Allan Macdonald

 Words: 1100

Time to Read: 8 minutes

The terms “strategy”, “strategic planning”, and “strategic thinking” are often used interchangeably, creating confusion among performance sports practitioners. This article aims to clarify the ambiguity by highlighting the different dimensions of strategic thinking, particularly for performance practitioners such as strength coaches, physiotherapists, and nutritionists. This article explores how Jeanne Liedtka’s five key elements of strategic thinking—systems perspective, intent-driven focus, intelligent opportunism, thinking in time, and hypothesis-driven learning—can help resolve confusion and guide practitioners to success. This framework provides a valuable structure to help practitioners create lasting, impactful contributions within their respective roles.

Strategic what?

The distinctions between strategic planning, strategic management, and strategic thinking are often blurred and unclear, creating misunderstandings in their application.

Strategic planning typically involves setting long-term objectives and developing a structured roadmap to achieve them. It is about formalising a future path with clearly defined goals. It is the process of establishing goals, objectives, and tactics to achieve a desired future state.

Strategic management, in contrast, is a more dynamic process that focuses on the ongoing implementation and adjustment of strategies to adapt to changing circumstances. It is the process of continuously assessing and refining strategic plans to ensure they remain relevant as internal and external conditions evolve. Rather than being a static set of instructions, strategic management involves monitoring performance, reacting to unexpected challenges, and making informed decisions to realign efforts.

Strategic thinking, however, is the most flexible of the three concepts. It emphasises creative problem-solving and adaptation, helping practitioners anticipate challenges and seize new opportunities as they arise. This more flexible, agile approach to strategic thinking enables practitioners to navigate the complex and ever-evolving demands of high-performance sport.

The five key elements of strategic thinking

Jeanne Liedtka, a professor of business administration, has identified five key elements of strategic thinking that can be particularly useful for performance practitioners. The following sections will explore how each of these elements can be applied in the context of performance sports practitioners.

Systems Perspective: Connecting the Practitioner’s Role to the Bigger Picture

A systems perspective means viewing sport as an interconnected ecosystem where the roles and responsibilities of different practitioners are deeply intertwined and collectively influence overall athlete, or team, performance. For instance, strength coaches must understand how their strength and conditioning programs not only impact physical capabilities but also contribute to injury prevention and mental resilience. Similarly, physiotherapists, sports nutritionists, and performance analysts all play key roles in supporting athlete well-being and optimising competitive results. Crucially, each practitioner must align their specialised work with the overarching goals and strategies of the coaching staff. Collaboration and communication across these distinct disciplines is paramount, as a siloed approach risks suboptimal decision-making and undermines the team’s cohesion and effectiveness. By embracing a holistic, systems-level mindset, practitioners can leverage their complementary expertise to create a synergistic environment conducive to long-term, sustainable success.

Intent-Driven Focus: Aligning Practitioner Work with Long-Term Goals

Intent-driven focus requires practitioners to establish clear, well-defined goals that direct their actions and decision-making. For instance, a sports nutritionist might focus on developing customised nutrition plans to not only enhance athletes’ recovery processes but also support long-term objectives, such as building muscle mass or preventing injuries. Similarly, strength coaches and physiotherapists must carefully align their training and rehabilitation protocols with the overarching performance goals of the team. This clarity of intent ensures the practitioners’ day-to-day work directly contributes to achieving the larger, long-term goals set by the coaching staff. By keeping these team-level objectives at the forefront of their minds, practitioners can ensure their specialised efforts seamlessly support the desired outcomes and outcomes for the entire programme.

Intelligent Opportunism: Adapting to Changing Conditions

Intelligent opportunism encourages practitioners to remain flexible and responsive to changing conditions. For example, a physiotherapist may need to adapt a rehabilitation plan if an athlete’s injury recovery progresses unexpectedly fast or slow, adjusting the intensity, duration, or focus of the rehabilitation program to optimise the athlete’s progress. Similarly, a performance analyst might identify patterns in the opponent’s play that call for tactical adjustments, quickly communicating these insights to the coaching staff to enable timely strategic changes during competition. Practitioners must stay open to new tools and techniques that can provide competitive advantages, continuously exploring and evaluating innovative approaches to enhance performance. The ability to seize opportunities and rapidly adapt strategies ensures teams remain competitive and responsive to unexpected developments, maintaining an edge over their opponents.

Thinking in Time: Learning from the Past to Plan for the Future

Practitioners must thoughtfully connect their past experiences to envisioning and planning for future outcomes. A strength coach, for instance, might thoroughly analyse past injury data to refine and optimise their conditioning programmes for future seasons, anticipating potential challenges and tailoring their approaches accordingly. Similarly, performance analysts might meticulously study past match footage to identify evolving trends in opponent strategies and tactics, using those insights to inform future tactical decisions to give their team a competitive edge. By thinking holistically across time, practitioners can learn invaluable lessons from previous successes and setbacks, applying those hard-won insights to continually improve performance and refine their strategies in anticipation of future challenges. This element of strategic thinking empowers practitioners to proactively shape the path forward, rather than reactively responding to circumstances.

Hypothesis-Driven Thinking: Testing Assumptions and Learning from Results

Hypothesis-driven thinking involves systematically testing ideas and learning from the resulting outcomes. For example, a sports nutritionist might hypothesize a new hydration strategy will improve athletes’ endurance during high-intensity sessions. After implementing the proposed strategy, the practitioner can then analyse performance data to determine whether the hypothesis was supported. If the data reveals the strategy was effective, the nutritionist can continue refining and optimising the approach. Conversely, if the results do not align with the initial hypothesis, the nutritionist can use those learnings to adjust the hydration plan and test a revised hypothesis. Similarly, strength coaches or physiotherapists can employ hypothesis-driven thinking to evaluate the impacts of new training techniques or recovery methods on enhancing athlete performance. By continuously generating testable hypotheses, implementing evidence-based interventions, and carefully analysing the outcomes, practitioners can iteratively refine their methods to optimise results and drive sustained improvements in athlete well-being and competitive success.

Summary

Strategic thinking, grounded in Liedtka’s five elements, is essential for practitioners in sport. A systems perspective ensures all efforts are aligned, intent-driven focus sets clear goals, and intelligent opportunism fosters adaptability. Thinking in time allows practitioners to learn from the past, while hypothesis-driven thinking encourages continuous improvement. These principles guide practitioners in making informed, impactful decisions that enhance both individual and team performance in high-performance sport environments.

Reference

Liedtka, J. (1998). Strategic thinking: Can it be taught?. Long Range Planning, 31(1), 120-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(97)00098-8