Becoming a strategic leader: your role in your organization’s enduring success

Richard L. Hughes, Katherine M. Beatty9780787968670, 0787968676

Today’s organizations face difficult challenges in order to remain competitive-the quickening pace of change, increasing uncertainty, growing ambiguity, and complexity. To meet these challenges, organizations must broaden the scope of leadership responsibility for strategic leadership and engage more people in the process of leadership. In Becoming a Strategic Leader Rich Hughes and Kate Beatty from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) offer executives and managers a handbook for implementing a strategic leadership process that reaches leaders at all levels of organizations. Based on CCL’s successful Developing the Strategic Leader Program, this book outlines the framework of strategic leadership and contains practical suggestions on how to develop the individual, team, and organizational skills needed for institutions to become more adaptable, flexible, and resilient. The authors also show how individual managers can exercise effective strategic leadership through their distinctive and systemic approach-thinking, acting, and influencing.

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Table of contents :
The Center For Creative Leadership Becoming a Strategic Leader……Page 1
Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success……Page 2
Contents……Page 12
Preface……Page 14
Acknowledgments……Page 18
The Authors……Page 20
Introduction……Page 22
What Is Strategic Leadership?……Page 28
IBM……Page 30
Digital Equipment Corporation……Page 31
Duration……Page 33
Leadership, Not Strategic Leadership……Page 34
Lack of Focus……Page 36
Limited Range……Page 37
The Work of the Strategic Leader……Page 39
The Learning Process……Page 40
Phase One: Technology. Neoforma was founded during the growth……Page 42
Phase Two: Partnership. Around the year 2000, Neoforma executives……Page 43
Phase Three: Brand. In the course of a few months, creating……Page 44
Assessing Where We Are. Leading organizational learning requires……Page 45
Understanding Who We Are and Where We Want to Go. This……Page 47
Learning How to Get There. This element, depicted in Figure……Page 48
Checking Our Progress. Organizations continually assess their……Page 51
Discovery versus Determination……Page 56
Broad Reach……Page 58
Fostering Strategic Leadership……Page 60
Strategic Thinking……Page 64
Nonlinear and Linear……Page 67
Visual and Verbal……Page 68
Implicit and Explicit……Page 69
Heart and Head……Page 70
Summing Up……Page 71
Scanning……Page 75
Visioning……Page 77
Reframing the Nature of the Business at Yellow Freight. One……Page 81
Reframing the Nature of the Business at Starbucks. Reframing……Page 84
Reframing Decisions Advantageously. Research on decision making……Page 85
The Value of Reframing. The value of reframing depends on the……Page 87
Making Common Sense……Page 88
Making Common Sense in a Hospital. A large independent health……Page 91
Systems Thinking……Page 93
Long-Term Patterns. People’s usual approach to things in most……Page 95
The Big Picture. Catholic Healthcare Partners (CHP) is a large……Page 97
Complex Interactions. Consider the following question: Does positive……Page 98
Key Causal Relationships. Strategy is about trade-offs: choosing……Page 100
Understanding What Causes What. It’s important for leaders in……Page 101
Strategic Acting……Page 104
Assuring Strategic Alignment at Xerox……Page 112
Managing Strategic Priorities at Starbucks……Page 115
Balance Direction and Autonomy……Page 116
Reward Appropriate Risk-Taking……Page 117
Using Force Field Analysis……Page 119
Starbucks Revisited. Margaret Wheeler’s story at Starbucks is an……Page 120
Test Organizational Theories……Page 122
Conduct Business Experiments……Page 123
Learn from Your Actions……Page 125
Strategic Decisions Always Involve Uncertainty……Page 129
Assessing the Level of Uncertainty……Page 132
Strategic Influence……Page 144
Influence and the Strategy Process……Page 146
The Multiple Directions of Strategic Influence……Page 150
Start to Influence Others by Looking at Yourself……Page 154
Be Clear about Your Own Passion. Sometimes we move through……Page 155
Examine and Build Your Credibility Base. “A platoon leader……Page 157
Build a Foundation with Others……Page 158
Engender Unnatural Relationships. As we discussed earlier, credibility……Page 160
Be Mindful of the Political Landscape. A book on strategic leadership……Page 162
Influence Others by Involving Them in the Process……Page 167
Create a Common Understanding. When people participate in a……Page 169
Demonstrate That Others Are Valued. Most people like to know……Page 170
Influence Others by Connecting at an Emotional Level……Page 172
Learn What Is Important to Others. Your logic for taking a particular……Page 173
Connect to the Organization’s Aspirations. Thomas J. Watson Sr…….Page 175
Use the Power of Language. Embedded in the section on aspiration……Page 176
Build and Sustain Momentum……Page 179
Set Appropriate Expectations. One of the challenges organizations……Page 180
Search Out and Celebrate the Successes. In the absence of……Page 181
Send Consistent Messages. Finally, it’s important to consider the……Page 183
Be Open to Influence……Page 184
Strategic Leadership Teams……Page 188
SLTs Exist throughout the Organization……Page 189
The Top Management Team as an SLT……Page 190
A Case in Point……Page 194
SLT Strategic Thinking……Page 197
SLT Strategic Acting……Page 199
SLT Strategic Influencing……Page 203
Learning How to Get There……Page 210
Checking Our Progress……Page 211
Culture, Structure, and Systems……Page 214
Case 1: Encouraging University Department Heads to Be Strategic…….Page 216
Case 2: Catholic Healthcare Partners. We have already introduced……Page 218
Affect Strategic Leadership……Page 221
What Culture, Structure, and Systems Are Best?……Page 222
Organizational Culture. This section lists two contrasting manifestations……Page 223
Organizational Structure and Systems. This section illustrates……Page 226
What Can I Do Now?……Page 227
How Can I Help Change My Organization?……Page 228
Improving Your Organization’s Leadership Strategy……Page 230
Assessing Where You Are……Page 236
Identify and Collect Relevant Data. To do a personal SWOT……Page 237
Sort the Data into SWOT Categories. After collecting this data,……Page 238
Learning How to Get There……Page 242
Skills? It’s clear from research that some experiences are……Page 243
Identify Your Own Developmental Strategic Drivers. Throughout……Page 245
Select Experiences to Leverage Your Developmental Drivers. In……Page 246
Create Support for Yourself. We’ve noted how risky it can feel to……Page 247
Checking Your Progress……Page 248
Appendix A Strategic Driver Paired-Voting Form……Page 250
Appendix B STRAT: Strategic Team Review and Action Tool……Page 252
Appendix C STRAT Items and the Learning Process……Page 256
Appendix D Using STRAT to Develop Your SLT……Page 258
General Tips for Debriefing STRAT with Your SLT……Page 261
Possible Flow of a STRAT Debriefing Meeting……Page 263
Appendix E STRAT Norm Data……Page 266
References……Page 270
Index……Page 274
for Creative Leadership……Page 286