Strategic Leadership

There are difference between leadership and management. Management is all about coping with complexity to produce orderly and consistent result, whereas leadership is about dealing with change, concerned with creating a shared vision of where the organization is trying to get to, and formulating strategies to bring about the changes needed to achieve the vision. A key function of management is planning and budgeting. In contrast, leadership is concerned with setting the direction for organizational change, producing a vision and developing strategies to realize that vision. Sustainable competitive advantage is determined of the speed and ability of an organization to learn. The leadership role in a learning organization is one of designer, teacher, and steward-to help bring about learning organization. This requires the leader to develop a vision of where the organization wants to be. We can address the three distinct leadership roles. The leaders role as designer can be seen in the building of the core values and purpose of the organization. The leader as teacher involves helping individuals in the organization to be aware of their mental models and the assumptions on which these are based. The concerns of the leader as steward involve stewardship for all the people in the organization that he directs. Leadership also needs some leadership skills. These are leadership skills need to be disseminated throughout the entire organization. They are building a shared vision, surfacing and testing mental models, and systems thinking. Another success factor of organization is linked to the emotional intelligence of its leader. Emotional intelligence is an ability to recognize your own emotions and the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence is manifest in self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Emotional intelligence proved to be not only the key ingredient for outstanding leaders; it was also linked to better performance in organizations. Self-awareness is an ability to speak candidly about ones own emotions and the impact they have. Selfregulation is recognition that as human beings we are driven by our emotions but we can also manage them for productive purpose. Motivation is a desire to achieve for the sake of achievement. Empathy is a willingness to consider the feelings of others when discussing and making decisions. Social skills are the culmination of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and empathy. In contrast with these leaders, there are different types of leader who is equally effective in dealing with dynamic change but also has the potential for creating destruction manifest in erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Erotic personality type should not be confused

with a sexual personality, but rather one for whom loving and being loved are important. Obsessive personalities are self-reliant and conscientious. Narcissists are independent, aggressive, and innovative; they want to be admired. The Impact of Leadership on Vision, Values, and Culture. Visionary companies have a core ideology which comprises their core values and purpose. The core values can be thought of as the principles on which the firm was founded. An organizations purpose is the reason why it exists; this transcends merely making money. Core values and purpose are important for visionary organizations because they help to guide continuity and provide a stimulus for change. Culture is another story of leadership. Culture in over 50 countries is an interesting study because people worked in the local subsidiaries of a large multinational corporation. They are similar in all respect except their nationality. There are 4 dimensions that measuring the differences between national culture: power distance, collectivism versus individualism, feminists versus masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions expect that power is distributed unequally. Individualism versus collectivism refers to societies in which there are fewer ties between individuals. Masculinity and femininity concerns the desirability of assertive behavior against the desirability of modest behavior. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. Long-Term orientation refers to value thrift (careful with resources), persistence, and hard work. Leading Strategic Change Leading strategic change is another important thing within organization because it leads to the links between the acceptance of ideas for change and an organizations existing culture. The values of an organization will inevitably manifest themselves in its core or dominant culture. There are 4 reasons why good management ideas of change may not be adopted within the organization; all organizations are living social organisms, culture is more powerful than anything else in the organization, system-focused interventions work while component-focused interventions do not, and interventions that are clearly linked to an organizations business strategy. The paradox of strategic change is that all organizations compete in changing environments, but the individuals who make up these organizations are resistant to change. The condition needs change agents such charismatic leaders. Charismatic

leaders are individuals who are dissatisfied with the status quo and who can articulate a vision that captures the imagination of their followers. There are two archetypes of change which are based on different assumptions about why and how change should be made. These are Theory E and Theory O. Theory E assumes that organizational change should be based on enhancing shareholder value. Theory O assumes that change should help develop corporate culture and improve organizational capabilities. The Impact of Chaos on Leadership Chaos is an irregular pattern of behavior generated by well-defined non-linier feedback rules commonly found in nature and human society. There are 8 steps to help leaders encourage innovation and create a new strategic direction. 1. Develop new perspectives on the meaning of control. 2. Design the use of power. 3. Encourage self-organizing groups. 4. Provoke multiple cultures. 5. Present ambiguous challenges instead of clear long-term objectives or visions. 6. Expose the business to challenging situations. 7. Devote explicit attention to improving group learning skills. 8. Create resources slack. Leadership Challenges of Asian Companies by Gerry Davis (reading material) explained that these days, Asian companies has emerge on the global stage, competing with their counterparts in this region and elsewhere in the world in everything from the markets for commodities to consumer electronics, has exposed a new arena of competition: the battle for top management talent. The major factor: Changing global demographics at a time of Asia Pacific economic expansion. There are several major concerns of this. First, most big countries are worries that the replacement of top management level work-force wont meet the needs of its aging population. Meanwhile, youthful populations are expanding in the Middle East. Second, much of local talent across Asia Pacific has gone overseas and stayed there. And third, Turnover of top executives can also be high, particularly in the information technology and consulting market. Companies are buying up competitors to acquire skill sets and expand market share. The leadership challenges go beyond functional needs. Executives who are driving global strategies from head office must also be capable of developing strong leadership teams overseas, CEOs interviewed said. The executives of todays Asia Pacific region must also

celebrate cultural differences and have a keen eye to find and nurture emerging talent. Succession planning must be a top priority. The Asia Pacific regions expansion has boosted global prosperity. According to the International Monetary Fund, the region will account for 45 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015, compared with 20 percent for the United States and 17 percent for Western Europe. With this growth, some bold moves have been taken in the quest for new markets. The differences in communication styles are to be expected. An oversimplification is that the western style is characterized by talking, understanding and listening. The Asian style starts with listening, understanding and then talk. Executives in companies that operate in two or three different continents need to possess a range of abilities and aptitudes that are often difficult to find in the talent pool. Global executives need to: Enjoy dealing with different cultures not just tolerate them. Have a global outlook. Enjoy ambiguity and management paradoxes, such as change requires stability. Have the ability to cope with the tensions that accompany a 24/7, globe-hopping job. Whats the answer to challenges? In the short-term, the solution to the current and future shortage of top executive talent will come from increased waves of executive migration across the countries of the Asia Pacific. As human capital needs expand, governments will respond to the demands of business for more liberal policies to encourage the movement of talent. Companies will seek the best people from both developing nations and mature Asian economies. This will spark a compensation war as Asia-Pacific countries try to keep their locals from being poached by Western countries, and vice-versa. Today, chief executives in the Asia Pacific are already experiencing leadership pressures and are taking steps to lead robust talent management strategies. Those strategies include: Exposing executives to deeper levels of strategy making and business planning. Recognizing that their long-term career and life aspirations are inextricably linked and move to assist where possible. Rewarding top talent in more creative ways.

Developing the management team to appreciate to the emerging demands of leadership across the five generations Global leaders in a flat world need to be humble. Asian leaders need to ask themselves what they can learn from Australian or European sustainability and environmental trends, and Western leaders need to approach Asian consumers as eager trend setters who can teach them more about their products than they can learn in their more mature home markets.

The scarcest resource is inside the minds of the leaders of tomorrow not just their knowledge and networks of business relationships, but the objectivity and flexibility of character that will enable them to seize opportunities in the uncertain future.