What is a Strategy Manager?
Strategic managers are the key planners, analyzers, and risk leaders who establish strategic plans in a business. They also handle oversight and development of corporate strategies to support business growth and stability.
Strategy Manager Activities:
- Planning
- Risk management
- Performance management
- Coaching
- Collaboration
- Data analysis
- Crisis management
- Creative problem solving
- Ethics development
- Market leadership
- Creating value
- Branding
What Education do Strategy Managers Typically Have?
Degree in business or related field, MBA preferred. 3-5 years of experience in business administration, management consulting or strategic planning. Excellent understanding of business operations and procedures, or branding. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
What Essential Skills should Strategy Managers Have?
Communication skills
- The strategic management position is collaborative and demands great communicators in speech and writing. As business leaders, strategic managers need to inform and instruct all employees. Proper communication will determine the effectiveness of the instructions they give.
- Exceptional communication skills are essential when interacting with consumers, gathering information, expressing oneself and preparing business reports
Analytical skills
Strategic managers need to convert raw information into applicable strategies. They should also be able to perform various standard analyses in the business, such as:
- Competitive analysis: Assesses the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors
- Performance analysis: Analyzes the business progress, systematically.
- Market analysis: Gathers information on conditions affecting the marketplace
Interpersonal Skills
- Interpersonal skills are behaviors and abilities that help you manage emotions and cope with challenges. Strategic managers need to be proactive, demonstrate outstanding problem-solving skills and work in a group setting.
- Strategic managers should be exemplary leaders who inspire and motivate team performance. As team leaders, strategic managers should strive to build strong and lasting connections with others.
Leadership
- Strong leadership is the ability to motivate, inspire, encourage and challenge the team you lead to maximize their production. Developing effective strategies for an entire company and ensuring their implementation in a set timeline requires quality leadership.
- Strategic management candidates need to have strong leadership qualities to help them deal with potentially difficult strategies, stiff competition, financial crises or business losses.
Organizational skills
- Enable you to prioritize, plan and achieve set goals. Strategic managers require strategic organizational skills to structure and rank priority tasks to meet strict deadlines.
Project Management
- Project management is applying knowledge, tools and techniques in a project's activities to meet its requirements. Strategic managers should be able to apply their skills and experience to help the business archive its goals.
Problem-Solving Skills
Some situations in businesses require quick and sound decisions to avoid losses. Strategic managers need to be able to often make difficult decisions quickly and accurately for both immediate goals and the wellbeing of their company.
What Companies Hire Strategy Managers?
- Microsoft
- Bank of America
- Deloitte
- Accenture
- IBM
- J.P Morgan
- Meta
- H.P Inc
- HSBC
- (Branding/marketing agencies or individual brands/start-ups)
What is the typical Strategy Manager Salary?
The average strategy manager salary in Canada is $97,795 per year or $50.15 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $82,169 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $126,774 per year.
Job Titles for a Strategy Manager
- Chief operating officer
- Investment fund manager
- Management analyst
- Operations manager
- Human resources specialist
- Brand strategist