Strategic Leadership
Strategic leadership occurs on the highest levels. They act on a massive scale, over a long period of time. Of importance: a strategic leader often interacts with the political institution and the general public. On this level, the decision-making process affects not only the army, but the nation.
Strategic Leadership Skills
Interpersonal
At the strategic level, there is greater interaction with personnel at all levels of the organization as well as those outside the organization.
While it is not unique to this level, it is more common that a strategic leader will interact with allies and enemies, high-level leaders in other organizations and other nations.
Communication concerns itself with getting the message out and making oneself understood to masses of people. Of particular importance is attention to interpretation, especially when dealing with the public and the political figures who serve and represent them.
Dialog with individuals remains important, and s the most effective way to get your message across and get feedback as to its interpretation.
Negotiation skills also come into play to obtain the cooperation and support of large numbers, or powerful individuals who have the ability to support or impede the leader.
Since a strategic leader must often interact and coordinate with other powerful men over who he has no direct command, the ability to achieve consensus is key; and since there are fewer people at the top, one must consider the impact of a communication over the long term, as you will interact with the same individuals over time.
When it comes to staffing, strategic leaders have more latitude to select their personnel than organization leaders, who must deal with whomever they encounter. Keys to building a good staff are recruiting people who will compensate for your own weakness, and those who may be inclined to disagreement: a staff of like-minded yes-men accomplishes far less, and has much more pronounced foibles.
Conceptual
Strategic leaders must comprehend national policies and operations in the strategic theater. Three is a great deal of ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity at this level.
The vision of a strategic leader is broad, and he may be aiming at goals that are years away from fruition. Five- and ten-year plans, or even longer ranged ones, are the common demesne of the strategic leader.
The amount of certainty is low, and the possibility for the framework to change over time, is high. It is especially important for a leader to be aware of the details, so his vision is realistic, but at the same time not encumbered by minutia.
Having a broad, yet flexible frame of reference is key to understanding the issues at the heart of an issue, even if they are obscured in a nebula of information.
Technical
"Strategic Art" is the application of strategy for promote and defend national interests, translating abstract concepts into concrete goals and actions. This also requires reconciling political and economic constraints with the army's needs, and managing the army not as a force unto itself, but as an element of the nation in general. It also means seeing beyond the immediate objective, winning the war, to the impact it will have on the global environment.
Technology assists in planning and communications, and greatly increases the tempo of operations. It is used to monitor the present status, be informed of updates, and develop scenarios and simulations to assess future plans.
The budgetary process is also key: at the strategic level, large-scale plans have large-scale prices.
Assessing whether a military solution is at all appropriate is also a critical skill. Organizational leaders take it as a given, but a strategic leader may consider whether his objective is a military one at all, or if it fwould be better achieved by other mean s (chiefly, diplomacy).
Tactical
Flexibility is of importance: because there is uncertainty and ambiguity, and the strategic leader sees only the larger shapes, it is not uncommon for plans to be scrapped, or significantly altered. This must be handled carefully, with an eye toward appearing consistent, even when making changes.
Strategic Leadership Actions
The actions of a strategic leader affect the organization and the outside environment.
Influencing
The strategic leader must become a master of information, influence, and vision.
The leader must be able to communicate a clear and unambiguous vision that applies across a broad range of activities. It must be understood within the organization, so that every soldier understands his role, and outside the organization, so that the intention of the actions are not misconstrued. This is key in gaining the support of factors that could otherwise interfere with the accomplishment of critical goals.
Strategic leaders are also charged with "telling the army's story" - constantly and consistently representing the army as an organization: what it is, what it stands for, and what it means to achieve. This is particularly important for building and maintaining the support of the public for the military, especially in an era where public sentiment can have an impact on decisions that affect the military.
Decisions made by strategic leaders result in a major commitment of resources - they are expensive and tough to reverse. There are numerous resources to assist the strategic leader in the planning, budgeting, and execution process of which he may avail himself to wrangle the wide array of variables that a plan encompasses, and that may impact its execution.
Strategic leaders also have a major impact on the culture and values of the organization. These matters are critical to morale and support, the will of the men to fight, and the will of the public to support the institution.
Parts of the army have their own cultures, and the strategic leader should value that diversity rather than seeking to homogenize them. However, it is critical to ensure that the culture of any given unit supports the culture of the army.
The leader reinforces the culture, but may also draw upon it: actions that correspond to the culture of the organization will ring true with the men, and will have their support, even in the face of doubt.
Operating
In addition to managing the operations of the army, strategic leaders must manage joint, multinational, and interagency relationships to accomplish their objectives and to achieve an end state that persists after the battle has ended.
Strategic planning must balance competing demands, to align individual objectives to a comprehensive plan. Not only must the plan be accomplished, it must be justified to the many stakeholders it affects.
In execution, leaders must obtain and allocate resources, making tough decisions about priorities - whether it is choosing one's battles on the field of war, or deciding which programs to fund in times of peace, to accomplish the high-level objectives and maintain the operational capabilities of the army.
Since operations are increasingly multinational, a strategic leader must coordinate and collaborate with other parties, and work directly with key political figures whose support for operations is needed on an ongoing basis.
In joint and multinational endeavors, the complexity of operation is increased. The various parties have different cultures, interests, and languages, and the nature of command differs in other organizations. One must strive to build a "third culture" that bridges the gap between the cultures of separate organizations that work in unison in the field.
It is also important to consider the adjustments that will have to be made in the operational stages. If a campaign proceeds for years, even decades, the landscape will change, and the plan will have to be adjusted accordingly.
Improving
The strategic leader is tasked with improving the army as a whole, with an eye toward a distant and uncertain future.
When it comes to personnel, strategic leaders must groom the next generation that will replace them, identifying organizational leaders who will fare well "at the top," and augmenting their skills and abilities to prepare them to take the highest levels of command.
Strategic leaders must be proactive in building tomorrow's army: one cannot assume the future will be the same as the resent, and success depends on being proactive rather than reactive. All staffers should be aware of the need to plan for tomorrow, and some should be dedicated solely to that purpose.
The strategic leader must also strive to impress upon his organization the need for change, especially among factors that will be resistant, in order for changes to be adopted effectively.
An eight-stage process is defined for successful change initiatives:
- Demonstrate the necessity for change
- Form guiding coalitions to work the process from concept to implementations
- Develop a vision for the future and strategy to achieve it
- Communicate the vision throughout the organization
- Empower subordinates to make widespread and parallel efforts
- Plan for short-term success to validate the change
- Consolidate those wins to drive additional progress
- Establish and preserve the change in the culture of the organization
In planning and preparing for the future, training is of high importance. Personnel will be more accepting and supporting of change if they feel prepared for its consequences.