Strategy has always fascinated me.

The intellectual challenge of developing innovative yet rationale responses to a unique context is something I'm really passionate about.

Digital strategy is all too often conflated with knowing which social media channels to be on or whether you should have a mobile app. But to be a good digital strategist you've got to know more than your Vines from your Meerkats.

I've been thinking about what sort of traits make someone a good digital strategist and I'm firmly convinced that the underlying strategic nous isn't something people are born with.

With focused personal development and discipline the traits of an effective strategist can be quite easily developed. 

Combining these traits with a professional curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the world around is what makes a good digital strategist.

So what do good digital strategists do to keep their skills sharp?

Here are my top five ways that digital strategists can stay on top of their game.

1. Act like a counsellor

   As a strategist, you're helping a brand, organisation or person solve a problem. At the early stages of planning you should be absorbing more information than you're providing. As the Greek philosopher Epictetus wrote "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."

   In a briefing session, probe the problem and interrogate the request to determine the true goal. A good strategist is like a good counsellor, reflective, intuitive and never pushy; they talk about you more than themselves.

   'Counselling' is essential to a strategist as it helps them develop the insights which are so critical to creating the final plan. 

2. Never stop thinking 

   Whilst it's not healthy to be working constantly, a good strategist just can't help analysing campaigns she sees in her daily life.

   When watching TV ads, she wonders what led the creative team to sit around and devise that particular commercial. A good strategist has 'x-ray vision' when looking at other people's marketing activity- an ability to see through the consumer facing proposition, right back to the brief. 
    

3. Show empathy

   Empathy is one of the key attributes of a good strategist; the ability to put themselves in another's shoes.

   Strategists need to be able to see across 'lines' in society, unaffected by taboo, moral issues, class or race. If a strategist is unable to put themselves in the consumer's shoes, they won't be able to succesfully relay the needs of the brand or organisation to them. 
    

4. Be the glue

   A strategist should be the 'glue' in your campaign team, understanding the professional and personal needs of each contributor. She should be able to draw together findings using stats, creative insight and consumer research.

   The strategist must be the 'voice of reason' in collaborative sessions, listening and encouraging, whilst reigning back overconfidence, even in their superiors. 
    

5. Quiet confidence

   A strategist is often a 'thinker', who prefers to absorb information and work alone to come up with ideas to present back to the team.

   Though they may spend a good proportion of their time in quiet contemplation, they're by no means a wallflower. When a strategist gets up to present, the client sits back and listens- they're well-informed, interesting and confident. You'll find most heads nodding as they present their insights. 
    

In truth, a strategist is simply one of many people contributing to a problem solving expedition. 

However their unique capacity to join up insight from across a marketing team means they are essential for building a successful digital proposition.

Whilse individual disciplines focus heavily on their own area, the strategist must be able to take a holistic view of the evidence and devise a clever, effective solution. 

Sounds simple in theory, yet fascinatingly complex in practice - which is probably why I enjoy it so much!