses
→ Moving systems
→ Delivering results
→ Adapting to change

In our work, we see this shift everywhere. From individuals, to HR teams, to executives. The focus is moving from what you know to how you think and act strategically.

The pie chart is changing. And so should your leadership development strategy and HR programs.

What skills are you investing in? Hard and soft skills, or power skills?

At Strategy.Inc, we’re currently accepting a small group of large, pioneering organizations to help lead this shift — by building their strategic capability using our recently developed Big 5 of Strategy © competency framework. DM me if your organization should be one of these early adopters.

#LeadershipDevelopment #SoftSkills #PowerSkills #FutureOfWork #Big5ofStrategy

We all like to be confident. But most of us are not as confident as we want. To get inspired, these 18 characteristics of confident people help you identify where you can still improve.

There is a big difference between people that pretend to be confident and those that are really confident. The first group tends to be loud and arrogant to hide their insecurities. The second group doesn’t need all of that. This is what sets them apart from the rest of us:

1. They don’t seek approval or praise
2. They aren’t desperate for attention
3. They don’t need to prove anything to anyone
4. They don’t need to bully or criticize others
5. They aren’t afraid of trying new things and taking risks
6. They aren’t afraid to be wrong or receive feedback
7. They aren’t afraid of change and uncertainty
8. They aren’t envious of other people’s success
9. They don’t yell and don’t start a fight
10. They aren’t afraid to say no
11. They aren’t afraid to tell the truth
12. They respect themselves and others
13. They show true interest in other people
14. They embrace positive thinking
15. They remain calm, whatever happens
16. They excel in situations of crisis 
17. They trust their intuition and instinct
18. They dare to deviate from what is seen as normal

You can see this as a checklist to assess how confident you are. Are you a confident person?

Here’s my points for improvement: I am still looking too much for approval and praise (No.1) and I am not good enough yet in saying no (No.10). What are your points for improvement?

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#growthmindset
#confidencebuilding