Ajay: Welcome to the Coach Toolbox. This podcast is for coaches,
leaders, and learners at all levels in organizations and in all walks of life. Here, you will get just in time learning that is research based and practice focused. The goal is personal and professional mastery. And now our session today. Hi everybody! It is my pleasure to welcome to this amazing episode, Gunjan Gupta. And she is going to sort a lot of things for us in life, especially she is going to shed light on something that all of us struggle with which is how to become a strategic thinker. And Gunjan is absolutely the best person to talk to us about this because she has spent an entire career in analytics and in data management. And she is currently the director and head of Enterprise Data at Barclays. Before Barclays she was SVP and head of analytics at Bajaj Alliance, before that HSBC Fidelity and many more companies across the last 25 years, so she has an amazing track record in the space of analytics. She has earned an MBA from North Carolina University and is an alumni of St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. So, we can’t get a better person to talk to us about how to become a strategic thinker. So, Gunjan welcome. Gunjan: Thanks. Thanks Ajay, excited to be here. Ajay: So, one of the expectations that bosses have of their senior leaders is that this person must become more of a strategic thinker or he must start developing a strategic perspective. And as executive coaches working with senior leaders that is the one of the key requirements that we often come across that the client must become more of a strategic thinker. And then when we ask them what do you mean nobody has an answer for what we mean by strategic thinker. So, Gunjan please let’s start by shedding light on this very important understanding within the context of senior leadership what exactly does it mean to be a strategic thinker? Gunjan: Sure Ajay. So, before I get into the meaning or my interpretation of what it means to be a strategic thinker, I think for a minute I would like to dwell on the definition of strategy to set the context because the term strategic thinker obviously is coming from strategy. So, I am going to stick with the definition that I really like which is Richard Rumelt’s definition of strategy which says, a good strategy is a set of actions that is credible, coherent, and Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! focused on overcoming the biggest hurdle or hurdles in achieving a particular objective. So, you know in my opinion and experience what I have observed is that a true strategic thinker hence is able to formulate and execute on the strategy much better than a tactical or non-strategic thinker. Now, getting into what is it that makes a strategic thinker. I think they have the ability to understand the purpose of their role in context of the organization that they are working in, their stakeholders, the regulators, and the environment around them. I think it is the ability to be clear on the long term organizational goals to be achieved and the ability to connect dots to visualize how it may all play out. It is the discipline to plan for the future and scenarios that can cope with ever changing environments which like we all know things are just always changing around us. And sometimes you know just depending on the organization curve it can be as simple as envisioning new solutions to old problems and figuring out the most optimal way to execute on those ideas. What I have seen is that strategic thinkers seem to be very open minded, in the sense they think with their blinkers off. They complement their thinking with peripheral vision which can be developed because they have very expanded external networks. They stay abreast of industry trends. They are just very much in tune with the environment. They like to get to the bottom of things in terms of root causes and linkages and then triage it appropriately. They are also keen observers of organizational politics and understand the bias in organizational decisions. And with this knowledge they are very often able to get buy in for their ideas and get them implemented. I think the other, and then I will conclude this part of the question, is that they are very, very comfortable with data. And I am not saying this because I am in analytics, most senior leaders, almost all of them you know data comes very, very naturally to them. And I think it is a prerequisite for becoming a strategic thinker. You know there will never be all information available at any given point in time to make a decision and with the limited information and very, very quick timelines it is important that one has Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! confidence in the decision or whatever is the recommendation. And what better way to gain confidence than data. And finally I think strategic thinkers show a lot of courage and conviction to make decision even in ambiguous situations. Even when all the information is incomplete they take a stand and move ahead. Ajay: So, Gunjan that’s like really hard to understand all the things you have explained about what a strategic thinker is. Can you give us some examples so that we really start understanding what it means at a function head or at a business head level? Gunjan: Yeah sure Ajay. I know that was a lot of big words so let me try to put them in context now and I am going to pick examples from my world. So, I have mostly been part of the back office or central functions like finance, operations, technology, analytics, business intelligence and so forth. Now, these are teams that are largely considered cost centers and not revenue centers. The general impression is that these are teams which are agile, which are good at execution, which are very, very tactical in nature. So, how does one really go about applying strategic thinking here? Because these functions are kind of inward looking and not outward looking as say a sales, marketing, and products which can be governed by the market forces, the customers, and the environment around them. So, you know one thing I found useful is to truly understand the role and purpose of the team in the larger scheme of things and build success measures and performance indicators around that. And this was something I kind of mentioned earlier on too, what defines a strategic thinker? So, for example elaborating further, the efficacy of an analytics team can easily be measured by the kind of techniques they are using. So, I can say that I run a crack analytics team because we use machine learning algorithms, we use big data, data engineering, etc. all the buzz words. We have like 50 models that we have developed in the year; these models are really accurate, so on and so forth. But actually that is a very siloed and myopic way of looking at this function. Now, the moment you shift the conversation to how the analytics in sites or the product of that model, the output that you are generating, how does it impact the profit and loss statement of the company?
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! You suddenly have a strategic angle building up because at the core of it all every model that we build with data it either helps in increasing revenues or it helps in minimizing losses, or it helps in cutting costs. And once we start using this framework we automatically start using strategic thinking because then the focus is not on using the current or the most glamorous techniques to build a model, the focus is on how am I impacting the company’s bottom line. Where does my entire function kind of fit in, what is it impacting and how can I make that better? I will take another example from a function. Ajay: Okay, so what you are saying so far if I have understood correctly is that the moment I start looking away from just my function or my silo and start looking at how my function or my silo can impact the larger company, I am shifting towards a strategic perspective. Gunjan: That is precisely what I am trying to say, yes Ajay. Ajay: Okay, alright, so tube light is now coming one. Please go ahead. Gunjan: No, I was just trying to give another similar example from a function like operations. So, you know there is a lot of talk about process automation, digitization, cost cutting, etc. which again is a very limited way to look at the purpose of that organization. But I think the moment we start viewing ops as the backbone of an organization that is responsible for providing the best in class customer service. Yet again you have a conversation going on at a different level altogether. So yeah, in conclusion it is like where do you fit in the ecosystem? Ajay: So, thank you. I am beginning to understand it more and more. So, put it even more clearly what are the elements or what are the components of strategic thinking, how will I know what it is? Gunjan: Sure Ajay, yeah, yeah. I think I will try to summarize whatever I have been saying. I think any time one is working on their project or if there is a decision at hand, how can one ensure that you are indeed applying elements of strategic thinking? I think there are these 3 I’s that I think of which I think is the framework I use to decide whether I am thinking strategically, whether I have the big picture or am I being very, very tactical and in the now.
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! So, I think the first component I think is what I call impact and you know this is again kind of rephrasing whatever I have been saying so far. Focus on the impact of your role and work and project in the larger organizational context. The formulation of your success measures and your key performance indicators needs to be from that larger organizational context, it cannot be small. Yet again for example it is not enough to say I developed an upsell propensity model using machine learning as part of my work. What makes it strategic and important is quantifying the actual impact that model make to the company’s bottom line. As in what is the product per customer ratio before the model and after the model, are you measuring it because that is the real efficacy of the work that you are doing. What is the immediate feedback that you receive from the frontline sales teams in terms of false positives? Did you go and incorporate those changes in your model or did you just say no, I have built this and maybe next year I am going to review it? So, I guess the moment you focus on the impact you start thinking of deployment and usage of the model and how it fits in the customer value chain and not just the model itself in silo. So yes, the first component as I mentioned was impact of your work. The second component of strategic thinking, while you are thinking about your work and doing is what I call the second I which I call interlinkages. How is the project, the team, and your role, how are they linked to other entities within the organization? So, coming back to my analytics model example who is the user of your model? Who will be impacted by it? How can you work with those teams to maximize the impact of your work? Can you really map the lineage of your work, you know where is it coming from and where is it going? So, you know just to simplify it further, so any time the analytics team produces a upsell or a cross sell propensity model it is actually the sales team who are out in the field who actually use the outcome of that model and unless you take the time to explain what the model is doing, what do those propensity scores mean, it will never be put to good use. And you can do it only when you are sure of the user of the model and how your work is impacting other teams.
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! The third and final component for strategic thinking is very simply that I call inclusion. So, what this means is have you included all kinds of diverse viewpoints, diverse data around you, any other pieces of information that you gathered through your external networks or through your industry research into the decision to make sure that whatever you are suggesting is holistic in nature. You have considered the best case scenario, the worst case scenario, and you are proposing what would be prudent for the organization. So, in conclusion there are three components of strategic thinking that I have found useful, impact, interlinkages, and inclusion. Ajay: That’s really helpful, because now I can; you know the introduction that you spoke about in terms of what is strategic thinking, all that material now I am able to peg it under these 3 I’s and it is now beginning to make sense and more importantly it seems to me that I now know what I need to do if I have to start moving towards becoming a strategic thinker. So, thank you. So, now I have understood the elements, I have understood the components of strategic thinking. Now, let’s assume I am a Vice President looking forward to becoming a CXO and I want to now over the next 2 years develop myself to become a CXO. Or I am a senior leader and I am now aiming now for the VP level role and I therefore want to develop myself over the next 12-18 months to get that VP role. In either of these places how can I start developing these competencies of strategic thinking? How can I start developing these 3 I’s? Gunjan: Yes Ajay. Yeah, that’s a good segue into actual practical things that one can do. So, I think the first is don’t accept the status quo but you know don’t be disruptive about it. So, when one is in a meeting and there is information that is passed around and more often than not it is we have always done it this way and this is going to be and why we know it is going to work or not going to work. Kind of question it and the intent of the question should be to get clarity on what we are trying to do. And at your most personal level, yet again, you know what is your purpose in the entire scheme of things and how is your role and work going to influence it. So, I think the first is ask more and better questions to get clarity but of course don’t be disruptive about it because a lot Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! of times we have seen people ask questions just to be heard or to gain visibility, that’s not the way to go about it. The second way, I think an easy way to do it is develop the discipline to study data, even though it is a little bit boring but once you start getting into the trends which are impacting the industry, the work or the function you are doing you start understanding the micro and macro environmental factors. Things fall in place and a lot of new ideas and hypotheses get generated from there which help you conduct your role in a more holistic fashion and also display that you are ready for the next level. You also develop your intuition and conviction once you have the data and research to back it which kind of builds your confidence. I think another way to kind of develop the competency is to start thinking like the C-suite or whichever level you are aspiring for. Very simply if you were the business head or the CEO what decision would you make if this was your own company, what would you do? So, you know just kind of going back in time, very early on in my career I was exposed to the C-suite as a couple of my reporting lines kind of vanished, people were either fired or they resigned. And suddenly I had to face very, very senior leaders and defend my numbers and analysis. It was kind of literally, it was a very stressful time. But I think what had helped me was I started observing the questions that they were asking and the way their thinking was to come to a certain conclusion. And those questions helped me get prepared for the next time and that habit is still there with me where I kind of overthink all kinds of questions that can be asked and prepare for that. So it is very simply you know how does that senior leader think, what could they possibly ask me? I think the next I would say is just network externally, not just within your team. Be very, very actively involved in industry groups and with peers in the industry to enable constant learning and an open mind. Ajay: Okay. This sounds like a lot of work. Gunjan: One at a time. Ajay: I was hoping for some shortcuts, some secret formula but this is actual hard work. It really means I have to as a senior leader put in Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! time and effort, understanding information and that would be not only the internal information that’s available to me but information that’s available at a business level. So tracking and reading magazines perhaps like the Economist or The Economic Times which perhaps many of us as senior leaders say we just don’t have the time to do this sort of thing. And then also to be able to go out and network externally so that we are able to again not only build alliances but get information so that then that would feed into the questions that we are asking and also to be able to understand what’s happening in the micro and macro level. So, what you are really saying is we need to put in time, effort to do this and to start in addition to my functional expertise I need to add this sort of economic perspective or economist? Gunjan: Sure Ajay. So no, that would be ideal if we could kind of read The Economist cover to cover and understand every word, yes, that would be ideal. But I think a simple way to get started is just start paying attention to the quarterly financials of your own organization or the annual report. Because most of us just kind of gloss over it, we will read probably the first two pages and then we are done but if we were to read it I think there is a wealth of information in there, it suddenly puts your own job in perspective; you are able to see where did you impact the numbers. Secondly you are able to see what are the head winds and the tail winds that the company is going through. And thirdly what is the strategic direction the entire organization is moving towards based on those numbers. So, I don’t think it is that hard, maybe I have just made it sound really hard but I think if we can incorporate that discipline of just making use of the information which is already available to us better I think we can be kind of well on our way towards strategic thinking. Ajay: So true. Most time many of us don’t even look at our own company’s annual reports or what is being published data or internal financial reports other than yeah, we are doing well or a percentage numbers here which are easy to remember, we really don’t dig deep. And what you are saying is that is an essential and Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! a useful source of information for us to have data and to develop perspective. Alright, alright. I am beginning to understand and I am also beginning to understand that this seems like an attitude and approach a longterm sort of thing, it is not going to happen 5 days before my interview for the senior role. Gunjan: No, no, not really. Ajay: So, we started with examples of maybe at a VP level or a CXO level but some of our listeners maybe saying that or I am just leading a small team or a small project, is this applicable to me? How can I start applying strategic thinking in what I do? Gunjan: Yes. Frankly Ajay it is kind of applicable at all levels. And unless you display that you have this very critical skill you will never be kind of looked at for the next level. So, this is one of those key things in addition to obviously excelling in your current role, having your very strong personal brand, having your sponsors and mentors across the organization. But for them to be able to take your story forward you need to have the core. And I think few things or rather out of the many things I have mentioned so far I think the most important yet again is that whichever level one is on you need to see how you fit into the fabric of the entire organization, what is really your role, what is it that you have been brought to do. If tomorrow you decide to not show up to work are you going to be missed or not? And you got to get to the stage where the work you are doing is impactful, meaningful, and you are the only person who can kind of do it and kind of move on from there. So yeah, I think it is level agnostic, it is required at each and every level. Ajay: Level agnostic, I like that term, I really like that term. So, I now have a plan, I have the 3 I’s model, I am beginning to sense the stuff that I need to do to start implementing and to develop this competencies of strategic thinking. So, now that I have started this journey how can I make my boss or my boss’s boss notice these aspects in me, how can I become more visible as a strategic thinker? Gunjan: So, from my experience I think what I have seen is that once I start working on these competencies such as getting familiar with the strategy and the strategic direction, becoming more and more sure of my role, the impact its making, getting comfortable with data, with diverse pieces of information. The confidence that comes with it I think it just kind of projects you Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! as a different person in front of the senior leaders, boss, even the boss’s boss. It is a very organic process and I don’t think one has to do anything special to be noticed. Now, one thing that I would suggest is create opportunities to display this newfound you, the bigger picture thinking you to the powers that matter. And I think one simple way is to just ask your boss to let you present your work or numbers in the meetings. Because very often we kind of do our work, hand it over to the boss, the buck stops at the boss, the boss will ask a few questions and then we are kind of scot free, it is up to the boss to kind of handle those questions. So we can always offer and say that, hey, I mean you can present the work but why don’t you take me along to answer followup questions that may come. So, that’s a good way for you to kind of get your foot in the door and get exposed to the senior leaders. Now, once you have that moment of sunshine you have to be prepared for that moment because you don’t know when it is going to come. Because it is at that moment that you bring all your preparation, all the discipline that you have been following to the forefront and that include showing the impact of your work, showing all the alternate hypotheses and your thinking behind your recommendation. The other thing is continue to work on your communication skills. So, one is strategic thinking, being a strategic thinker, the other is being able to express it and project it. I think communication skills are supreme and your presentation skills need to be excellent. You know it is worthwhile to remember that as people move up the levels their attention spans tend to decrease and you really need to get to the point very, very quickly. We have all heard of the elevator pitch and that elevator pitch should be present for all your key projects or whatever work you need to present. And that can only happen if you are a subject matter expert in your work, you understand its implication and are able to kind of present that picture to the C-suite or the senior leaders. You have to answer that question what’s in it for me very, very quickly once you are in front of them. In conclusion build a good rapport with your boss so that he or she gets to trust you, he or she starts giving you the visibility and once you have that visibility if you have done all the things you had to prepare yourself you are just going to shine.
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! Ajay: Absolute gold. I think you have really made some amazing points, so in addition to the strategic skills we also have to focus on communication and presentation skills. So Gunjan, as we start bringing our conversation to a close what are some secrets or tips that you would like to share because you are such an expert in this. What can you share that will really help us? Gunjan: I don’t really have any secrets; I think I have revealed all my secrets in this conversation. But you know Ajay, there are lots of myths which I think surround strategic thinking and in my experience all I would say is yes, they are myths. And for the listeners today I want to debunk some of these myths surrounding strategic thinking. I think the first is you had kind of built it into your earlier question also, strategic thinking is the forte of senior leaders, I don’t need it at my level, I just need to come in at 9, do my job, leave at 5. Myth number one, no, it is level agnostic. Second, I don’t have time to think strategically as I am so caught up in my day to day tasks. That’s another myth. You know strategic thinking is not like this special book that you need to take out time for. It is a way of thinking that you need to incorporate in your day to day work, in the decisions that you are making. You know whatever you do in your daily task it has to just come in naturally; it cannot be a special event. Another myth is I will develop my strategic skills by attending a training class and some workshops. So, while training classes and workshops are good for giving you a context or a framework ultimately it is your own practice and discipline which is going to count. So you cannot depend on like three workshops or three trainings a year and you become a strategic thinker, no, it has to be a daily self-guided, self-determined process. A lot of people say I am more of a tactical thinker, I am great at execution, I am not much of an ideas person. No, no, no, that is another myth. All of us have it in us, there are different degrees, some of us seem to think more strategically because we have been exposed to those kinds of situations which have forced us to kind of expand our thinking. But it is not that you are born with it or not, this is something that can be developed and all of us can do it. And finally I think people say my current role doesn’t offer me the opportunity to use my strategic thinking skills. When I am placed in a strategic project the thinking will come. No, no, no, you will not be placed into a strategic project till you show that thinking. So it is a classic chicken and egg, so I say just kind of keep doing that daily.
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! Ajay: Alright. So, amazing myth that you have busted regarding strategic thinking and it helps us all get so much more clarity. So thank you for sharing that. Any books or resources that you could recommend that will sort of help us started on this journey? Gunjan: Ajay, I would say get started with the annual report and the corporate relation section of your company’s website, I think there is a wealth of information there which will give a lot of seed for thought, yeah, that’s what I would say. But other than that I think it is an organic process which can happen or which can be developed if you are just cognizant of it and you kind of do it in your day to day jobs. Ajay: Excellent, what a wonderful place to start and you know sometimes it is so much easier if you say oh, I will buy the book and keep it on the shelf and they say did you do strategic thinking, haan mere paas book hai na. But I really haven't practiced the 3I’s framework, I think that’s a lovely place to start and very good place to start is the annual reports and the corporate relations aspect parts of our website. So, you know I think you have really brought light to this grey area of strategic thinking, not only for bosses who want their teams to develop more strategic thinking because now they can explain it or they can ask them to listen to your interview. And even for those who have been asked to become strategic thinkers, they can listen and they will now have a roadmap, a clear roadmap, practical roadmap that they can start. So, if it has helped our listeners please send gurudakshina to Gunjan directly. So Gunjan, as we close any messages that you’d like to leave with our listeners? Gunjan: I think Ajay all I would like to say is, one is yes, it is not as big a deal as it is made out to be and I am also guilty of kind of putting it in the developmental needs for my associates. But I think it is a very, very important skill to have, it is not tough to do if you kind of become cognizant and follow these simple things of the 3 I’s that I mentioned and get familiar with data, yes. Ajay: Excellent. So, we now have a starting point, we have an understanding and so now we also have a clear action plan. Gunjan, thank you so much, it has been a pleasure having you here with us. Gunjan: Thank you, thank you Ajay. I am glad I could help out. Thanks.
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Email: ajayglobalcoach@gmail.com WhatsApp: +91 9845012972 Gunjan Gupta – How to become a Strategic Thinker! Ajay: And that’s it for today. Thank you for listening. Please connect with us on coachtoolbox@gmail.com, we’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to follow, subscribe, and review this channel. Details of our ICF approved coach training programs and our services as executive coaches and coaching supervisors are on www.globalcoachtrust.org. See you in our next session.
Ajay Nangalia PhD PCC Hear this live on htttp://coachtoolbox.podbean.com