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Introduction

While working with the leadership team in the past organization, I got an essence that strategy is

an essential component for earning success, both at professional and personal level. However,

strategy is considered to be a complex concept as it has an impact on the overall health of the

organization, involves both content and procedural challenges, is not always intentional, exists

on multiple levels, and necessitates the use of a variety of mental processes. (Edwards, 2014).

Though “Strategy” term is mainly used for organization management, but it can also be used for

both personnel and professional management that is defined strategic leadership. Strategic

leaders are the one those who assign people, build an organizational structure, and communicate

their strategic direction. Strategic leaders work in an unpredictably changing environment on

very dynamic problems that are influenced and distorted by worldwide actions and

organizations. (Juharyanto et al,2020).

Assessing my strategic leadership skills using 5P’s of strategy

The first step in making the invisible visible is to set goals (Tony Robbins). Having a clear and

well-defined goal is incredibly important because it provides direction and focus, a sense of

purpose and meaning, a way to measure progress and success, and can increase creativity and

innovation. In order to achieve my goal of pursuing my journey on the path of strategic

leadership, it is necessary to have strategic plan. As goals without plans are like wishes without

action. A plan helps to break down the goals into actionable steps and provides a roadmap for

achieving them.

There are various components and potential approaches for building strategy, 5 P's of Strategy

model. The 5 Ps of Strategy is a Tool that helps Defining Efficient

Strategies by focusing on only 5 Factors [CITATION Hen87 \l 1033 ]. Each of the five elements
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enables firms to carry out the strategy more successfully.

1. Plan: A strategic plan is a series of carefully thought-out actions that a company intends to

take in order to succeed (Mastering Strategic Leadership). Strategic planning can be

practiced at personal level too. Indeed, a well-known proverb states that “he who fails to

plan, plans to fail.” In other words, setting up a course for the future and then following it are

necessary for success. So, in order to succeed as a strategic leader, I will build strategy to

identify organizational goals and skills required in the workforce to accomplish those goals.

As I have worked with service-based industries in the past, where employees were

considered to be the building blocks of the organization. So, while designing the business

model I will ensure that the strategy should be focused on building a strong, competent, and

highly motivated workforce.

2. Ploy: It is a conscious effort made to outperform a rival or opponent. Being a Strategic leader

as the major focus of organization’s strategy will be on building a highly skilled, competent

and motivated workforce for achieving company’s financial goal. Due to competitive market,

the rival or opponents may attempt to poach the employees. As a strategic leader, I will

ensure there should be a feeling of emotional connectedness and employee loyalty in the

employees (citation).

Pattern: This view focuses on the extent to which a firm’s actions over time are consistent. A

consistent pattern can make a company predictable.

This Strategy is a pattern as a stream of actions Which means what Worked in

the Past and What can be Replicated. the pattern that I would like to apply as a strategic leader

would be Taking note of the patterns I see in teams and organizations. Then, whether these

patterns have become an implicit part of my strategy, I should think about the impact these
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patterns should have on how I approach strategic planning.

Position: Viewing strategy as a plan, a ploy, and a pattern involve only the actions of a single

firm. In contrast, the next P—strategy as position—considers a firm and its competitors.(Clients

example)

In this approach, Position is another way to define strategy, that is how one can

decide to position oneself in the marketplace. In this way, the strategy helps you explore the fit

between an organization and the environment, and it helps to develop a sustainable competitive

advantage. When I consider my strategic position, taking this strategy into account helps me see

the wider picture of how external circumstances affect my firm. by examining the environments

in which I excel and those in which I could struggle.

Perspective: The importance of organizational culture and group thinking on strategic

decision-making inside a corporation is highlighted by perspective. A group's members must all

have the same worldview for it to be effective. Additionally, it needs to be demonstrated through

the daily acts that each employee in the firm takes. As a result, a significant portion of the

strategic leader's role will be attempting to align everyone's viewpoints. Usually, this involves

sharing vision and values of the organization.

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Measures of handling personal and professional stressors

Personal and professional stress can be closely related and can have a significant impact on each

other. Stress in personal life can spill over into professional life, affecting job performance and

productivity, while stress in professional life can affect personal relationships and overall well-

being. Despite of negative impacts, stress in moderation can also have positive effects, as it can

result in strengthening your bond with your loved ones, increased motivation, improved

performance, resilience and personal growth. As an individual and aspiring strategic leader, I

will practice the ways to become self-aware and so, that triggers that are causing stress both at

personal and professional level can be identified and can be worked upon.(citation). Along with

that I would keep practicing workout activities in order to get and maintain a health body as the

proverb say, healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Talk about my spiritual journey too.

Personal and professional wants and needs for changing or strengthening my strategic

leadership

To strengthen my strategic leadership skills, it's important for me to identify my personal and

professional wants and needs.

(Citations + relatable + contant)

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Personal and professional strengths and weakness with regard to the desired changes in

your strategic leadership practice

A leader is a person who takes the initiative, establishes high standards, and inspires others to

follow them. Depending on the circumstances at the time, a capable leader sets his or her goals

and objectives. (Rus et al, 2010).

Identifying personal and professional strengths and weaknesses is a critical step in improving

strategic leadership. Here are some of my possible strengths and weaknesses, that are related to

desired changes in strategic leadership practice:

Strengths:

Detail oriented - A detail-oriented strategic leader is able to analyze complex data, identify

patterns, and make informed decisions based on thorough examination of all relevant factors. At

the same time, they are able to keep an eye on the big picture and ensure that their decisions

align with the overall strategic direction of the organization. I consider myself detail oriented, as

my major strength and this skill got developed while I worked as an instructional designer,

content developer and website administrator.

Highly Emotional Intelligence - An emotionally intelligent strategic leader is someone who is

able to effectively manage their own emotions and understand the emotions of others in order to

build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and make informed decisions. I developed

the skill of emotional intelligence, after getting mentoring sessions from top notch leaders of my

previous organization.

Weakness –
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Detail oriented - While being detail-oriented can be a valuable trait for a strategic leader, there

are also potential negative consequences of being overly focused on details. As an aspiring

strategic leader, I would like to learn to balance my focus on details with a broader perspective

and want to be able to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others that will help to prevent

analysis paralysis, micromanagement, and burnout.

Communication Skill - Effective communication is a critical skill for a strategic leader as it

enables them to articulate a clear vision, build strong relationships with stakeholders, and create

a positive organizational culture. According to Osterman (1994), being a strong communicator

helps you build relationships with clients, provide excellent customer service, maintain team

cohesion, and provide others a platform to express themselves and contribute to the success of

the business.
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Mission, vision and values (1 page content)

Mission, vision, and values are important components of any organization's strategic planning

process as it provides a framework for the organization's decision-making, culture, and

operations. An organization's vision describes what it aspires to become in the future. An

organization's goals are clearly expressed in well-crafted vision statements. The purpose of an

organization's existence and its place in society are described in its mission. The identity of the

organization is captured in a mission statement, which also serves to address the central question,

"Who are we?"(Mastering Leadership book).

During my professional journey of 8 years, I got an opportunity to work with service-based

industries. Where I got a chance to work with organization’s top-notch leaders, as well as

production staff. During my tenure of 5 years with the organization, I inherited some new value

and some of my existing values got strengthen.

While embarking my journey of personal and professional growth, I discovered that my vision,

mission and values are people-centric. Also, as I lost my mother due to mental stress, I have

purpose to make people’s life better and happier by creating an environment where their mental

health can be prioritized. As a leader of the service-based organization, my mission, vision, and

values would be –

Vision – “Continuously working to strengthen the relationship with our employees, clients and

customers.”

Mission – “We build our own work culture.” Build work culture where employees are self-lead

and they don’t have to be micro-manage. Also, where the well-being is prioritized.

Value – Respect, integrity and teamwork

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Overall, it is important for the strategic leaders to build organizational strategy that should be

focused on company’s vision, mission and value statement. As these statements drives the

organizational culture, and also explains to key stakeholders why they should support the

organization (Mastering Strategic Leadership book).

Strategic drives that will help in achieve my individual potential

By focusing on strategic drivers, individuals can create a roadmap for achieving their potential,

building their skills and expertise, and creating a fulfilling and meaningful career and life. As

mentioned earlier, my vision, mission and value statements are people centric, so my strategic

drivers are closely connected to my personal and professional purpose.

Here are some of the strategic drivers that may help me in achieving my individual potential-

Self-awareness - When we look inward at ourselves, we have a tendency to judge our present

actions against our broader standards and values. This results in an objective self-awareness

condition. (Duval and Wicklund, 1972). Self-awareness is an essential component of effective

leadership. It allows leaders to make better decisions, communicate more effectively, build

stronger relationships, grow personally and professionally, and resolve conflicts more

effectively. By developing their self-awareness, I can enhance their ability to lead and inspire

their teams towards success. Also, at the individual level, having self-awareness means that I am

acutely aware of my personality, including my strengths and shortcomings, my thoughts and

beliefs, my emotions, and my motives.

Effective Communication – Effective communication is one of the main essential skill for

strategic leaders both at personal and professional level. It helps to convey vision and strategy,

build relationships, facilitate decision-making, manage change, and manage conflict. As I carry a
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vision to build a self-leading culture, I believe effective communication skill would help me in

setting clear expectations with the organization’s workforce.

For acquiring above skills, I will identify the constraints that are stopping me from achieving my

desired goal and will work on overcoming identified challenges. I strongly believe that by

acquiring above skills I will tend to grow both at personal and professional level, as service-

based organizations are mainly operated workforce. So, by cultivating the culture of self-lead

may to eliminating the need of micro-managing the employees that may result in high

performance.

Defining personal/ professional culture and how they align with present/ future success

As mentioned earlier, the mission, vision and value statements are mainly focused on people factor, so the

personal/ professional culture that I would like to cultivate is the culture of self-lead employees and

prioritizing well-being of employees. As most of the industries relies on workforce, so it becomes

necessary for the organizations to value and recognize their employees. Moreover, the defined vision,

mission and value statements focuses on valuing relationship, promoting employees self-lead and well-

being, and the component of respect, integrity and teamwork.

As a strategic leader, I am committed to learn and equip myself with required tools and techniques that

may help in serving the purpose. In order to enhance my strategic leadership skills, currently, I am

currently working on practicing on my defined strategic drivers, that are self-awareness and effective

communication. Furthermore, I have resumed my professional journey with “Nurse Next Door” and

studying their business model and the culture of self-leading employees.

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1. Conclude the assignment(2page)

a. Identify ‘old economy’ thinking and practices YOU continue to use in your leadership
and the outcome(s) you experienced as a result. Include how you plan changing
those habits to 'new economy' thinking and practice creating an effective
personal/professional strategy with the outcome(s) you anticipate as you adopt 'new
economy' habits in your leadership practice. (Ungerer, Ungerer & Herholdt, pp. xiii-
105) (1 Page)
b. Provide a personal assessment of your development as a strategic leader based on
your review of the chapter 1 and 2 material. (Edwards, pp 3-76) (half page)
c. Outline the present strategic strengths YOU discovered and how YOU can align them
to become a better strategic leader. (Half page)
d. Create an outline of how your strategic leadership development aligns to the SMART
goals outlined by Edwards (pp. 41-48). (Half Page)
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