Business history draws attention to instances of failure in strategy arising from failure in leadership. Undoubtedly, leadership is not always what it ought to be and its successful application is not generic. As I proffered in a previous article on “Strategy as People”, strategy does not just happen, people make it happen. Leadership involves and requires people. Changes in leadership have been known to generate either downward slides in company fortunes or total collapse. The so-called corporate turnarounds are not accidents of time but deliberate activities of leadership and not necessarily changes in strategy.
As we consider greatly admired commercial and non-profit entities all over the world, one commonality is a positive correlation between leadership and strategy. Evidently, good strategy is often propelled by good leadership while poor leadership is capable of damaging good strategy. This article provides four insights for the metaphor of strategy as leadership.
Multiplication
Although leadership is frequently viewed from the executive level of organizations, it is by no means the responsibility of executives alone. Indeed, the most effective leaders actively multiply the activities of leadership to all levels. This approach has greatly enhanced the reputation of companies like General Electric (GE). The narcissistic or cowboy movie hero type of leaders may produce results that suit such leaders but not results that are sustainable. That version of leadership only composes shallow narratives lacking in the harmony that engages gears for the long haul. I will come to the matter of sustainable leadership in a subsequent section of this article.
Employee engagement is not a mythical concept but a well-researched and proven necessity for companies that will last the journey. Margaret Wheatley in “Leadership and the New Science” presents a valuable and related perspective: “An organization rich with many interpretations develops a wiser sense of what is going on and what needs to be done. Such organizations become more intelligent”. Conclusively, intelligent organizations ultimately possess leaders to produce and implement strategy. Intelligent organizations also multiply leaders across the hierarchy.
Commitment
For as long as I can remember, the words “leadership by example” have been part of popular vocabulary in diverse settings. Leadership by example is more than just a cliché. It fits into strategy as leadership because as strategy is being executed, employees seek the guidance of executives, managers and peers. Strategy is more than words written in documents, spoken about in sessions or published in newspapers.
Strategy demands the widespread commitment of people especially at executive level. The energy of solid commitment demonstrated by top leaders inevitably flows through to the rest of the establishment. Let us refer to the verdict of James Kouzes and Barry Posner in the latest edition of “The Leadership Challenge”. They deduce that, “Exemplary leaders know that if they want to gain commitment and achieve the highest standards, they must be models of the behaviour they expect of others.” The commitment and example of leaders contributes to the efficacy of strategy.
Sustainability
In the marathon of strategy, the sprinter can lead only for a limited duration. Eventually, the real marathon runners will go ahead and finish strongly. With the ever increasing dangers and dark zones of the business environment, leadership should be sustainable for long-term strategy. Essential but repeatedly diminished themes such as succession, leadership pipelines, and engaging the next generation must become what they really are – high priority organizational conversations and actions.
The most creative people who are usually perceived to operate in isolation have sustaining mechanisms for achievement. Research by Harvard professor, Howard Gardner in “Creating Minds” shows that creative breakthroughs benefit from availability of supportive individuals. By extension, companies create products and services on a consistent basis through individuals functioningin sustainable work climates. Scenarios of dead leaders leading to dead companies are most undesirable considering all the tools available for developing the leaders of today and tomorrow. Strategy that is sustained is based on sustainable leadership.
Aspiration
Imagine an organization without young guns seeking to reach the top; where hardly anyone in the lower rungs aspires to lead. Such an organization will be starved of the ingredients which will bring about sustained strategy. Leadership is both an aspiration and a choice. Developing aspirational leaders is one of the roots of sustainable leadership and strategy. It also builds competitive advantage that proves difficult for market rivals to replicate. It is much easier to copy products than to copy what is ingrained in people.
Aspirational leaders are an integral part of the architecture of well-balanced and sustainable institutions. Leading entrepreneurial CEO, Richard Branson and his Virgin businesses support this philosophy. Branson states: “What we value most in leaders is the ability to show a genuine interest and duty of care for their teams”. This duty of care operates best from the bottom of the ladder to the top, not just in selected steps of it. The aspirational leaders developed today will become inspirational leaders of the future.
Concluding note
Leaders need to reflect on the metaphor of strategy as leadership. The reflections can be framed with four insights – multiplication, commitment, sustainability and aspiration.
Weyinmi Jemide
