A strategic leader leads, inspires and directs the organisational employees towards achieving corporational goals while creating a healthy work-space. A successful leader brings a team of employees on-board and works with them towards completing tasks. A leader’s transition from an operational level to a strategic level demands a more remarkable set of skills, strategic planning, and problem-solving thinking pattern for surmounting challenges. There are no shortcuts to acing this role, but some leadership strategies can help bolster the team’s performance.

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

As mentioned above by Sheryl Sanberg, COO of Facebook, the quote articulately describes the role of a strategic leader in creating a positive and healthy work environment that makes employees work diligently towards achieving corporational goals. Professionals who want to build a leadership career must be aware of this capacity’s strategic aspect and can enroll for online strategy programs to learn the same.

What Defines a Strategic Leader?

Strategic leader refers to the job profile wherein the individual determines the future of organisation/s by envisioning ideas that can help the firm in the long run. A strategic leader motivates and inspires his/her team members, employees and other staff towards capitalising on opportunities that bring successful and lucrative prospects for the corporation.

The online strategy programs are instrumental in teaching executives about the intricacies, components and core concepts that form a part of this domain. Learning from top-rated institutes’ credible and reputed courses will help professionals gather the necessary intel required for thriving in a strategic leadership capacity. The IIM strategic management program is one such well-drafted course that provides knowledge of this sector’s different attributes.

However, before enrolling for these courses, young leaders need to know the role of strategy leader in managing strategies.

What Role does a Strategic Leader Play in Managing Strategies?

As professionals will learn through the online strategy programs, the relationship between management and leadership is quite similar to that of a father and son. Leadership being superior to management provides policies, strategies, and visions; management creates different pathways, accumulates resources, and brings that vision into reality.

The IIM strategic management program endows professionals with theoretical and practical acumen to develop strategies and manage them successfully.

The following tasks highlight the role of a strategic leader in managing strategies:-

• Laying Out Goals and Objectives

A strategy without goals and objectives is futile. Therefore, strategic leaders ponder hard about analysing the organisation’s areas to focus on and lay out goals and objectives accordingly.

These goals are often long-term and require attention to detail while drafting current policies that help corporations in the future. The leader sets out measurable goals and objectives that are practical and facilitate corporational growth.

• Building the Strategy

Building an action plan, procedural document and a strategy requires accumulating correct tools, techniques and personnel. Since a strategy affects all the organisational departments, it’s vital to build strategy by conducting meetings with fellow leaders, managers and department heads.

Canvassing a strategy that adds value to the corporation and takes it to newer heights is essential.

• Facilitate Communication Between Team-Members and Seniors

Strategies undergo tremendous changes throughout their development, planning and execution. Strategic leaders ensure that the changes implemented by senior-level advisors and C-level executives are communicated with the employees. Leaders make sure that both parties are on the same page while drafting strategies.

• Evaluating Strategy’s Performance

Once the strategy’s been executed, it’s closely monitored and tracked for progress. Evaluation of a strategy is required for incorporating new methodologies, trends and practices that make it more robust. To survive in the future, strategies are regularly updated, refined, and evaluated for making them sustainable in the long run.

• Proper Delegation of Tasks

A strategy involves various steps, methods and metrics that need to be combined for its longevity and help make it successful. For a strategy to perform well in the corporational setup, it’s essential to delegate tasks accordingly. Distributing tasks to team members based on their capability and talent will help develop robust and well-engineered strategies.

Strategic leaders play a centric role in managing the strategies. Several online strategy programs help learners understand the importance of managing strategies at the organisational level. Furthermore, the IIM strategy management program teaches executives about the different functions that a leader performs to manage strategies efficiently.

What are the Different Functions of a Strategic Leader?

There are certain core functions that a strategic leader performs:-

• Giving a direction to the company’s strategies and the people involved

As mentioned earlier, strategic leaders determine the success of strategies and give them a direction. Moreover, since leadership involves a group of employees and other staff members, they too are influenced by the policies and plans implemented.

• Making well-reformed strategic decisions

Decision-making is amongst the primary functions performed by strategic leaders. These individuals take well-reformed and thought-out decisions that help in organisational growth and streamline the existing processes.

• Transforming theoretical strategies into workable actions

Strategic leaders envision an idea that is fruitful for business in the long-run. Then on, that idea or vision is set into motion through a workable plan of action.

• Act as a bridge between company’s seniors and employees

Strategic leaders act as a communication channel between senior executives/advisors and employees. The strategy changes made at the top-level are communicated to team-members and corporational employees through these leaders.

• Frame policies and business plans for proper implementation of strategies

Before implementing strategies, there needs to be a re-evaluation of a company’s policies, procedures and processes. Strategic leaders make sure that strategy implemented is consistent with the firm’s  objectives and helps in business growth.

Key Takeaway

The different points discussed in the article above highlight a strategic manager’s role in managing a company’s strategies. Be it laying out objectives, delegating tasks, overseeing the performance or communicating between employees and advisors; strategic leaders are the bedrock for efficient strategies.

Therefore, enrolling for online strategy programs can prove beneficial for young professionals who want to move further into their careers. The IIM strategy management course is an excellent way to learn about the managerial aspect of strategy development.

More Information:

How to Advance to the Strategic Leadership Role?

Advantages & Scope of the Strategic Management Course

Top 10 Career Strategies to get you ahead of the herd in 2022

Career Prospects & Job Opportunities after Strategic Management

Executive Development Program In Transformational Leadership from XLRI JAMSHEDPUR