Week 23 Journal

Week 23

1)      In your own words and using referenced quotes describe what is meant by the term “strategic leadership”.

2)      Identify two interesting similarities and two differences between the 5 Elements of Successful and Effective Strategic Leadership model and the Transcendent Leadership model.

Answers

1)       Strategic leadership refers to a manager’s potential to express a strategic vision for the organization, or a part of the organization, and to motivate and persuade others to acquire that vision. According to the Professor Richard Lynch, “Strategic leadership is the ability to shape the organization’s decisions and deliver high value over time, not only personally but also by inspiring and managing others in the organization”.

The main objective of strategic leadership is strategic productivity. Another aim of strategic leadership is to develop an environment in which employees forecast the organization’s needs in context of their own job. Strategic leaders encourage the employees in an organization to follow their own ideas. Strategic leaders make greater use of reward and incentive system for encouraging productive and quality employees to show much better performance for their organization. Functional strategic leadership is about inventiveness, perception, and planning to assist an individual in realizing his objectives and goals.  The strategic leadership requires skills and talent that goes beyond the normal thinking. Some essential skills can be pointed as:

a)      Anticipate

b)      Challenge

c)      Interpret

d)     Decide

e)      Align

f)       Learn

Holistic Theories of Strategic Leadership

a)           Five elements of successful and effective strategic leadership model

b)        Transcendent Leadership Model

Five elements of successful and effective strategic leadership model have been developed by Lynch in order to describe strategic leadership. Followings are the five elements of successful and effective leadership model:

a)       Developing and communicating the organizations’ purpose

b)      Sustaining Competitive Advantage over time

c)      Managing human resources & organizational decisions

d)      Setting ethical standards

e)       Defining and delivering to Stakeholders.

                                     Lynch, R., (2009) Strategic Management, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, chapter 16, pp619

Strategic Leadership: Transcendent Leadership

a)       Leadership of Organization

b)       Leadership of Others

c)       Leadership of Self

 

Crossan, M., Vera, D and Nanjad, L. (2008) Transcendent Leadership: strategic leadership in dynamic environments, The Leadership Quarterly,

2)      The differences between the 5 Elements of Successful and Effective Strategic Leadership model and the Transcendent Leadership are mentioned in below table:

Elements of Successful and Effective Strategic   Leadership	Transcendent Leadership
1)    Lynch model is more flexible model as it focuses on the development of key skills of employees and emphasized in good relationship between employers.	1)   In other hand transcendent model is more    focused with the rules, procedure and structure of organization.
2)    Lynch model of strategic leadership believes that with a good relationship with both the internal and external stakeholders, organization may be able to adapt to change in a complex situation.	2)    Transcendent leadership model has not mentioned such relationship with stakeholders.

Similarities

Both leadership strategies serve for a common goal that is developing and maintaining the good relationship between the staffs and employees. These models believe that organizational goals can be achieved only with the cooperation in between leaders and followers. Leaders are the idol for its followers or employees. They need to motivate their follower with reward and incentives. Leaders have the responsibility to develop skills of their followers or employees.

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References:

   Lynch, R., (2009) Strategic Management, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, chapter 16.

·         Online available from http://hbr.org/2013/01/strategic-leadership-the-esssential-skills/ar/1  . [Accessed May 21, 2013]

          Chemers, M. M. (2000). Leadership research and theory: A functional integration. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4, 27-43. doi:10.1037/1089-2699.4.1.27.