When your boss tells you to "be more strategic," what do they actually mean?
Sometimes it's genuine - they see you working hard on the wrong things and want to help you refocus. Sometimes it's politics - they need you to read between the lines they can't legally spell out. And sometimes it's just offloading risk. The problem? You're supposed to figure out which story is true, and then what to do about it, with no guidance and zero training budget.
In this episode, we walk (literally - five-months-pregnant Corissa sets the pace) through the murky reality of being told to level up without a map. We explore why "strategic" is a suitcase word people pack with whatever they like, how to decode what's actually being prioritised vs. what's officially important, and a simple framework you can use today to start getting better signal from your manager.
Including-but-not-limited-to:
Why "be more strategic" often secretly means "be more politically savvy" (and what to do about that)
The official game vs. the real game - and how to play both without burning out
Signal > Stories > Options: how telling yourself different stories unlocks different actions
Context, Proposition, Triggers (CPT) - a back-briefing technique that helps you test assumptions and get clearer direction
Why diligent people can get penalised for doing exactly what the organisation says it wants
When half-arsing the official work is actually the strategic move
This one's for anyone who's doing good work, getting mixed signals, and wondering why their effort isn't translating into recognition or progress.
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Tom Kerwin. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Tom Kerwin och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
