Complementing Your Strategic Leadership Style
Your Strategic Leadership Style describes how you behave as a leader with regard to strategy. An honest assessment is important because, face it, you are who you are and this is but one measure of your leadership traits. The first reaction of CEOs who do not fall in the Strategist quadrant is often to vow to improve ("Every day in every way I will be more farsighted and proactive") or deny the importance of the whole issue.
These are unhelpful responses. As the article "In Praise of the Incomplete Leader" in February's issue of Harvard Business Review well states:
If you fall into the Missionary quadrant, you are in the company of most successful business leaders. Complement your skills by adding a Mystic or Strategist to your senior management team. Partner with them to marry your proactive inclinations with their ability to craft a farsighted vision of where your planning efforts are taking the business. The hard work for you will be to get this person on the same page with you and commit to the vision they can visualize and express better than you can. Let them articulate the vision, much as you let your CFO articulate the financial state of the company.
Similarly, CEOs who are Mystics should partner with a Strategist or Missionary. You have the vision and need them to craft the plans needed to make it happen. This often turns out to be the classical CEO-COO relationship. Getting and staying on the same page is your chore here.
Caretaker
If you are a Caretaker you are also in the company of many successful CEOs. You need help with vision and planning, and your success is due to other areas in which you excel that are not related to strategic leadership style. Your ideal executive partner is a Strategist. Your challenge is to let them lead in both areas and focus on your other strengths.
Keys To Success
The keys to success in complementing your strategic leadership style are getting and staying on the same page and letting each of you do what you do best. This implies a high level of mutual trust and respect, excellent communication between the two of you, and clarity on roles and responsibilities. These relationships require ongoing attention and management, and rock-solid commitment.
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning
These are unhelpful responses. As the article "In Praise of the Incomplete Leader" in February's issue of Harvard Business Review well states:
It's time to end the myth of the complete leader. Those at the top must come to understand their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Only by embracing the ways in which they are incomplete can leaders fill in the gaps in their knowledge with others' skills.Missionary
If you fall into the Missionary quadrant, you are in the company of most successful business leaders. Complement your skills by adding a Mystic or Strategist to your senior management team. Partner with them to marry your proactive inclinations with their ability to craft a farsighted vision of where your planning efforts are taking the business. The hard work for you will be to get this person on the same page with you and commit to the vision they can visualize and express better than you can. Let them articulate the vision, much as you let your CFO articulate the financial state of the company.
Similarly, CEOs who are Mystics should partner with a Strategist or Missionary. You have the vision and need them to craft the plans needed to make it happen. This often turns out to be the classical CEO-COO relationship. Getting and staying on the same page is your chore here.
Caretaker
If you are a Caretaker you are also in the company of many successful CEOs. You need help with vision and planning, and your success is due to other areas in which you excel that are not related to strategic leadership style. Your ideal executive partner is a Strategist. Your challenge is to let them lead in both areas and focus on your other strengths.
Keys To Success
The keys to success in complementing your strategic leadership style are getting and staying on the same page and letting each of you do what you do best. This implies a high level of mutual trust and respect, excellent communication between the two of you, and clarity on roles and responsibilities. These relationships require ongoing attention and management, and rock-solid commitment.
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning
Labels: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning
posted by Phil Bookman at 12:27 PM
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