The art of strategic leadership : how leaders at all levels prepare themselves, their teams, and organizations for the future Steven J. Stowell and Stephanie S. Mead

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Today's organizations face two daunting challenges: 1. How to create new sources of competitive advantage to sustain long-term growth, and 2. How to engage leaders at every level of the organization so that they are more proactive and forward-looking in their area of responsibility. The Art of Strategic Leadership uses a unique approach to examine what it means to be a strategic leader. Instead of focusing on the skills, behaviors, and tools found in typical books on strategic leadership, the authors shed light on the attributes and qualities necessary to lead strategic change and help transform a business. Strategic leadership is what modern leadership is all about. Organizations expect leaders to anticipate and be proactive more than ever before. In this book, the authors draw on their vast experience working directly with leaders at all levels and use an intriguing narrative to explain this inside-out approach to understanding strategic leadership. The narrative follows the journey of how one manager discovered these critically important qualities. You will experience first-hand how these values and attributes manifest in the lives of realistic leaders; how they orchestrate long-term strategic change needed for the organization to compete and survive and actively shape the future while delivering short-term results.

Acknowledgments vii Preface ix What You ll Find in This Book x How to Use This Book xi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 So, What Is It? 4 Why Does It Matter? 5 How You Can Use It 9 Chapter 2 The Business 11 Chapter 3 The Leader 19 Chapter 4 The Team 29 Chapter 5 Alex s Journey Begins 37 Chapter 6 The Art of Ownership 45 The Story: Robert 47 Ownership Close-Up 53 Chapter 7 The Art of Tenacity 63 The Story: Mya 65 Tenacity Close-Up 70 The Tenacity Formula 75 Mastering Tenacity 78 Chapter 8 The Art of Risk 79 The Story: Jordan 81 Risk Close-Up 87 Stepping Up 94 A Note About Failure 96 Chapter 9 The Art of Agility 99 The Story: Kim 101 Agility Close-Up 105 Your Flex-Agility 114 Chapter 10 The Art of Awareness 117 The Story: Lu 119 Awareness Close-Up 124 What It All Means 130 Chapter 11 The Art of Driving Change 133 The Story: Sara 135 Driving Change Close-Up 140 Chapter 12 The Art of Vision 149 The Story: Alex 151 Vision Close-Up 156 What Visionary Leaders Do 160 Chapter 13 The Art of Strategic Leadership 165 The Rest of the Story 167 The Future Starts Here and Now 176 Connect and Continue the Journey 181 About the Authors 183 Products and Services Available 185 Index 187.