Management Strategic Leadership - Assignment Example

? Topic Management Strategic Leadership Introduction Strategic leadership is a very important aspect in leadership concept and is applied mainly to large organization which works on an international platform. According to Mussel white (2007) “Leading strategically includes defining your organization's mission. This requires a keen understanding of the marketplace and your reason for being in business. With a clearly defined mission, you give your organization its rudder”. The author is right in pointing out the importance of organization mission in the role of a strategic leader’s functioning.. On the other side, many of the strategic leaders are not well concentrated on the mission of the organization but on the way to maximize profitability for the business firm .In current era, profitability and revenue growth is the main concern of many leaders and in the eagerness to pile up wealth ,they ignore the mission and goal of an organization. As per Cyprus (2010)“Strategic leadership basically means using strategy in the management of workers. The main strategy usually employed in a strategic style of leadership is to motivate workers to take the initiative to improve their productive input into the company”. The author here defines the concept of strategic leadership and the core function of it in a business scenario. Any how, the function of a strategic leader does not end at formulation strategies and motivating employees. A perfect strategic leader has to study the organization’s goal deeply and understand the working patterns and potentiality of the employees in a right manner. Nowadays most of the strategic leaders fail in their mission ,as they do not have full fledged knowledge on every details of an organization .Moreover , it is to be understood that motivating the employees is not easy without understanding their potentiality and behavioral pattern. PART - I A) The Process of Strategic leadership The strategic leadership is mainly focused on managing the strategy making process to alleviate the performance the standard of a company, and as a result increasing the worth of the company in the eyes of shareholders and owners. According to Freedman(2003,pg.12)“Formulating the strategy is the platform from which a company defines its current place in the value chain and carves out the portion of the value chain in which it will participate in the future”. It is to be noted that only by formulating strategies an organization cannot reach a success stage .A strategically leader definitely has to rise above the normal people and must ensure profitability and goodwill for his organization with the support of employees from all levels of the organization. According to Grand staff, (2009, pg.24) “Strategic thinking includes different lenses and thought processes that are useful in any endeavor, but they are critical for senior leaders in a time of accelerating change that brings both opportunities and threats.” A strategic leader undoubtedly bring in change to an organization , but at times he can be overloaded with risk factor which can attribute to poor performance from his part . A strategic leader has to be thoughtful, but if he receives support and advice from other managers and employees who have better knowledge and experience on certain field, things can become less difficult for him. To initiate change, there should be support from all the employees of an organization, but only by formulating and implementing strategies, the senior leaders cannot achieve the strategic goal. A strategic leader should sense opportunities and threats and then motivate employees to work towards the strategic goal of the firm. B) Functions of a Strategic Leader A strategic leadership is a unique style of leadership in which the objective of the organization is achieved by foreseeing situation and events with a visionary skill. But this does that mean that, a strategic leader possess a limited quality of visionary skill only. In his book Hitt (2009,pg.342)wrote that , “The strategically leader regardless of their title and organizational function have substantial decision making responsibilities that cannot be delegated”. A strategic leader does have a high level responsibility .but this does not mean the entire heavy load of business activities rest on his head alone. Here it is indented by the author that some decisions rest alone on strategic leader like foreseeing the opportunities and threats hidden in a certain situations and how to make use of certain situations in a profitable manner. Nevertheless, it can be suggested that strategic leader must be more open about strategic ideas to his counter parts, so as to receive different opinions from them, which can help him in performing his tasks with less chaos and confusion. A strategic leader has to face many complexities and criticism from his delegates and it would be better if he openly discuss his responsibilities with them so as to make them understand the accountability he has on the business firm on the occasion of adversity. An effective strategic leader has to motivate employees and to do this a good communication of decision process is needed. As per (Arpino,2006)“A strategic leadership style is proven to be effective only when people are well motivated, clear on their objectives and have the competence to achieve what is expected of them”. Even though the decision making responsibilities cannot be delegated, they can be very well discussed with the employees at all level to allow smooth functioning of the business activities.For example : Steve Jobs of Apple Incorporation can be regarded functioning rightly as a strategic leader as he consistently invents electronic gadgets according to the taste and demands of the future market. C) The Leadership Models Linked to Strategic leadership The urge for refinement and more accountability have initiated a necessity for new models of leadership in a strategically focused organization’s .A few of such models can be seen below: i) Spirituality based leadership The unethical practices and code of conduct have led to loss of trust and confidence in the today’s existing corporate leadership. In his book Swayne(2006,pg381) writes that “The cry for greater accountability has given rise to a new leadership model – one that focuses on spirituality. It focuses on ethical behavior, values, relationship skills and a healthy balance between work and self”. A strategic leader needs a character which is very transparent and reflective. He should also be truthful in his action, so that people around him can trust him without a second thoguht.People might think that spirituality is for soft people and hard world of business cannot digest it. But on the contrary, only a spiritually enhanced leader can have core values, ethics and morality to conduct a good business However, it cannot be definitely said that spirituality alone cannot make an individual a good strategic leader. If an ardent spiritual leader lacks the quality of being visionary, creative and spontaneous then his leadership quality is inferior. In his writing Fry (2003, pg.693-727) “A causal theory of spiritual leadership is developed within an intrinsic motivation model that incorporates vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love, theories of workplace spirituality, and spiritual survival”. A strategic leadership in not only about one self, it is about expanding one’s working space to include others dealing with him in the business environment. A leader can be of no use, if he lack understanding about the people working around him. A spiritual leader can be knowledgeable, and can us e this knowledge wisely to create more compelling visions. ii) Normative Leadership Model According to this leadership model, the primary objective of the leader is suggested to be the decision making process. According to Changing Minds (2002) “The model is most likely to work when there is clear and accessible opinions about the decision quality importance and decision acceptance factors”. Here the decision quality refers to the ability of a leader to choose the best alternative decision available to him. However, in many cases it can be found that the followers are not acceptable with the decision quality selection practiced by a particular leader. This can definitely bring about chaos and disorganization in a large business firm. Also if the leader is unskilled and inexperienced, this decision quality making can bring about more bad than good to the business firm. So decision quality making is not always a very positive way of action for an organization. As per Hess (2008) “Normative Leadership is a unique blend of simple management principles, sociology, psychology, and common sense. It offers a middle ground between those who favor the left-brained, analytical skills that foster a culture of responsibility and accountability and the right-brained people skills for enhancing creativity and teamwork”. Here there is no emphasis placed on the personality, attributes and quality of the leader .This models assumes that leaders are equally skilled and the decision making take place at a given single point of time. Hence it is not a suggestive practice to follow, since assumptions on the leader’s ability can be bring outcome which can be unrealistic. An example here can be Bill Gates, who has been the leader of Microsoft since years and have dealt with his business analytically and intelligently and still remain as a topmost business icon. ii) The Strategic Shift Model This is a contemporary type of leadership model in which the traditional leader with a limited space to growth prospects is shifted to logistically powerful leader with a great value to act in supply chain. As per (Murray,2011) “Supply chain management operates at three levels; strategic, tactical and operational. At the strategic level, company management makes high level strategic supply chain decisions that are relevant to whole organization”. Making strategically leaders responsible for supply chain management can be helpful to the organization but at times trusting strategically leaders more on product manufacturing and supply can lead to negativity in their performance. Identifying a customer for a company’s product or service at times cannot be an easy task for the strategically leader. According to SCMP(2011), “The Strategic Supply Chain Management Leadership Program (SSCMLP) is competency-based and participatory in nature with a focus on analysis, teamwork and decision-making”. A strategically leader’s who lacks awareness on the market and customer needs can bring about negative results to the organization at certain situations. Sometimes the strategic leader can experience that he is given more area to work on, but without the support from other employees in supply chain field, his functioning can be limited. The leader need to be more indulging with his team in order to understand the quality of raw material , their availability and manufacturing procedure. A strategically leader may not be efficient in management of production and services and hence can misuse or mistreat his power in supply chain management. Part II A) Key Themes Related to Leadership The theme to a leadership means a concept surrounded which a given leader identifies him with to act upon. There are various themes on which leadership works and some of them can be explained as follows: a) Politics: The theme of politics relates to the political dimension in which a leader interacts and works. According to Garcia (200) “A political leader may be defined as any occupant of an established political position or as any person, in or out of such a position, whose political activity has more influence upon a group’s behavior than has the activity of the average member” Here the author highlights that the political leaders has the responsibility of handling strategies at local and international levels. Even thought they have authoritative position in the government, they mainly use their position to acquire wealth and fame. In democratic countries people are intimidated to vote blindly which results in the emergence of political leaders who are inefficient and unworthy. In his book Post (2005, pg.184) writes that “It is seen that political leaders are motivated by a desired relationship with important others and, thus, pulled by forces outside themselves into actions “. The author mentions that political leaders are motivated from all sides while they are in a political and take actions as a result. However, political leaders should possess rich experience in social and economical scenarios of a nation in order to be elected as political leaders. It is true that political leaders are pulled outwardly to initiate actions, but corruption is one another factor for them to get detoriated. .We can see an example of a political leader of Egypt, called Mobarak who have utilized his position to accumulate wealth and possession disregarding the wants and needs of its citizens. Political leaders indeed perform action, but how far these actions are beneficial to the nation can be studied from the example. ii) Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is an important aspect by which leaders in current world face the challenges they come across in the day to day business activities. According to Childs (2004) “Emotional Intelligence can help leaders in an ever more difficult leadership role, one that fewer and fewer people seem capable of fulfilling. And in the middle of the "Talent War", especially at the highest levels in organizations, emotional intelligence can give developing leaders a competitive edge”. Is emotional intelligence such an important factor to be a strategically leader as mentioned by the author. It is not under stable how emotional intelligence can play such a prominent role in leading a strategic leader so successful. Probably it could be the balance of mental state that a leader maintains throughout his activity in a business firm that makes him a perfect strategic leader. Emotional intelligence can be defined as a combination of different competencies, but it is seriously doubtful whether a specific leader will be eligible to possess these entire competencies at a given point of time. As per Boyle (2010,pg.523-530)“Emotional intelligence (EI) has received a substantial amount of attention in the Organizational Behavior, Human Resources, and Management (OBHRM) literatures in recent years from those who champion its use and others who are wary of its validity”. Even though, the business scholars and practioneers are relating the success of an organization to the ability of the leaders in analyze and assess their emotional intelligence, its workability is still in doubtful.Here It can be justifiable to point out Mr. Barrack Obama as a emotionally intelligent leader as he always think well ahead speaking and implementing strategy.In most cases it is seen that leaders practice self awareness at a minimal level, and if compared Obama with George Bush the latter indeed has no track on his emotions and wage war as and when desired.The self assessing ability is very difficult for leaders to practice as most of the time they get carried away while interacting with other people in the business arena. iii) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) As per Watson(2011)“For companies in the U.S., an organization's stature in the community is the second most important driver of employee engagement, and a company's reputation for social responsibility is also among the top 10 drivers”. The author states that, CSR is indeed an important driver for employees to work in an organization, but their practicability is still a mysterious aspect. Even while the companies are confident in stating the responsibilities they owe towards the customer and society, less is done to bring things in action. Here a case of Starbucks can be mentioned as this corporate coffee chain has taken an oath to be more environment friendly and grow coffee in a more organic manner. Even though ecological protection is of utmost importance, less international chains are implementation strategies like Starbucks to move towards environmental protection and health protection . In his article , Lockwood (2004) “Today, the impact of CSR is beginning to be seen in communities throughout the world--from human rights and labor practices to health care and the environment”. Even though many organization have understood the importance of CSR in an organization, very less have come forward to apply this in every department of its business working area. There are numerous international business organizations which does not treat their employee’s right and hence acquire a less quality work from them which ultimately affect the standard of their products. Human rights are of core value in an organization, a business firm which does not care about the rights and freedom of people do not have a right to exist in national or international platform. B) Key Leadership approaches to make changes in organization The leader in order to be success full and beneficial to an organization must follow some leadership approaches which should be the foundation of his activities. Some of the key approaches needed for a leader to bring change in an organization can be as below: i) Accountability approach: According to Gilley (2005, pg.12) “Leadership proves critical to the success of change efforts. Leaders and mangers much visible support the change to be successful in meeting change goals”.Gilley is confident that accountability is all about holding an employee responsible for the things they ought to do. To bring about a change in an organization is not an easy task, and it is not possible just by creating change goals. Every employee must be made aware about his role in the change process. A visible support from the leader is essential, and the staff must be motivated towards their specific goals and activities needed to achieve these goal. According Pasco to (2009) “Holding others accountable for achieving imposed targets is one of the defining attributes of the instrumental approach to managing people”. An organization undoubtedly has many targets to achieve, but to reach those targets, the employees’ at all level need to put in energy and afford at an immense level. We can agree to the author that managing people is a crucial aspect in business, but it is also a subject which makes a lot of leaders inefficient in practice. Managing people is not about educating them about the targets and goals of an organization, but to make them aware of the accountability and responsibility they have in achieving those targets. A leader in order to manage people must definitely know the potentiality of his employees, without this the targets are impossible to be met. ii) Effective communication approach In his book Kushal (2009,pg.20)“Communication is fundamental to all working relationships; inept or inadequate communication causes more controversy in the business and industry than any other single factor”. Author here claims that a change process is effective, only if there is regular communication between all levels of employees. However, whenever there is interaction between people, there existed confusion, chaos and misunderstanding. It is mostly due to communicative inefficiency that a leader finds it difficult to establish change process in an organization. Communication is not only about flowing of instructions and decisions, but it is more about how much leader understands his employees. If the process of communication is not accepted by the staff, the influence of the leader gets diminished. In his article Nayab(2010)writes that “Communication is imparting or interchanging thoughts, opinions, or information among people by speech, writing, or signs. People communicate in different ways, with the three typical types being verbal, non verbal and visual.” The author here mentions about the methods thought which the communication takes place in an organization. But more than communicative methods, the importance should be on that how much information is accessible to the employees from these specific sources. Here verbal communication can be motivating and visual communication can be more energizing. A combination of all methods is the appropriate way to reach the heart and mind of an employee. Also the communicator should make sure that his every thought is passed on in a simple way to his employees. C) How the leadership approaches and theme can collectively create change in organisation. i)Emotional Intelligence and communication approach As per Kumar (2009)“Emotional intelligence may be defined as the ability to use your awareness and sensitivity to discern the feelings underlying interpersonal communication, and to resist the temptation to respond impulsively and thoughtlessly”. The author here emphasize that a leader should be extremly aware of his feelings and emotions to create a balanced interpersonal communication with his employees. Anyhow, at times it is possible that, in monitoring one’s thought ,a leader can get extremely conscious of himself and can lag behind in passing on information in a natural way to his employees.Tempations and impulses have to be monitored but not so much that he restricts himself from being spontaneous. ii)Corporate Social Responsibility and Accountability According to Miles (2010) “CSR and accountability pressures are increasing the issue of climate change is bring an additional pressure to the industry, with stakeholders expecting to see how the risks and opportunities are being managed” Here the author is throwing light upon the pressure from outside an organization have to be eco – friendly, and more socially responsible to the people around them. It is a very accountable situation for the organizations to take care of themselves, stake holders, consumers and the society. But if stake holders are to be taken care of, then profitability has to be taken care of and ecological motives can get overshadowed in the process. Conclusion In his book Daft (2007, pg.388) mentions that “Strategically leadership is responsible for the relationship of the external environment to choices about the vision, mission, strategy and their implementation” Here Daft means that, a strategically leader has the main aim of being visionary and intuitive in his efforts. Basically, a strategically leader has to project all the qualities of a normal leader. He need not be acquiring only foreseeing ability, but also should have the skill to communicate effectively to his employees. The strategically leader needs to motivate and initiate change process in an organization and he can be a success only if he prove himself to be an all-rounder. Only by jotting down strategy goals cannot be achieved, as implementation is a complementary side of laying down strategies. According to Freedman, (2003, pg.11) “When an organization is about to take on the work of a strategy, the chief executive must be out in the front to assist.”Before a strategically leader initiate his work, support is required from people all departments of the organization. However the foremost step of assistance should originate from the chief executive officer of organizations. He is the organizational head and should discuss widely with strategical leader as to the vision and mission he has for his organization. In the absence of his support t he working of strategically leader becomes impossible and incomplete. Bibliography Arpino,S.. 2006. Aligning Your Organisation to Your Vision: The Strategic Leader's Weakness?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.motivational-speakers.co.za/aligning-organisation. [Accessed 13 May 11]. Childs,R.. 2004. 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