Strategy Driven Leadership

It’s estimated that U.S. companies spend over $14 billion annually on leadership development --Match that number to the abundant and growing research that finds most leadership development to be ineffective, and the conclusion is a phenomenal amount of waste. The remedy for this situation is to have business strategy drive leadership development instead of creating programs that match a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. This book's approach, called Strategy-Driven Leadership Development (SDLD), puts business strategy first. It maintains an emphasis on building leadership programs around what it will take to make the business successful as opposed to implementing a program in the hopes that it will benefit the strategy. The result is a differentiated and targeted approach called Intentional Leadership Development, which provides the structure for transforming how leadership development is undertaken. At the heart of this book, however, is the explanation of how small, incremental changes in action and perspective create meaningful changes in the way leadership is developed. The focus is on the leadership behaviors associated with success for any company. Some companies may need leaders with better financial acumen while others may require better teamwork for success. These skills are learnable and when the energy of an organization is behind it, then leadership development can be transformational. The authors method "retools" prior leadership efforts – the emphasis is not on previous failures and restarting with new programs. There are many effective ideas and actions that are currently embedded in leadership programs, but they miss the critical element of tying their efforts to the business strategy. Strategy-Driven Leadership changes the way organizations think about and drive their leadership talent initiatives among their current and upcoming leaders. The book is filled with research, science-based information, case studies, and practical hands-on tools on why and how this Strategy-Driven Leadership Development model will transform company leadership approaches.

Organizations today understand that superior talent can create competitive business advantage. Executives are working with human resource managers and talent professionals to significantly improve their organization's ability to attract, develop, deploy, and retain the talent needed to achieve the organization's strategies. Effective CEOs and senior leaders are realizing that strong talent resources are as critical to business success as financial resources. This book in the SIOP Professional Practice Series provides an up-to-date review and summary of current and leading-edge talent management practices in organizations. A comprehensive book, Strategy-Driven Talent Management brings together an outstanding group of leading practitioners who present state-of-the-art ideas, best practices, and guidance on how to recruit, select, assimilate, develop, and retain exceptional talent and integrate talent management efforts with organizational strategy. Written for human resource professionals, industrial-organizational psychologists, and corporate executives, this key resource is a clear must-read guide to the emerging field of strategic talent management. Strategy-Driven Talent Management shows how to build competitive advantage through an integrated and strategic talent management program summarizes what it takes to attract, develop, deploy, and retain the best talent for the strategic needs of an organization reviews critical issues such as managing talent in global organizations and measuring the effectiveness of talent management programs includes case examples and CEO interviews from leading-edge companies such as PepsiCo, Microsoft, Home Depot, Cargill, and Allstate, which reveal how each of these organizations drives talent management with their business strategies This essential must-have HR resource offers insight into the future of strategic talent management, an extensive annotated bibliography and suggestions for preparing the next generation of organizational leaders.

Be a more effective leader with strategic thinking Leading with Strategic Thinking reveals what effective leaders do differently. Eschewing the one-size-fits-all leadership model, this helpful guide outlines four general leadership types and demonstrates how each type achieves success – whether through personal vision, structured process, collaboration, or by empowering others. The authors identify the actions and skills that distinguish strategic leadership, drawn from interviews and focus groups with over three hundred leaders from around the world. Examples and case studies illustrate these concepts in action, and the provided reference materials steer readers toward more advanced information on this important topic. The disruptive forces of technology and globalization raise new challenges for leaders. This book is a manual that will help executives and aspiring leaders harness these forces and address the two central questions of strategic leadership: How do the best leaders develop their strategy? How do effective leaders drive strategic change? Becoming a strategic leader isn’t about mimicking an icon. The most effective leaders seize opportunity in a way that consciously integrates environmental requirements, stakeholder expectations, and personal ability. Leading with Strategic Thinking shows what these leaders do, and gives anyone the tools to be a more strategic leader.

Develop the qualities of strategic leadership and become an active contributor to the short- and long-term success of your organization Today's organizations face two daunting challenges: 1. How to create new sources of competitive advantage to sustain long-term growth, and 2. How to engage leaders at every level of the organization so that they are more proactive and forward-looking in their area of responsibility. The Art of Strategic Leadership uses a unique approach to examine what it means to be a strategic leader. Instead of focusing on the skills, behaviors, and tools found in typical books on strategic leadership, the authors shed light on the attributes and qualities necessary to lead strategic change and help transform a business. Strategic leadership is what modern leadership is all about. Organizations expect leaders to anticipate and be proactive more than ever before. In this book, the authors draw on their vast experience working directly with leaders at all levels and use an intriguing narrative to explain this inside-out approach to understanding strategic leadership. The narrative follows the journey of how one manager discovered these critically important qualities. You will experience first-hand how these values and attributes manifest in the lives of realistic leaders; how they orchestrate long-term strategic change needed for the organization to compete and survive and actively shape the future while delivering short-term results. The Art of Strategic Leadership provides the content that will help you informally assess and reflect on your own strategic leadership qualities—those that are strengths and those that indicate areas you need to develop. It will guide you as you incorporate these values and qualities into your own leadership style and become a more effective catalyst for change. This book will help you in the following ways: Develop a more proactive, forward-thinking approach to leadership Approach strategy from both short- and long-term perspectives Adopt the core values and principles of a strategic leader Model the qualities exhibited by powerful leaders Strategic leaders serve as powerful examples to others in the organization. Their qualities and traits spread rapidly to those around them, empowering people at every level to take a more active role in meeting the demands of the future. The Art of Strategic Leadership will help you deepen and broaden your understanding of the core qualities of strategic leadership, leaving you better equipped to lead yourself and your team to a better place and create greater value for customers, owners, and employees.

A strategic leader is essentially the leader of any organization and someone who has to steer the company in times of change, whilst motivating and inspiring their team. Strategic Leadership from the renowned leadership expert John Adair encourages leaders to focus on tomorrow rather than yesterday. It explores the nature and origin of strategic leadership, transferable skills and the art of inspiring others. It then describes the role itself and broad functions of that role such as building and maintaining a team, achieving a common task and motivating and developing the individual. It moves on to assess the skills you need to be effective, and the seven generic functions that make up the role of strategic leader which include providing direction, strategic thinking and planning, building partnerships and developing tomorrow's leaders. Full of checklists, summaries and historical examples, Strategic Leadership will encourage you to ask the right questions whilst defining the role and skills of a strategic leader.

How to close the gap between strategy and execution Two-thirds of executives say their organizations don’t have the capabilities to support their strategy. In Strategy That Works, Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi explain why. They identify conventional business practices that unintentionally create a gap between strategy and execution. And they show how some of the best companies in the world consistently leap ahead of their competitors. Based on new research, the authors reveal five practices for connecting strategy and execution used by highly successful enterprises such as IKEA, Natura, Danaher, Haier, and Lego. These companies: • Commit to what they do best instead of chasing multiple opportunities • Build their own unique winning capabilities instead of copying others • Put their culture to work instead of struggling to change it • Invest where it matters instead of going lean across the board • Shape the future instead of reacting to it Packed with tools you can use for building these five practices into your organization and supported by in-depth profiles of companies that are known for making their strategy work, this is your guide for reconnecting strategy to execution.

Strategic leadership techniques are the cornerstone to positive growth and prosperity within businesses and organizations. Implementing new management strategies and practices helps to ensure managers are optimizing their resources and driving innovation. The Encyclopedia of Strategic Leadership and Management investigates emergent administrative techniques and business practices being utilized within corporate and educational settings. Highlighting empirical research and best practices within the field, this encyclopedia will be an authoritative reference source for students, researchers, faculty, librarians, managers, and leaders across various disciplines and cultures.

An organizational guide to assessing, measuring, and building leadership capacity Leadership capacity has emerged as a key source of competitive advantage in today's economy. But many organizations struggle to develop the capacity they need to succeed. This book offers concrete and precise strategies to close the leadership gap. It explains in detail how to conduct a leadership analysis, determining exactly where the gaps are in both organizational and individual leadership; analyzes the challenges a company faces; helps in understanding an organization's leadership deficit; and generates leadership solutions tailored to the organization's particular needs and shortcomings.