Do Strategic Leaders
Matter?
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Orientation
Have you got what it takes to be a strategic
leader?
 Strategic leaders contributions shape the
organization’s future
 Cognitive complexity and moral sensitivities
 Believe in your capabilities
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The Strategy Movement
 Strategic Determinism vs. Strategic Choice
+
Internal structures and industry structures
 Strategy and structure
+
+
Environments and fit
Leader’s role to identify correct strategy and
authorize implementation
 Resource-based theories
+
+
Leadership choice and strategic visions
Competitive advantage and core competencies
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OVERVIEW
Maps: Platforms of Understanding
 Indication that top-level leaders can make a
difference
 Leadership and organizational level
+ Impact of top leaders is in strategy formulation
+ Lower-level leaders moderators of strategy
implementation
Context: Strategic Leadership Processes
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Nahavandi & Malekzadeh’s Platform of Understanding
 Outlines two maps with conflicting
implications of leadership impact
 Strategic choice: leader’s vision or choice of
strategy influences company’s success
 Strategic determinism: Strategy not created
through leader insight but discovered by
analytical processes identifying relevant
environmental, cultural and structural factors
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Can top level leaders make a difference?
 Strategic determinism : Strategy identifies factors
determined by environmental, structural, or
cultural factors. It is thus not created by insight
on the part of a leader but discovered by
analytical processes
 Strategic choice: Non-determinists’ propose that
leaders have strategic choice. They can influence
strategy formulation and corporate success.
 Strategy Formulation and Strategy
Implementation: Top leadership cadre influences
strategy formulation. Lower level leaders have
some influence in strategy implementation.
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Nahavandi and Malekzadeh’s Integrative
Framework
 The strategic leader acts as a moderator
between strategy and outcomes.
 Strategic orientation of leaders may be
challenge-seeking or controlling in
orientation
 High challenge-seeking leaders are
innovative in their strategic choices.
 High control leaders wish to retain control
over decisions and actions.
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Strategic Leadership Types
High challenge
seeking
CHALLENGE
SEEKING
Low challenge
seeking
High-Control Innovator
Participative Innovator
Challenge-seeking leader who
maintains tight control of
organization
Leader seeks change through
process of delegating control
of organization
Status Quo Guardian (SQG)
Process Manager (PM)
Challenge-averse leader who
maintains tight control of
organization
Challenge-averse leader who
delegates control of
organization
High control
DESIRE FOR CONTROL
Low control
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Upper Echelon Studies
 Hambrick and Mason proposed that strategy
in organisations reflected characteristics of
its top executives (‘upper echelon’).
 Highlighted the way the leader thinks and the
values held.
 Essentially, leaders within an upper echelon
‘made a difference’ through their cognitive
styles and belief systems
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The Discretion of the Strategic Leader
 Michael Porter’s method of identifying an
organisation’s strategic ‘position’ indicated no
need for leadership intervention in setting
strategy.
 This raises a dilemma of strategic choice:
‘Can I, as a leader, create a unique
strategy for my organisation, or is it a process
best to a team of strategic planners to
determine analytically ?
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TIPPING POINT LEADERSHIP
 Strategic transformations occur where there
is a rapid shift in strategy orientation and
strategy implementation
 There are four hurdles (or tipping points), two
of re-orientation, (cognitive and resource
hurdles) and two of implementation
(motivational and political hurdles)
 These provide the four steps of the ‘what’ of
strategic change
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Tipping Point Leadership
Cognitive Hurdle
Put managers face to face with
problems and customers
Find new ways to communicate
Resource Hurdle
Political Hurdle
Focus on the hot spots &
bargain with partner organizations
Identify & silence internal
opponents
Isolate external ones
Motivational Hurdle
Put the stage lights on & frame the
challenge to match the organization’s
various levels
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What Sort of Strategic Leader Are You?
 The integrative model of Nahavandi and Malekzadeh
You should have a sense of your own concern for challenge, and
therefore your likelihood of flourishing in an environment requiring
innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. A sense of your need
for control as contrasting to willingness to encourage (empower?)
followers will indicate the style with which you would approach your
leadership tasks.
 Are you mainly a strategy formulator or implementer?
 There is a fundamental challenge raised for practicing
leaders.
Do you, or don’t you ‘make a difference’ in your strategic efforts ?
Put another way, does your contribution matter, in organisational
performance
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Summary
 Strategic choice maps assume a strategic leader and
other top echelon executives will make a difference.
 If strategies are largely deterministic, significance of
the strategic leader is minimal. Strategy can be left to
a team of strategic planners
 The characteristics which differentiate effective
strategic leaders from others also remain underdefined, although cognitive complexity is often
mentioned
 Strategic transformations may be assisted through
attending to ‘tipping points’ of cognitive, resource
based, motivational or political kinds
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