Strategic Leadership
The only thing harder than being a strategic leader is trying to
define the entire scope of strategic leadership a broad, difficult
concept. We cannot always define it or describe it in every detail,
but we recognize it in action. This type of leadership involves
microscopic perceptions and macroscopic expectations. Volumes have
been written on the subject, which may in fact contribute to the
difficulty of grasping the concept. One finds confusing and sometimes
conflicting information on this blended concept that involves the
vagaries of strategy and the behavioral art of leadership. Sometimes
the methods and models used to explain it are more complicated than
the concept and practice of strategic leadership itself. Exercising
this kind of leadership is complicated, but understanding it doesn’t
have to be. Beginning with a definition and characterization of
strategic leadership and then exploring components of the strategic
environment may prove helpful. Future leaders must also recognize the
nature of that environment. Finally, they should also have some
familiarity with ways of developing competencies for dealing with the
broad, new challenges that are part of leading in the strategic
environment.
What Is Strategic Leadership.
The common usage of the term strategic is related to the concept of
strategy—simply a plan of action for accomplishing a goal. One finds
both broad and narrow senses of the adjective strategic. Narrowly, the
term denotes operating directly against military or industrial
installations of an enemy during the conduct of war with the intent of
destroying his military potential. Today, strategic is used more often
in its broader sense. Thus, we use it to relate something’s primary
importance or its quintessential aspect for instance, the most
advantageous, complex, difficult, or potentially damaging challenge to
a nation, organization, culture, people, place, or object. When we
recognize and use strategic in this broad sense, we append such
meanings as the most important long-range planning, the most complex
and profound decisions, and the most advantageous effects from a
bombing campaign as well as leaders with the highest conceptual
ability to make decisions.
As mentioned earlier, strategy is a plan whose aim is to link ends,
ways, and means. The difficult part involves t...
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...e, again, to expand their perspective and increase their
conceptual ability. In fact, many of them are experts in a number of
unrelated fields. Becoming a dual expert helps one think in multiple
dimensions.
After committing to some or all of these development activities,
potential leaders should reflect on each activity as a way of mining
the total benefit and seeking greater meaning. They will also benefit
from mentoring other leaders and being mentored themselves. When
mentors share their experiences, they help others know and understand
them.
Conclusion
The many components of the strategic-leadership environment challenge
even the best leaders. The monumental consequences of strategic
decisions call for individuals with unique performance abilities who
can navigate the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
inherent in the nature of those decisions. Aspiring leaders can rise
to the challenge by undergoing self-assessment and personal
development. Accepting the demands of strategic leadership involves a
transition from the art of the familiar to the art of the possible.
This is the realm of strategic leadership and the strategic
environment.
The first Chinese immigrants to arrive in America came in the early 1800s. Chinese sailors visited New York City in the 1830s (“The Chinese Experience”); others came as servants to Europeans (“Chinese Americans”). However, these immigrants were few in number, and usually didn’t even st...
 The purpose of this paper is to identify and contrast the different styles of leadership exhibited by two characters found in the 1949 movie Twelve O’Clock High starring Gregory Peck as General Savage, Army Air Forces general. Based on a true story, Twelve O’Clock High is a inspirational account of the highly dangerous precision daylight bombing missions carried out by US Army Air Force’s 918th Bomber Group in England during the last part of World War II. In the beginning of the movie the squadron is commanded by general Davenport. It is very clear that General Davenport’s main concern is the wellbeing of his men. He obviously had developed close interpersonal relationships. The men of the squadron were completely devoted towards Davenport and they trusted any decision that he would make. General Davenport’s affection for his men comes to interfere with his ability to lead them. The squadron suffers heavy losses to planes and heavier losses to soldiers. One instance that clearly demonstrates Davenport’s incapability to uphold his responsibilities as the leader is when he jeopardizes the well being of the entire squadron by ignoring protocol and flying out of formation in the attempt to save one plane. When it becomes apparent to Davenport’s superiors that his emotional feelings have become an obstacle to his effectively leading the squadron they relieve him. General Savage who is ordered to take over the underachieving bomber group experiencing heavy losses because of poor technique and lack of focus. Savage takes a kind of tough love approach, holding his men to the highest standards. Savage makes the point that the ultimate objection of the squadron is to successfully complete the assigned missions. Throughout the movie Savage constantly makes it absolutely clear to the squadron that no one individual’s wellbeing will be placed ahead of the entire team and the success of the team. Initially the changing of the preceding General dispirits the squadron. They felt that General Savage was uncompassionate considering the men as nothing more then numbers that were dispensable at his convenience. After several missions that were marked by a remarkable turnaround in success the man eventually come...
It should be noted that only a very small number of Chinese immigrants came to the United States prior to 1850. This number began to increase dramatically between the year 1850 and 1882, when the news of the discovery of gold mines in California reached China. At that period of time, western invasions and civil unrest had led to inflation, starvation and loss of land in southern China. Therefore, many young men sailed for the "Gold Mountain" ...
In the movie We Were Soldiers Mel Gibson plays Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Hal Moore during the Vietnam War era. He takes command of the infamous General Custard Battalion 1-7 Cavalry and adopts some very innovative tactics to apply during battle. He exudes various leadership traits to motivate his men to go into battle. This paper will discuss some of the traits portrayed in the movie and how it carries over into the business environment.
Informative Statements: This shooter was Seung-Hui Cho who killed 32 then later killed himself, he was armed with Glock 19 and a Walther P22, this attack may have been cut short if the campus had allowed students and faculty to carry firearms.
Seung Hui Cho, a student at Virginia Tech, armed himself with knives, chains, guns, and ammunition on April 16th, 2007. He went on a shooting rampage on campus and killed thirty-two people before turning the gun on himself. On the morning of the shooting, Seung Hui Cho woke up early. He armed himself with guns and several rounds of ammunition. He made his way to West Ambler Johnston Hall, where he killed students Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark. After killing two students, Cho went back to his room and collected personal belongings and pictures. At 9:01am, he mailed a suicide note and pictures to NBC in New York. At 9:26 in the morning hours after the first shooting occurred, campus police alerted students and staff of the active shooter on campus. Cho then walked to Norris Hall and chained the doors shut at the entrance. With classes in session, Cho walked up to the rooms and killed thirty-two people before killing himself (“Students Killed in Virginia Tech Massacre”). The Virginia Tech massacre, one of America’s worst school shootings, created even a greater sense of urgency for gun control
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1966, Charles Joseph Whitman climbed to the top of the iconic clock tower in the center of Texas University in Austin and killed sixteen and seriously injured thirty of his fellow Texas Longhorns. 1991, George Hennard, thirty-five, opened fire on forty innocent patrons at a Luby’s in Killeen, Texas, killing twenty-three of his intended targets. 1999, citizens in a small Colorado County of Douglas were distraught when the infamous Columbine High School massacre rocked their town. More recently, campuses like Virginia Tech, Purdue, and even an elementary school in Connecticut have had students and teachers brutally murdered at the hands of young adults (CNN).
The Chinese immigrants started flooding in through the West coast to California around the time of the Gold Rush, looking for economic opportunity. With the Chinese immigrants came a whole new cultural group and a whole lot of laborers that were eager to work. The Chinese quickly became involved in all kinds of labor from gold mining and building railroads to agriculture and fishing skills. The new Asian population just kept growing and growing as immigrants spread word of their good fortune in California and swayed more and more of their family to come over to the states. With their growing population they created their own large communities and the first ever Chinatown ...
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Jan Ernst Matzeliger was born on September 15, 1852, in Paramaribo, Suriname—known at the time as Dutch Guiana. Matzeliger's father was a Dutch engineer, and his mother was Surinamese. Showing mechanical aptitude at a young age, Matzeliger began working in machine shops supervised by his father at the age of 10. At 19, he left Suriname to see the world as a sailor on an East Indian merchant ship. In 1873, he settled in Philadelphia (www.biography.com). After settling in the U.S. spoke very little English; and for several years he worked on learning the English language. Matzeliger had many mechanical abilities, however, as a black man in the 1870s his professional opportunities were limited. In 1877 Matzeliger moved to Massachusetts where he found ...
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...adership Practices in Relation to Productivity and Morale." In D. Cartwright and A. Zander, Group Dynamics: Research and Theory, 2nd ed. (Elmsford, NY: Row, Paterson, 1960)