How to Be a Strategic Leader That Achieves Growth and Success
A successful business leader can run an organization using many different leadership styles. We often hear about emerging leaders being advised to “be more strategic” to advance their future careers. We conclude that a strategic leader carefully balances the available options and achieves the organization’s growth and success. Note that this leadership style is dynamic and requires a high level of commitment and participation in the work.
A Leader more strategic means creativity, innovation, and generating great ideas. For example, a new product innovation, business model, or strategic partnership could lead to a better future. On the other hand, a strategic leader must focus on multiple aspects of the business rather than ensuring success in one area. While making decisions that lay the work in the future while meeting current demands. In addition to his participation in bringing about a significant organizational change.
Performance and Change
Talking about improving performance can be difficult, especially when there are upheavals and rapid changes like those currently taking place in the world. Although it is difficult, some leaders and managers perform exceptionally well despite the many challenges. Accordingly, cases like this present an opportunity to see how these leaders navigate the storms of change, competition, turmoil, and other headwinds.
Contrary to what many people think, leading your team is not by force and coercion. Still, it sometimes needs a little training and inspiration to improve performance and change. As an outstanding leader preparing for the future, you need to adopt the right strategies and skills that can help you take practical actions in your team.
If you are looking to be a strategic leader that delivers growth and success, here are some essential skills you need:
1) Communicate clearly and effectively
An influencer leader who aspires to success must have the ability to communicate and present information clearly and effectively. Being a leader requires knowing how to send messages to your team effectively. Hence, to inspire the transformation successfully, you need to improve your strategic communication skills. Because strategic leaders communicate with clarity, poise, and conviction, build trust and inspire others to make an innovative transformation.
2) Develop your financial awareness
Financial awareness helps you manage the financial resources in your organization effectively. And the ability to use s financial knowledge and skills such as budgeting, investment, and financial management. Thus, you also need these skills to inform stakeholders of your organization’s financial position and performance.
3) Be an entrepreneur
A strategic leader needs to be a risk-taker and an expert in overcoming uncertainty. Therefore, leadership requires an entrepreneurial mindset that can transform problems into opportunities that add value and drive the organization to success. Moreover, this mindset is needed more than ever in today’s environment. It is necessary to solve problems, improve performance, and thrive and grow despite the ever-increasing competition.
4) Acquire IT skills
Developing your IT skills will allow you to embrace and use emerging advanced technologies as a strategic leader. For example, artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, all of these technologies can impact the current business model. So as a leader and future manager, it is essential to acquire these skills to quickly solve technical, human, and business problems.
5) Motivate yourself
As an outstanding and productive strategic leader, you must be self-motivated before seeking to motivate your team or those you lead. While it becomes easier to provide strategic direction and inspire your team to achieve organizational goals when you are self-motivated. So, be open to change, learn from others, reflect on your progress, and balance your emotions.
6) Have good time management
Effective time management motivates strategic leadership. Therefore, the habit of using time well must be developed and strengthened. Every day, make a to-do list, prioritize your tasks, be focused, manage distractions and keep track of your time. Accordingly, good time management results in higher performance, growth, and other successes.
7) Create a self-development plan
As a strategic leader, you need to prepare a plan that develops your self-reflection and improvement. Which can grow as your action plan that you will use to achieve your goals. This plan should also describe your development goals and areas for improvement and performance improvement as a leader. You must define and develop a strategic, intelligent, measurable, achievable, and time-bound action plan.
8) Embrace change
Strategic leaders deliver superior performance despite many challenges. As well as typical behavior by their constant readiness to embrace change. Ideally, change is always a part of working or managing daily activities. Therefore, as a strategic leader and future manager, you must have an open mind and be ready to accept change.
9) Invest in learning
A commitment to continuous learning is vital for improving self, team, organization, and community. Therefore, as a strategic leader, you must constantly expand your knowledge and inspire your organization to embrace a culture of lifelong learning. This may be a way to develop core competencies and capabilities to generate excellent operational capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage.
“Learning and educating people in and of itself is a great wealth that we are proud of. Learning is wealth, and we are building the future on a scientific basis.”
H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
In general, most strategic leaders have a growth mindset and strive to continually improve themselves. For these leaders, success in the past is not a reason to settle everything. Because in our time, organizations need impactful strategic leaders who invest in their leadership, continue to grow, and achieve success.
