Are you a Strategic Manager?

Art retrieved from Oelwingo

Are you a Strategic Manager?

by William "Frank" Villanueva, PhD, MBA 

 

Managers must perform at their best to successfully craft and execute a business strategy. They succeed by becoming skilled managers and superb leaders. When managers are able to manage and lead effectively, they become strategic managers.  However, my personal experience -and the opinion of most scholars- tells me that management and leadership are two distinct skillsets.

Jeffrey D. McCausland refers to leadership as a mechanism used to deal with change and motivate people to achieve success. He argues that the leaders of the 21^st century need to “set goals, inspire performance, and monitor progress…” In their article “Visionary leadership and strategic management” Frances Westley and Henry Mintzberg contend that leaders are those who get others to support their vision, bringing people together to accomplish a common goal.

Management, on the other hand, is about problem solving and responding to complex situations such as dealing with the firm’s budget, resource allocations, and “organizing and staffing.” Management also deals with talent management, environmental laws, and making sure all policies and procedures are adhered to. The success of the firm is often connected to a senior manager’s meticulous practice of strategic management. Mastering strategic management skills requires that senior managers also possess and apply leadership skills into their daily operations.

Strategic managers use management and leadership skills to persuade and drive change, do more with fewer resources, and adapt to new environments. Strategic managers do not separate the management of resources from the art of leading employees when crafting and executing a strategy. They understand that a successful business strategy requires the simultaneous applicability of management and leadership skills.  These managers constantly prepare for future operations through long-range planning and are always prepared to adjust to dynamic changes based on short-range shifting objectives.

Strategic managers lead by inspiring and motivating employees. They learn to trust subordinates and delegate tasks while maintaining full accountability.  They manage their firm assessing the current situation and preparing to take calculated risks to adjust to any emergent changes. These strategic managers and leaders make decisions under the most stressful conditions while exercising sound judgment. Strategic managers always perform their duties with one primary goal in mind: “Mission success.”

 

Dr. William "Frank" Villanueva is a freelance writer, former business owner, and U.S. Navy veteran with over 25 years of leadership experience.