What is Strategic Leadership? What are the benefits of Strategic Planning ?

Strategic leadership refers to a manager's potential to articulate the strategic vision for the organization, and to motivate, guide and influence his subordinates to attain the objectives of that vision. Strategic leadership can also be defined as utilizing strategy in the management of employees. It is the ability to influence organizational members and to accomplish organizational change. Strategic leaders generate organizational structure, assign resources and communicate strategic vision. Strategic leaders have to work in an uncertain environment on various strategic issues. The main purpose of strategic leadership is strategic productivity. Another aim of strategic leadership is to generate an environment in which employees match the organization's needs in context of their individual job. Strategic leaders instill confidence to the employees in an organization to follow their own ideas, yet, moving in the direction of organisation's overall goals. Strategic leaders make better use of reward and incentive system for encouraging productive and quality employees. Functional strategic leadership is about creativity, resourcefulness, and preparing to assist an individual in realizing his objectives and goals. Benefits of Strategic Planning: Strategic planning can help your organization in a number of critical ways: Improved results and confidence: A proper plan may positively influence organizational performance and can contribute to a greater sense of purpose, progress and accountability among its team. Focus: Good strategic planning forces future thinking and can refocus and re-energies a disorientated organization. Problem solving: Strategic planning focuses on an organization's most critical problems, choices and opportunities. Teamwork: Strategic planning provides an excellent opportunity to build a sense of teamwork, to promote learning, and to build commitment across the organization. Communication: All stakeholders have an interest in knowing the direction in which organisation is heading and also how their contribution will fit in overall plan. Greater control: Strategic planning can provide an organisation greater control the environment in which it operates.