Why C-Level Leaders Don’t Think Enough (And How To Fix This Issue)

Here’s the shocking truth … 

C-level leaders simply don’t think enough! Contrary to popular belief, high-level executives don’t spend enough time using their noggins to think about the future, ideate new strategies, or clearly understand a complex topic to make the best decision possible.

Based on my decades of leadership as a tech entrepreneur, CEO, and coach to other CEOs, I’ve seen first-hand how leaders get caught up in their day—every day—and simply don’t stop to THINK. Every day is a missed opportunity to tackle a significant accomplishment or make an impactful decision. This is exacerbated if they get trapped in analysis paralysis.

I believe this is the biggest issue facing you as a leader and your organization. Today’s business world and technology is moving at lightning speed—and that includes your competitors. It’s time to put on the metaphorical thinking cap and start thinking smarter.

6 Ways to Think Smarter and Make More Impactful Leadership Decisions  

1. Get clear on the ONE most important action item or decision for the day—Even when we know better, we can get caught in the trap of starting the day by returning phone calls, wading through emails, or getting sidetracked with a hallway discussion. These time-consuming tasks can hijack your entire day, with no incisive decisions or consequential accomplishments to show for it. So, think about this on your commute to work every morning, even if you’re just walking down the hall into your home office! Better yet, ask yourself this question every night: “What is my most important action item to do or decision to make tomorrow?” Our minds are always active, and you may “dream up” the revolutionary strategy that makes all the difference to your organization.
2. Ask yourself, “What’s the most important thing I need to do right now?”—Business is busy! That’s an enduring fact of life. As a high-level leader, you may have dozens of people every day (or more!) seeking your time and attention. With all the demands on your time, ask yourself this question every day and throughout the course of your day: “What is the most important thing I need to do right now?” It will help you stay on track. If the answer is “create a strategy to counter the competition’s recent move” or “make a final decision on the new, enterprise-wide technology,” then you need to follow the next steps to truly focus on and accomplish that critical task. This could involve pulling together a brief, ad hoc meeting of your strategy team or simply giving yourself the time and space to clarify your thoughts, do some deep thinking, and make an informed decision.
3. Turn off devices and distractions to focus—We know our devices are a major distraction, but it’s challenging to turn them off and set them aside. What if we miss that important call? Clearly, a key to focusing is minimizing distractions. Set a time every day to turn off your phone, email, and other devices and give yourself the time to truly concentrate on that critical topic. Even if you have an open-door policy, it’s important to close that door and give yourself a quiet space with minimal distractions.
4. Don’t always respond instantly—Tell your VPs and directors that you may not always be instantly available to answer questions and respond to texts, calls, and emails. You can ask them to use a “911” type of message if they have an urgent need to speak with you, or you can instruct your assistant to interrupt you if a situation truly is urgent. Realistically, true emergencies are few and far between.
5. You know how to “get in the zone” so do it!—Giving yourself the time and quiet space for deep concentration (“getting in the zone”) is all-too-rare in the business world. Clear your mind, turn off distractions, and give the topic at hand your full attention. As you know, this will be a highly productive time and, wow, does the time fly! Invest an hour (or longer) for full-on concentration, and you will have some deep thinking and well-thought-out strategies to show for it.
6. Learn a simple, 4-step process to think smarter—When I was an aeronautics engineering student at Princeton I figured out pretty quickly that I needed to be on my game—or else! I was learning about exceedingly complex topics and needed a way to think about them and prioritize the most important concepts. I developed a simple, 4-step process to arrive at the 10 (or fewer) most important concepts related to that topic, which I call the MegaCepts. I’ve written a short, easy-to-read book outlining this powerful 4-step process, along with real-life examples. It’s called Mega Thinking: A Simple, Powerful Process to Think Smarter and Make Better Leadership Decisions. Here’s the process, in a nutshell:

Step 1: Start by jotting down your initial ideas  

Formally capturing your initial ideas is the critical starting point. Think about your initial ideas, jot them down, and then think a little more about them. In my book, I guide readers to rate their understanding of the topic in several categories.

Step 2: Next, socialize your ideas with colleagues  

Asking others for their thoughts about the key concepts on a topic is a highly valuable next step. After you have met with your colleagues, rethink your original ideas while factoring in their input. This will produce your socialized understanding of the topic, which will be more thoughtful and more well-rounded than your initial ideas. In fact, this may be a surprisingly eye-opening experience!

Step 3: Conduct research on your ideas 

To understand a topic, many people would begin here. However, in the MegaCepts process, the research step builds on the prior two steps, and it is driven by thought. In this step, search for information or data that specifically addresses any gaps or questions you might have.

Step 4: Create your list of the top 10 concepts, or MegaCepts  

You are now ready to establish your final thoughts on the subject, resulting in your greatest thoughts. This final step requires careful thought on your part to take the multiple inputs and synthesize them into your best thoughts on the topic. Ask yourself which points are the most important and why. Next, rank order them using your best judgment and starting with the most important. Once you finalize this list, you will rate yourself again on your understanding of the topic. Your score is sure to improve dramatically!

Written by Dave Martin.
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