Positive Indicators

• Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks.
• Clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals.
• Generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction.
• Conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.

Negative Indicators

• Focuses on detail at the expense of the broader picture.
• Gets bogged down in detail; can’t see the forest for the trees.
• Fails to anticipate future needs.
• Takes a short-term view.
• Does not think strategically.
• Views the future in a simplistic way.
• Focuses on short-term goals.
• Thinks in a narrow way.
• Struggles to inspire others about strategic direction.

Sample Questions

Tell me about a recent time when you needed to take a broad view of your own work.

• Why was this necessary?
• How useful was this approach?
• What would you do differently next time?

Describe an occasion when you considered a range of possible future scenarios when planning.

• How did you take account of possible risks?
• What contingencies did you make?
• When are you least likely to consider future possibilities when planning?
• How effective were you at conveying enthusiasm about the possibilities?
• What was difficult about conveying this enthusiasm?

Give me an example of a time when you could have taken a more long-term view.

• Why was this important?
• What was the outcome?
• What did you learn?

Tell me about a time when you have had to translate a strategy into actions and plans.

• What did you specifically do that was effective?
• How did you know that your plans were clear enough to be implemented?
• What would you do differently in hindsight?

Tell me about a time when you have found it difficult to compel others to follow a strategic direction.

• How did you try and get others on board?
• Why was this difficult?
• What did you specifically do?
• What would you do differently next time?

Describe an example of when you have taken strategic implications into consideration as part of your decision-making.

• What did you do specifically that was effective?
• How accurate was your view of the big picture?
• What risks did you identify?
• How could you have taken a more strategic perspective?
• In what situations do you take a less strategic perspective to your work?

Tell me about a time when you have taken into account the wider implications of an issue in your decision-making.

• Was there anything that you did not anticipate that would have been useful in hindsight?
• When are you least likely to take into account the wider implications of issues?
• How does your big picture perspective differ from that of your peers?
• What do you see as being the key to ensuring that the wider implications of issues are taken into account when decisions are made?

It is not always easy to step back from day-to-day operations to consider the bigger picture when making decisions. Give me an example of when you have found it difficult to consider the bigger picture when making a decision.

• Why was this?
• What did you do?
• What would you do differently in a similar situation?
• What was the outcome?

Tell me about a situation when you took global trends into account in a strategy or plan.

• How successfully did you integrate these global trends with the work of your organization?
• How could you have been more effective at taking account of global trends?
• What advice would you give to someone who had difficulty taking a global perspective at work?