1. Elham Oustan University of Tehran
What is the relationship between strategic management and strategic leadership?
Jorge Morales Pedraza · Independent Consultant
To understand the difference between strategy management and strategic leaderships is
indispensable to know what these two concepts means:
Strategy management can be defined as “the systematic analysis of the factors associated with
customers and competitors (the external environment) and the organization itself (the internal
environment) to provide the basis for maintaining optimum management practices. The objective
of strategic management is to achieve better alignment of corporate policies and strategic
priorities”.
In other words, strategic management is the process of specifying an organization's objectives,
developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to
implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by the
company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team. It provides overall direction to the
whole enterprise. The process involves matching the companies' strategic advantages to the
business environment the organization faces. One objective of an overall corporate strategy is to
put the organization into a position to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently. A good
corporate strategy should integrate an organization’s goals, policies, and action sequences
(tactics) into a cohesive whole.
E. Chaffee (1985) summarized what he thought were the main elements of strategic management
theory. They are:
1. Strategic management involves adapting the organization to its business environment.
2. Strategic management is fluid and complex. Change creates novel combinations of
circumstances requiring unstructured non-repetitive responses.
3. Strategic management affects the entire organization by providing direction.
4. Strategic management involves both strategy formation (called it content) and also strategy
implementation (called it process).
5. Strategic management is partially planned and partially unplanned.
6. Strategic management is done at several levels: overall corporate strategy, and individual
business strategies.
7. Strategic management involves both conceptual and analytical thought processes.
On the other hand we have the definition of strategic leadership: Strategic leadership “is the
process of using well considered tactics to communicate a vision for an organization or one of its
parts. Strategic leadership typically manages, motivates and persuades staff to share that same
vision, and can be an important tool for implementing change or creating organizational structure
within a business”.
Strategic leadership provides the vision and direction for the growth and success of an

2. organization. In order to successfully deal with change within an organization, all executives need
the skills and tools for both strategy formulation and implementation. 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.
Strategic leadership basically means using strategy in the management of workers. The main
strategy usually employed in a strategic style of leadership is to motivate workers to take the
initiative to improve their productive input into the company. Strategic leadership is a
management model that trains and encourages employees to best prepare the company for the
future.
Strategic leaders are always looking ahead and analyzing the present in terms of preparation for
what may be ahead for the business. Awareness is a big part of a strategic leadership style, but it
must be followed up with well thought out action. Strategic leaders are adaptable and growth-
oriented. They take responsibility for getting things done by training employees to think and act
more effectively to achieve the best result possible for the company.
Productivity is a main goal of strategic leadership. Yet, it’s not about merely increasing the
amount of work done, but rather its strategic productivity, or working harder for reasons best for
the company. Although the strategic style of leadership always keeps the best interests of the
business in mind, it’s also appreciative of employees’ unique talents and efforts.
Strategic leaders use leadership techniques that empower and motivate rather than bully
employees. Another goal of strategic leadership is to create an environment in which employees
anticipate the company’s needs in relation to their own job. Employees in a workplace
environment led by a strategic leader are encouraged to follow their own initiative. Strategic
leaders reward quality workers by promoting them and offering incentives to do well for the
company.
When it doesn’t make sense to promote an employee or initiate other changes, a strategic leader
rethinks the situation rather than going through with a change. Strategy or careful planning before
making any change in the company is absolutely crucial in a strategic style of leadership. The
philosophy behind the practice of strategic leadership is to use strategy in every act of decision
making. A more thoughtful management approach can lead to greater success in the workplace if
many factors are considered before action is implemented.
Strategic leaders operate in an environment that demands unique performance requirements for
making consequential decisions. If we look more closely at this environment, we discover four
characteristics that define the challenge to strategic leadership in a narrow sense: volatility,
uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.4
Summing up the following can be stated: strategic management is the process of specifying an
organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating
resources so as to implement the plans. Strategic leadership typically manages, motivates and

3. persuades staff to share that same vision, and can be an important tool for implementing change
or creating organizational structure within a business.
Aug 2, 2013 Jorge Morales Pedraza (Aug 2, 2013) Independent Consultant
To understand the difference between strategy management and strategic leaderships is
indispensable to know what these two concepts means:
Strategy management can be defined as “the systematic analysis of the factors associated with
customers and competitors (the external environment) and the organization itself (the internal
environment) to provide the basis for maintaining optimum management practices. The objective
of strategic management is to achieve better alignment of corporate policies and strategic
priorities”.
In other words, strategic management is the process of specifying an organization's objectives,
developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to
implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by the
company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team. It provides overall direction to the
whole enterprise. The process involves matching the companies' strategic advantages to the
business environment the organization faces. One objective of an overall corporate strategy is to
put the organization into a position to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently. A good
corporate strategy should integrate an organization’s goals, policies, and action sequences
(tactics) into a cohesive whole.
E. Chaffee (1985) summarized what he thought were the main elements of strategic management
theory. They are:
• Strategic management involves adapting the organization to its business environment.
• Strategic management is fluid and complex. Change creates novel combinations of
circumstances requiring unstructured non-repetitive responses.
• Strategic management affects the entire organization by providing direction.
• Strategic management involves both strategy formation (called it content) and also strategy
implementation (called it process).
• Strategic management is partially planned and partially unplanned.
• Strategic management is done at several levels: overall corporate strategy, and individual
business strategies.
• Strategic management involves both conceptual and analytical thought processes.
On the other hand we have the definition of strategic leadership: Strategic leadership “is the
process of using well considered tactics to communicate a vision for an organization or one of its
parts. Strategic leadership typically manages, motivates and persuades staff to share that same
vision, and can be an important tool for implementing change or creating organizational structure
within a business”. Strategic leadership provides the vision and direction for the growth and
success of an organization. In order to successfully deal with change within an organization, all
executives need the skills and tools for both strategy formulation and implementation.

4. 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.
Strategic leadership basically means using strategy in the management of workers. The main
strategy usually employed in a strategic style of leadership is to motivate workers to take the
initiative to improve their productive input into the company. Strategic leadership is a
management model that trains and encourages employees to best prepare the company for the
future.
Strategic leaders are always looking ahead and analyzing the present in terms of preparation for
what may be ahead for the business. Awareness is a big part of a strategic leadership style, but it
must be followed up with well thought out action. Strategic leaders are adaptable and growth-
oriented. They take responsibility for getting things done by training employees to think and act
more effectively to achieve the best result possible for the company.
Productivity is a main goal of strategic leadership. Yet, it’s not about merely increasing the
amount of work done, but rather its strategic productivity, or working harder for reasons best for
the company. Although the strategic style of leadership always keeps the best interests of the
business in mind, it’s also appreciative of employees’ unique talents and efforts.
Strategic leaders use leadership techniques that empower and motivate rather than bully
employees. Another goal of strategic leadership is to create an environment in which employees
anticipate the company’s needs in relation to their own job. Employees in a workplace
environment led by a strategic leader are encouraged to follow their own initiative. Strategic
leaders reward quality workers by promoting them and offering incentives to do well for the
company.
When it doesn’t make sense to promote an employee or initiate other changes, a strategic leader
rethinks the situation rather than going through with a change. Strategy or careful planning before
making any change in the company is absolutely crucial in a strategic style of leadership. The
philosophy behind the practice of strategic leadership is to use strategy in every act of decision
making. A more thoughtful management approach can lead to greater success in the workplace if
many factors are considered before action is implemented.
Strategic leaders operate in an environment that demands unique performance requirements for
making consequential decisions. If we look more closely at this environment, we discover four
characteristics that define the challenge to strategic leadership in a narrow sense: volatility,
uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.4
Summing up the following can be stated: strategic management is the process of specifying an
organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating
resources so as to implement the plans. Strategic leadership typically manages, motivates and
persuades staff to share that same vision, and can be an important tool for implementing change
or creating organizational structure within a business.

5. Jaharkanti Dattagupta (Aug 7, 2013) Novel Group of Institutes
Strategic management involves working out the organizational responses to the changes in the
business environment, by assessing strengths & weaknesses of the organization and opportunities
& threats in the environment, in order to maintain sustainability and competitive advantage, to
achieve organizational objective. Strategic leadership, on the other hand, refers to strategic use of
organizational resources ( human resource, financial resource and technological resource ) for
organizational capacity building and value creation in volatile environment, in keeping with
organizational vision & mission. Strategic leadership is more development oriented, while
strategic management is goal oriented.
Binod Atreya (Aug 8, 2013) Nepal Rastra Bank (central bank of Nepal)
Strategic management is about setting vision, mission, goals and objectives for achieving
excellence and the strategic leadership is to ensure that the results are being achieved.
Kurmet Kivipõld (Sep 2, 2013) · University of Tartu
Briefly, strategic management is broad approach about how organizations create their own future
by adapting in turbulent environment. Strategic leadership is a part of strategic management and it
deals basically with such kind notions as “strategic thinking” (e.g. mental models – vision,
mission etc.), and “strategic changes” (e.g. creating changes, implementing strategy, building
capabilities).
Constantin Bratianu (Sept 2013) · Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
"Strategic leadership" is a forced semantic construct since leadership is by definition strategic.
Management can be operational and strategic, but leadership must incorporate the time dimension
and future orientation. Thus, we may say that real leadership is strategic, and that it is integrated
into the larger concept of strategic management. Leaders are the driving force of strategic
management.

6. Jaharkanti Dattagupta (Aug 7, 2013) Novel Group of Institutes
Strategic management involves working out the organizational responses to the changes in the
business environment, by assessing strengths & weaknesses of the organization and opportunities
& threats in the environment, in order to maintain sustainability and competitive advantage, to
achieve organizational objective. Strategic leadership, on the other hand, refers to strategic use of
organizational resources ( human resource, financial resource and technological resource ) for
organizational capacity building and value creation in volatile environment, in keeping with
organizational vision & mission. Strategic leadership is more development oriented, while
strategic management is goal oriented.
Binod Atreya (Aug 8, 2013) Nepal Rastra Bank (central bank of Nepal)
Strategic management is about setting vision, mission, goals and objectives for achieving
excellence and the strategic leadership is to ensure that the results are being achieved.
Kurmet Kivipõld (Sep 2, 2013) · University of Tartu
Briefly, strategic management is broad approach about how organizations create their own future
by adapting in turbulent environment. Strategic leadership is a part of strategic management and it
deals basically with such kind notions as “strategic thinking” (e.g. mental models – vision,
mission etc.), and “strategic changes” (e.g. creating changes, implementing strategy, building
capabilities).
Constantin Bratianu (Sept 2013) · Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
"Strategic leadership" is a forced semantic construct since leadership is by definition strategic.
Management can be operational and strategic, but leadership must incorporate the time dimension
and future orientation. Thus, we may say that real leadership is strategic, and that it is integrated
into the larger concept of strategic management. Leaders are the driving force of strategic
management.