If you missed my first post about Survivor, you can read it here. Last week we talked about how you need a certain skill set to succeed in Survivor and in business. This week we’re looking at one of the keys to effective leadership, the ability to form strategies.
Without being able to form a strategy, any leader, whether it is of people, process, projects, products or whatever is doomed. Survivor is great at showing how people form strategies and the really great part is that you can watch most of them fail. (No battle plan ever survives the first encounter with the enemy.)
Your strategy is your vision
Kim Spradlin had one of the most amazing strategies in Survivor history. She managed to create two very strong alliances, each with an entirely different group of people. She was then able to control the entire game and the other side never knew. Few of the other players had a cogent vision and they thus became faithful followers. To ensure Kim’s vision succeeded, she quickly got rid of anyone who looked like they might be able to form a strategy.
This is just like being a leader at work. You need a cogent strategy and if you actually have one, you’ll find that other people around you won’t have well thought out ones of their own. They’ll fight to join onto your vision.