I have taken the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, and six of my top ten strengths sit in the Strategic Thinking domain. Rather than reproduce the full report, here is what it actually means in practice.

I see patterns and alternate paths quickly, and I am drawn to what an organization could become rather than only what it is today. I am deliberate about risk — I would rather surface a problem early and be unpopular than be surprised by it later. I insist on evidence over assertion, including my own. And I like fixing things: I am genuinely energized by walking into something broken and restoring it.

The honest flip side: I can over-analyze before bringing people in, and my instinct is to arrive with a finished plan rather than a draft. I have learned that a plan people help shape gets adopted faster than a better plan handed over complete — so now I socialize direction while it is still unfinished.