Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership is broadly defined as utilizing particular approaches in the management of employees. The main objective is productivity. It provides the vision and direction for the long term growth and success of an organization. It requires objectivity and potential to look at the broader picture. It is leaders' responsibility to incorporate aspects of both the analytical and human dimensions to effectively drive the organizations forward. As an academic subject, it is taught in both education and business. Leaders and mangers have turned to strategic leadership to inspire and guide their visions, and to formulate the directions so essential for the long term growth and success of an organization or a country. Leaders need the skills and tools for strategy formulation and implementation in order to deal with change in our society. Managing change and ambiguity requires strategic leaders who not only provide a sense of direction, but who can also build ownership and alignment within their workgroups to implement change.

The goal of strategic leadership is to drive innovation, and maximize team performance to enhance organizations' long term growth and success in today's complex world of fast-paced, dramatic change. Research on strategic leadership has been going on for decades. Textbooks on this subject are readily available. If we look deeper, we realize the vast majority of these books were written from a practitioner's perspective. In other words, these books were not based on empirical research. Naturally, these existing books have failed to better serve the needs of today's graduate students who should be equipped with empirical research on such an academic subject. This book will investigate emergent administrative techniques and business practices being used within educational establishments and corporate worlds. It will highlight empirical research and best practices within strategic leadership.