If you resonate with this title, I’m concerned. Chaotic environments (aka culture) are easier to thrive in, which may seem counterintuitive at first. Think about it this way: in chaos, you don’t have hard choices about your priorities because you solve the next crisis, and the next crisis, and the next crisis as reactivity becomes a super strong muscle. The latest urgent thing is your priority, and you prioritize that over any hard conversations, and any accountability.

And there’s also the side effect of not building a strategic thinking muscle. You find yourself being a superhero on the daily, and the days do add up, while any strategic initiatives go by the wayside. Being a leader in an organization that thrives on chaos is a recipe for short-term wins and long-term struggles. Retention, modernization, and innovation are three measurable areas affected by the chaos culture.

If a chaos culture sounds familiar to you, and you want to change your culture (team climate or firm culture) to one that is more strategic, here are some small ways to begin the shift:

• Set 3-5 priorities for you and your team. Communicate them as the focus point for everyone, reference them in meetings, and with your leaders.
• Stand up for them. Be sure you’ve communicated your priorities to your leaders and your peers, and gain agreements they are supportive of your priorities. You have to take steps to protect your priorities, or you will lose respect. This is where difficult conversations happen.
• Swim upstream. In a chaos culture, people will have a habit of finding and creating chaos. You’ll be the voice that informs and influences others about the power of focus on strategic initiatives.
• Commit to your growth. Being a strategic thinker requires attention to practice it, and influencing others to commit to it is a great way to counter the chaos.

As we all have more technology in our lives, the power of strategic thinking is a differentiator in your industry. When an organization shifts from having events driving the firm to one where the firm shapes its own future, the longevity of the firm is easy, and leading  the industry is the outcome.