In our journey so far, we’ve explored what strategy actually is, and we've considered two important truths:
First, strategy doesn’t live only in plans - it must walk on its feet.
Second, strategic thinking isn't equally natural for everyone - you need the right minds at the table.
Now we come to a deeper question:
What does it really mean to lead strategically when the future refuses to fit the plan?
This is where the conversation shifts from planning to navigating complexity.
A common leadership trap is mistaking complexity for complication.
Complication is like solving a Rubik’s cube: difficult, but solvable. Cause and effect are knowable. Expertise and effort can crack it.
Complexity is like raising a child (or leading a business in volatile times). Cause and effect are obscured. Actions produce unexpected reactions. Patterns shift as you watch them.
In complex environments:
Best practice doesn’t guarantee a best outcome.
Past experience doesn’t always predict future success.
Problems don’t come neatly labelled - you only understand them fully in hindsight.
And yet, many leadership teams approach complexity with tools designed for complication:
Linear plans. Fixed milestones. Comforting illusions of certainty.
This is where strategy, as a living practice, matters most.
Strategic leadership in complex environments demands a different stance:
Sensing over predicting – You can't predict every turn, but you can stay attuned to weak signals and emerging patterns.
Options over commitments – Instead of betting everything on a single plan, you create multiple pathways and pivot points.
Small bets over grand moves – You experiment thoughtfully, learning fast without risking everything at once.
Resilience over rigidity – You invest in adaptable teams and systems, able to flex without losing their core.
In complexity, leadership is less about commanding the journey and more about staying connected to what’s actually unfolding - without losing your way.
As Royal Dutch Shell’s Arie de Geus put it:
“The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.”
The best strategic leaders are not the ones with the cleverest plans.
They are the ones who sense the shifts early, adapt wisely, and help their teams navigate uncertainty without becoming lost or paralysed.
This isn't just about leading others. It starts with leading yourself.
How quickly can you let go of a cherished plan when the landscape changes?
How skilfully can you hold clarity of purpose without clinging to fixed tactics?
How often do you mistake your own comfort for certainty?
The future belongs to those who can balance commitment and curiosity, focus and flexibility.
It’s not an easy balance.
But it’s what distinguishes leaders who endure from those who fade.
Living strategy forward means embracing complexity - not fighting it, not oversimplifying it, not running from it. It means choosing to walk with awareness, with discipline, and with adaptability.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
But you do have to stay awake.
And you have to stay willing to learn, to adjust, and to lead with both courage and humility.
Strategy still matters.
Direction still matters.
But in complexity, the quality of your navigation matters most.
What complexity are you currently treating as a complication — and what would leading it differently invite you to do?
Matt helps leaders and teams develop mindset and resourcefulness so they can relate productively, communicate effectively, and navigate challenge and change with confidence.
Through coaching and training, he empowers leaders with better choices and more options for progress—building better leadership from the inside out.
Curious what that could look like for you or your organisation? Let’s talk.