Leadership Strategy that Drives Business Strategies

Introduction

Leadership according many theories can be defined using differing dimensions, as a trait, a process, an emergence, ascribed leadership etc. I have come to understand leadership as a process which requires certain traits whether innate or learned to carry out responsibilities for the achievement of business or agreed goals. As defined by Pasmore (2009), leadership is a culture (behaviour) which is defined by the collective actions of formal and informal leaders towards achieving the set organizational goals. This implies that leadership is about the leaders themselves and the relationship they share amongst them and their followers.

Leadership Strategy is the processes and actions put in place to review the business strategies and identify areas of need for leadership requirements. In my understanding of Pasmore’s journal, he asserted the following;

a. Leadership strategy stems from business strategies

b. Business strategies determine leadership requirements

c. Leadership strategies are formulated after the key drivers of the business have been identified.

Pasmore suggested that for a business to have the right leaders, it must first of all identify its key drivers. I will give an example with an organization I have worked for. WanEll Enterprise is a Service Delivery organization and to identify the kind of leaders that should be at the helm of affairs of the business, the key business drivers of success were identified as; Sales & Marketing, Customer Experience/Service, Customer Retention and Talent Management & Retention. These key drivers determined the areas where the best leaders were to be developed and what number of leaders, skill set, competencies, collective capabilities they must possess with an understandi...

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...ne what will work for them firstly by identifying the mission and vision, then the results the business intends to achieve. Pasmore’s Model will go a long way in helping businesses achieve success through strategic leadership but more attention should now be put on retaining future leaders.

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References

Maslow, A.H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4) pages 370–96. [Online] Available at: http//psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm. (Assessed: 26 March 2014)

Pasmore, W. (2009) Developing a leadership strategy: A critical ingredient for organizational success, pp. 3-28, Center for Creative Leadership [Online] Available at: http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/LeadershipStrategy.pdf (Accessed: 20 March 2014).

Northouse, P.G. (2013) Leadership: theory and practice. 6th ed. London: Sage. ISBN 978-4522-0340-9