Strategic Leadership
Introduction
Strategic leadership refers to an individual’s ability to willingly make decisions that improve the long-term success prospects for a firm while ensuring that the organization’s financial stability is maintained. Strategic leadership approaches have a significant effect on the organization’s potential success because they impact its direction and vision. This paper will compare and contrast three definitions of strategic leadership using three scholarly sources.
Carter, S. M., & Greer, C. R. (2013). Strategic leadership: Values, styles, and organizational performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(4), 375-393.
According to Carter & Greer (2013), strategic leadership comprises a range of different leadership styles, including transactional but responsible leadership. According to these authors, strategic leadership is established using the concept of stakeholder’s economic, social, and environmental salience that depends on performance outcomes. This article’s authors suggest that strategic leaders are always challenged to perform by stakeholders who often demand that organizations have to meet double bottom line measures of performance. The authors in this article further give suggestions on the issue of change in the organization. Strategic leadership is an essential factor in organizations that are changing. This factor is vital in managing resistance to change based on their willingness to defend the status quo and the unwillingness to take risks. Leaders in the organization can motivate change by involving every individual in the organization through frequent and consistent. Leaders’ attitudes towards risk are vital in managing resistance to change based on their willingness to defend the status quo and the unwillingness to take risks. Leaders in the organization can motivate change by involving every individual in the organization through frequent and consistent communication with the employees to keep every stakeholder in the moving towards the organization’s strategic objectives and avoiding resistance to change.
Empirical research from multiple researchers suggests that strategic leaders’ values and their leadership styles are directly related to these measures. The article develops and reviews the established and evolving leadership styles and outlines their relationship to organizational performance. Further, the authors identify gaps in various leadership styles and suggest future research to fill the existing performance gaps.
Sarfraz, H. (2017). Strategic leadership development: simplified with Bloom’s taxonomy. Industrial and Commercial Training.
Sarfraz (2017), defines strategic leadership using Bloom’s taxonomy, which is based on international technological surveys and global leadership studies. These studies are used to stress the essence of strategic leadership in organizations. The author finds out that strategic leaders’ vital abilities are related to the six levels of thinking in Bloom’s taxonomy. The author implies that Bloom’s taxonomy can be used to develop strategic leadership in an organization. Strategic leadership in organizations evaluates the professional codes of conduct disseminated by professional associations such as the American Medical Association. These professional associations often take responsibility for the limited regulation of practitioners by determining competence and qualification standards. Ethical codes refer to promises that professions make that regulate professionals to concentrate on the community’s general interest. Examples of professional codes of conduct include honoring property rights such as intellectual rights, avoiding harm to other people, and respecting privacy. These codes of conduct are among the general moral imperatives of the organization’s code of conduct. Therefore, Bloom’s taxonomy should not only be used for meeting educational objectives but also to help leaders in their goal of developing strategic leadership capacity. Strategic leadership can be simplified using Bloom’s taxonomy, which may be used to simplify the strategic leadership development process that can maintain organizations’ prosperity. The study uses global leadership findings and surveys that describe the importance of global leadership. It stresses the international convergence of technology, markets, and the economy and how future leaders will be needed to develop skills suggested by Bloom’s taxonomy to maintain and improve their employment value. The study finally uses the strategic leadership development toolkit that provides a practical demonstration of the way taxonomy can simplify the process of developing strategic leadership in the organization.
Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (2017). The entrepreneurial imperatives of strategic leadership. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 307-327.
Covin & Slevin, (2017), also evaluate the importance of developing strategic leadership in entrepreneurial and social settings that often require change. Sometimes organizations resist change in information systems. The issue has become more apparent as employees are conflicting with one another. The situation will have to be assessed before holding a meeting with the business manager and come up with practical solutions in a comfortable and precise manner. Organizations should consider the factors when planning for a new system, including past organizational strategies, attitude towards risk and organizational culture, and power relations. The effect of change mission on the lower managers and employees has to be considered as the staff is responsible for implementing organizational policies. Therefore leaders have to communicate to employees the need for change and how the change can be accomplished. The leadership should guide employees in every step until completion to ensure the organization achieves its strategic objectives.
Past organizational strategies play an essential role when developing strategic leadership in an organization. This element addresses the issue of resisting change based on the existing organizational structures and systems. It will also address the failed attempts to change the present ways. In implementing change, the organization will have to be guided by its vision and goals. A vision is essential when leading a change in the organization. A vision should demonstrate how accomplishing it will improve the firm. Strategic leadership can be affected by the firm’s reliance on external factors such as unions, the government, and shareholders. The leadership of organizational change should work to ensure that every stakeholder and employee is involved in the change process, including those at the lowest levels. The culture and political power of leaders in an organization can affect the change process in an organization. Modern agencies have developed different organizational cultures, and this is why staff members have developed alliances with their respective co-workers. Political support is essential in the organization, and it can be developing through having excellent leadership and motivation skills.
Probable actions and reactions from competitors is an essential element that should be assessed when developing strategic leadership in an organization. This is an essential factor as it influences the way the organization sustained the changes made. This factor looks at aspects such as positions of power, internal competition, and politics associated with risks and changes, which is critical when managing change. During transitioning, every step should be tracked efficiently and observed, and several events have to happen before proceeding to the next step. Change is part of employees in most modern organizations because of the dynamic nature of modern business operations and the changing technology. It is also part of every individual’s personal and professional life. In motivating change, leaders in the organization can motivate change by involving every individual in the organization through frequent and consistent communication.
Conclusion
Strategic leadership has a substantial impact on the vision and success of the company. The leadership of an organization requires the tools and skills for the formulation and implementation of strategies. Organizations need strategic leaders who can manage change and ambiguity by providing a strong sense of direction to the organization and building ownership and alignment of all the firm’s stakeholders.
References
Carter, S. M., & Greer, C. R. (2013). Strategic leadership: Values, styles, and organizational performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(4), 375-393.
Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (2017). The entrepreneurial imperatives of strategic leadership. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 307-327.
Sarfraz, H. (2017). Strategic leadership development: simplified with Bloom’s taxonomy. Industrial and Commercial Training.