Strategy and Leadership for Turbulent Times

Preparing for an uncertain and complex future is §vital for all those with leadership §responsibilities. Mapping a long term direction for§an organization is particularly difficult in times of§turbulent social or economic change. In a knowledge§based economy, we often equate leadership competence§with "knowing". The problem is that all our factual§knowledge is about the past. We have no facts about§the future at our disposal. The dilemma is how§leaders react to the attractive but false belief that§it is possible to predict and control the future§accurately yet not become paralysed by inertia. In§response, this book asserts that there are persuasive§claims to be made in the concept of strategic§leadership as a theory for action. The author reviews§the literature and then introduces a new synthesis of§essential strategic leadership characteristics. Data§are derived from leaders in independent schools who§share their insights. These are encapsulated in seven§propositions and a new conceptual model. This§analysis should be helpful for practitioners within§educational settings and for leaders in teams§who are interested in enhancing their strategic§imagination.