Experiences that develop the ability to think strategically.

The ability to think strategically is an admired and a sought-after leadership requirement, yet we know little about how it develops. The purpose of this study is to identify specific experiences that contribute to the development of an individual's ability to think strategically. We identified eight work experiences, including different types of organizational projects, processes, and relationships, that contribute to an individual's strategic thinking ability. We also delineate specific characteristics material to each experience. These characteristics indicate that considerable time and focus are required to develop the ability to think strategically. In addition, the experiences are not all accessed equally: Women are less likely to have nonrelational experiences, while chief executive officers are more likely to have the most challenging ones. In addition, we found differences regarding work-related continuing education activities. Respondents rated nonhealthcare conferences and reading behind all other identified experiences that contribute to strategic thinking ability. Individuals can implement several strategies to improve their strategic thinking ability, including deliberately incorporating the requisite experiences into their development plans, ensuring that the experiences incorporate the required characteristics, and improving the benefit received from attending educational programs in nonhealthcare industries. Organizations can implement several strategies to ensure the experiences are as effective as possible, such as appraising gender differences across the experiences and reviewing the organization's strategic planning processes for the characteristics that best encourage strategic thinking.