Entrepreneurs, as with many other leaders, are constantly being told that they need to “be more strategic.” Yet few are taught what that actually means. It sounds important – but it’s hard to ‘chunk down’, and therefore hard to develop consciously and proactively. Even senior leaders I work with struggle to define it, let alone apply it.

The good news? The ability to think – and act – strategically is not an innate gift reserved for the elite or the few. It’s a learnable skill, and one that can transform not only how you run your business but how you live your life.

A Common Misconception

Ask most people to name a ‘great strategist’ and they’ll most likely default to the usual suspects: famous founders and CEOs, military generals, emeritus professors etc. Strategy often feels like a rather elitist, something of a closed-door activity, reserved for society’s intelligentsia.

But that perception has a cost. It blinds founders, entrepreneurs and leaders at every level to the reality that strategy – and being strategic – is a skill, or set of skills, not a title or rare genetic trait. And like any skill, it can be learned, practised and mastered.

Over the past two decades I’ve coached and advised thousands of founders, leaders and investors, working for organisations as diverse as charities and technology scale-ups to local authorities and VCs. I’ve helped them design – and execute - strategies and taught their leadership teams how to think and act strategically themselves.

The ones who stand out are not necessarily the most experienced, or intellectually brilliant, or the best connected. They are the ones who incorporate strategy and strategic thinking – individually and collectively – into their daily routines and disciplines, rather than being held back for an annual offsite or hidden inside a dense, rarely accessed set of slides.

Traits That Set Great Strategists Apart

Here are a few things I’ve learned from working with great strategists up close, often over many years, and a few suggestions as to how you can apply this to your own business, right now.

Great strategists:

• Rarely think in isolation: they actively seek out diverse viewpoints and test their own – and other peoples’ – assumptions.
• Are comfortable with uncertainty: they are willing to act decisively and commit to their decision even when the picture is far from complete.
• Have strong self-awareness: they work hard to understand themselves – their emotional triggers, biases and potential blind spots - and take proactive steps to offset their impact.

These aren’t fixed personality traits. They are habits, practices and disciplines that anyone can learn and strengthen.

The 12 Practices of Strategic Mastery

In my book ‘Be More Strategic’, I lay out a progressive framework consisting of four levels and twelve practices. These traits, skills and attributes – based on first-hand experience and ongoing research – are essential to being a world-class strategist. They range from the inwardly focused (knowing who you want to be) to the externally focused (the impact you want to have), and form the core of the strategic mastery framework.

The 12 practices are as follows:

Level One – Deepen self-awareness

• Understand self
• Master emotions
• Embed practices

Level Two – Cultivate open-mindedness

• Be curious
• Listen deeply
• Think critically

Level Three – Develop strategic capabilities

• Unlock creativity
• Manage uncertainty
• Be future-focused

Level Four - Scale your impact

• Act decisively
• Collaborate inclusively
• Influence effortlessly

Each practice is actionable, so entrepreneurs can start anywhere and build their capability step by step, not just improving strategy on paper but transforming how they think, lead and live.

How you can start today

To put this into action, you don’t need a 3-day offsite or a whiteboard full of Post-its.

Here are three ways to start becoming more strategic immediately:

• Zoom Out Weekly: Block 60 minutes every week to step out of the day-to-day. Ask yourself: What’s really going on in my market? What’s driving the changes? What patterns am I seeing – or potentially missing?
• Invite ‘Unlike Minds’: Ask someone outside your bubble to critique your plan and underpinning rationale. Ask them to help you identify assumptions you’re making without realising – and challenge those assumptions. Who else’s perspective are you missing?
• Run a Future Test: Write down where you want your business to be three years from now. Then list out all the uncertainties – and start to focus on those that are highly uncertain AND potentially highly impactful. What would you do differently now if each one broke your way – or didn’t?

These are simple, low-cost habits and practices that over time build a more strategic mindset.

The Payoff

When you practice these habits consistently, you’ll not only run a sharper, more resilient business, you’ll also feel more focused, creative and confident.

Being more strategic doesn’t just help you grow your company. It helps you to think differently, to spot patterns others miss, and make deliberate choices about where to put your energy and attention. And, in a changing landscape in which markets shift, competitors appear from nowhere and customer expectations leapfrog, strategy isn’t a luxury, it’s a core entrepreneurial survival skill.

Happily, great strategists aren’t born; they’re built. They don’t sit in ivory towers. They’re in the arena, testing, learning, adjusting. The good news? You can be one of them.

Charlie Curson is a strategic advisor, accredited leadership coach and the author of Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices for the Life and Career You Want. He advises founders, leaders and teams on strategy, leadership and growth, and is an angel investor in early-stage businesses.