How can you effectively answer questions about your strategic decision-making abilities?

If you are justifying (to others) your capacity to make strategic judgments… you’ve already missed the boat. I wish it were different. But it just is.

To Answer correctly about the response to a strategic fit is to understand the business you are looking to strategically. The best way to look at it is to understand where the support is needed, look at where and then you can then you can fully understand how. Then you can have detailed discussions around that.

Kindly be advised that strategic decision making involves many factors of identifing best ways to achieve the desired goals and objectives, in conjunction with gathering information, development of strategic plans or options, evaluation of various ways/tasks - taking into account limited budgets of various chapters/lines of use and choosing wisely the next course of action. The direction of where we are going, obstacles and challenges should be a priority as some budgets are limited, time is restricted for certain period e.g some budgets are restricted to a timeframe, outputs will be expected after monitoring and evaluations - adherence to certain rules and regulations and procedures.

Before you jump into answering, make sure you understand what the question is asking you. You may need to clarify the context, scope, or goal of the problem. For example, if the question is "How would you design a strategy for entering a new market?", you may want to ask about the industry, the target audience, the competitors, or the budget. This will help you tailor your answer to the specific situation and show your interest and curiosity.

A framework is a tool that helps you organize your thoughts and communicate your logic. There are different frameworks that you can use depending on the type of problem and the level of detail. For example, you can use the SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a strategy, or the SMART criteria to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. You can also create your own framework based on your experience and knowledge. The key is to explain why you chose a certain framework and how it applies to the problem.

I fully support the use of the STAR method. I have used it in past interviews and it helped a great deal with the ‘story telling’ aspect and giving the interviewer a clear understanding of the examples I shared. However, this interview method has been around for quite some time now. It would be interesting to find out if there are any other methods that are an improvement over the STAR approach.

The best way to show your skills is to use a current framework example on how you support a current customer who has the same needs. You can show the working example and how you reached those goals. You can use the same approach for new customers as the business is built on the same structure and demands. Do not forget to build your fit using the experienced people you have that make this work.

You have to have the tools available to deliver what the customer wants and be confident you can deliver. You have to show actions, respond swiftly to issues on how to resolve. Be confident you can roll out the framework and show how you are delivering step by step. Provide constant updates to the customer and do not wait till the customer contacts you.

The key to effectively addressing inquiries about strategic decision-making is to candidly discuss specific instances where decisions diverged from conventional approaches, highlighting adaptability and resilience in navigating unforeseen challenges. This fosters confidence by demonstrating a nuanced understanding of strategic dynamics and an ability to pivot when necessary.

Try to understand the customers long term visions, gives you time to think on how you can support without being caught out. Better to react than be reactive. This way you can build better relationships with your customer.