A strategic mindset: An orientation toward strategic behavior during goal pursuit

Significance Modern life and work involve grappling with many novel challenging tasks. What makes some people more strategic, and hence more effective, as they approach these tasks? This research introduces and tests a psychological construct—a “strategic mindset”—which involves asking oneself strategy-eliciting questions, such as “What can I do to help myself?” or “Is there a way to do this even better?” in the face of challenges or insufficient progress. A strategic mindset uniquely predicts how much people report actively using strategies and, in turn, how effective they are at pursuing goals across life domains. The findings suggest that being strategic entails more than just having specific strategic skills—it appears to also entail an orientation toward accessing and employing them.