Strategy is Nothing Without Power.

The picture one gets of strategy when reading the literature is of a leader rationally considering all options, consulting stakeholders, and deciding on the right strategy. 

The unstated assumption is that the leader has the power to set strategy in the first place. 

I asked a client recently, “If you proposed a bold and different strategy to the board, how confident are you that they would say Yes?” (The same question would be relevant for everyone else in the organization.) 

I asked that question because proposing a bold strategy is a way of saying “We’ve been doing things the wrong way.” It also surely implies there will be uncertainty, risk, and change on the horizon. And we all know people LOVE change, uncertainty, and admitting that they were wrong. 

In these cases, it doesn’t matter what’s in a leader’s official job description. If their bosses, peers, and subordinates won’t go along, the leader doesn’t actually have the power to set strategy.

The implication: The biggest task of developing strategy is often not developing the best ideas. Rather, it’s proactively shaping the context in such a way that a leader has the power to actually put forward—and then act upon—those ideas.