Kindle Edition
Amazon
Xlibris
Category:
Education/Training
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN-10: 1436318105
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 124
Copyright: 2008
ISBN-13: 9781436318105
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
A practical manual on strategic leadership! Learn what it takes to be a strategic leader.
This book asks one central question: So you want to be a strategic leader?
It goes on to promote the essentials skills and knowledge for those who aspire to become one.
So You Want to Be a Strategic Leader asserts that the future of an organization of the 21st Century will be one that emerges from complex interactions of technology, processes, structure, strategy, and workforce challenges, which are all interwoven to create this future operating environment of an organization, driven by the understanding that the heart of an organization is its leadership and employees.
The strategic leader will learn how God’s involvement, strategic leadership behaviors, and learning processes can influence and guide strategic processes.
All of this is critical if an organization expects to remain competitive in the future.
Excerpt
Introduction
Many people today are writing about and seeking to understand the concept and practices of leadership. There are a great many reasons for the popularity of the topic, including the fact that organizations are faced with challenges like never before. Some of these challenges might include the ability to align the organization to better support the mission or upgrading technology to enhance production. Nevertheless, the concept of leadership is relevant to any aspect of ensuring effectiveness in the marketplace for organizations and in managing change. This book represents my experience of 25-plus years of supervising, managing and leading folks in the public sector (military and Federal government), learning about strategic leadership in the military and more recently, my doctoral program. It centers on strategic leaders, the essentials that are needed for them to be effective and successful in organizations. It argues that the strategic leader must use the competencies of strategic leadership to influence the future environment, technology, processes, structure, strategy, and the workforce with the understanding that these are just some of the components that affect the successful operation of an organization.
Leading is a very human activity and there are those who consider themselves to be experts on strategic leadership. Unfortunately, some even make strong assertions about strategic leadership without really understanding much about the concept. As strategic leaders face incredible pressures to deliver immediate results, to do more with less, and to manage an ever-increasingly personal workload, they need new approaches to meet these demands. As these new approaches are developed, it must always be remembered that it is the strategic leader who forges the vision and issues clear directives, accepting as part of their leadership role the responsibility for the overall performance of the organization (Hames, 2007).
In chapter 2, I review strategic leadership and explain how strategic leaders are able to accomplish change within their organization utilizing certain skills. Using multiple styles of leadership, they take steps to obtain various pieces of information to help make vital decisions for their organization. Chapter 3 details the importance of having God’s involvement from the start; by letting Him be the strategic leader’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It goes on to assert that changing your heart and placing a high value on character and one’s relationship with God leads to success; not only in an organization, but in life in general. Chapter 4 addresses the future environment and the strategic leader’s responsibility to not only understand it, but use it to see the world as never before in order to facilitate the organization maintaining the competitive advantage. It argues that knowledge workers are critical to the future environment of an organization and he or she must use them to build continuous evolving cultures in the organization. There is also something to be said about a strategic leader having political savvy. Chapter 5 is about using the power of technology to transform the future work environment. Strategic leaders who are classified as being technologically savvy are better able to position their organization to be more efficient and competitive. Chapter 6 deals with the processes of an organization, centering on strategic analysis and the various tools used to bring about change in the most efficient and effective manner. It leads into a growing concept in organizations called analytics, which is the extensive use of data to drive decisions and action, by the strategic leader. Chapter 7 addresses the structure of an organization, recommending the strategic leader take a fresh new look at the matrix organization with the use of cross-functional teams and a new matrix management system. It provides a comparison of the old matrix to the new matrix, which places emphasis on collaboration across the entire organization. Chapter 8 talks about the strategy of an organization and how the strategic leader must align the organization or face the prospect of failing. It promotes the idea or notion that during the life of an organization, there will be many times for strategic change, but it is those who are resistant to change that a strategic leader must be concerned with as they lead their organization. Chapter 9 reviews the workforce attributes, diversity, culture, workforce succession planning and management, and the importance of leadership development for the future leader who may aspire to become leaders within the organization. Finally, chapter 10 addresses the heart of an organization and challenges strategic leaders to be authentic in everything they do. They are encouraged to be reliant on God as they champion values, morals, and ethics within their organization. The many components of the strategic leadership environment challenge even the best strategic leaders. The monumental consequences of strategic decisions call for individuals with unique performance abilities who can navigate the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity inherent in the nature of those decisions (Freedman & with Tregoe, 2003). Aspiring leaders, those that desire to become strategic leaders, can rise to this challenge by understanding these components. Accepting the demands of strategic leadership involves a transition from the art of the familiar to the art of the possibility (2003). This is the realm of strategic leadership and the strategic environment in which the strategic leader must do well in, to be successful. As Parks (2005) has so graciously reminded us that leadership can be taught and seeking methods and approaches to leadership is what it is all about. The question I have for those who aspire to become a strategic leader is this: Are you willing to learn? Finally, strategic leaders must come to know God and they can do this through diligently studying and meditating on His Word. Knowing God gives the strategic leader hope and stability in life and when we are able to grasp the true knowledge of God through the Bible, He will move in our lives with such power that we will be successful in all our endeavors.
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