The Fundamental Strategic Role of Top Leaders in Organizations

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29: 18).

The strategic leader faces many obstacles because he or she must balance the need for continuity with the need for change. Strategic leadership determines the organization’s directions, meaning, purposes, and objectives. Besides many other skills, a long-term perspective is required.

Bass and Avolio (1993) assert that Strategic Leadership is an internal group process. To lead, a leader must take part in group activities. Leadership transcends mere authority. According to Ireland et al. (1995), Strategic Leadership has six components: 1) determine strategic direction 2) use and maintain important competencies 3) develop human resources (human capital development), and 4) sustain an effective cooperative culture 5) Emphasizing moral conduct 6) implementing strategic management. Moreover, Ireland and Hitt (1999) define Strategic leadership as a person’s ability to anticipate, create a vision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and collaborate with others to implement changes can improve the organization’s future. (Chinoperekweyi, 2019) Building successful organizations necessitates identifying and focusing on factors important to all stakeholders, and promoting the prudent and strategic use of organizational resources.

Strategic leaders constitute the dominant alliance in any organization, which typically includes senior management, the board of directors, the CEO, and other senior-level figures (typically those who report directly to the CEO or the board of directors) (Finkelstein et al., 2009; Hambrick and Mason, 1984). In terms of organization development and leadership in the 21st century, strategic leadership is a crucial component. Strategic leadership practices and methods must be recognized as an integral element of organization development in order to achieve better and more effective strategic change results. Effective strategic leadership is essential for a company’s decision-making in a volatile and dynamic business environment to achieve both short- and long-term objectives.

According to Minja and Kirimi (2012), the majority of corporate failures stem from a lack of strategic leadership practice, which results from leaders’ inability to effectively communicate the organization’s vision to its followers, inability to inspire followers to be passionate about their roles, and inability to inspire employees to be loyal to the organization’s vision.

Competitive and dynamic markets necessitate strategic leaders who are proactive in ensuring the participation and alignment of all organizational members from the planning stage through execution, so as to achieve the highest level of cooperation and coordination among colleagues. Strategic leadership relies on participative approaches to promote organizational and team performance to support organization development concepts. Participation by employees improves morale and motivation, resulting in increased results and productivity.

The current global business environment is more complex, demanding, and replete with competitive threats and opportunities for businesses. Organizational survival and expansion are significantly dependent on effective leadership practices. Hitt and Ireland (2002) argued that strategic leadership practices help firms improve performance while bringing about the desired change in a volatile business environment. Without strategic leadership, Ireland and Hitt (1999) believed that the likelihood of an organization achieving superior or even adequate performance when confronting the challenges of the global economy would be substantially diminished. Understanding the characteristics and skills of strategic leaders is essential for assuring the success of organization development initiatives.

References

Bass, B., & Avolio. (1993-Spring). Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture. Public Administration Quartely, 17(1), 112-122.

Chinoperekweyi, J. (2019). Comparative analysis of organizational effectiveness in banking: A case study of the Zimbabwean banking sector. International Journal of Commerce and Management Research, 5(1); 13-21.

Finkelstein, S., Hambrick, D. C., and Cannella, Jr., A. A. (2009). Strategic Leadership: Theory and Research on Executives, Top Management Teams, and Boards. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Hambrick, D. C., & Mason, P. A.(1984). Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of Its Top Managers. The Academy of Management Review, 9 (2), 193- 206

Ireland, R. D., and Hitt, M. A. (1999). Achieving and maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st century. The role of strategic leadership. Academy of Management Executive, 13(1); 43-57.

Ireland, R., Hitt, M. &Hoskisson. (1995). Strategic Management Competitiveness and Globalization Consept. St. Paul MN, West Publishing Company.

Minja, D., & Kirimi, A.B. (2012). Transformational corporate leadership. Uitgever: Andrews UK Limited.