How to be a strategic leader?

Nila Cousar
Mar 20, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Jul 28, 2021

Strategic leadership defines one's ability to nurture, develop and build other leaders. There are 4 types of leadership styles that equip a leader to manage a team with diverse needs.

To be a leader is to be a manager, but to be a manager does not equate to leadership. Strategic leaders have multiple tools in their toolbox to mobilize a team.

Lead with Ease

“The best leaders are even better followers”

If your project is in the development phase, you are likely coaching the team through the directives. Team members may need more guidance than others, which is when managing comes into play. As illustrated the way you lead team members will shift as you move through the bell curve as they mature in their role. The curve starts with low to high energy from the leader on the team because delegation should be a simple offer. If more is needed to complete the delegated task you expend more energy bringing that team member to a more adaptive function on the team. D1 to D4 represent the individual competence to complete the tasks or project. These two diagrams go hand in hand to illustrate how to identify where a team member is, where they want to be and how you can help them get there.

Leadership is a skill

Leadership is a broad term to define someone taking the initiative to be the change they want to see. A leader can manage but a manager is not a leader. To say you are an expert does not serve to say you are a teacher. Leadership is about meeting the team and individuals where they are in the process and leading everyone to the finish line.

Stun Your Leaders

“Be the change you want to see.”

To be a strategic leader, you need to navigate all four leadership types to build a robust team and deliver on a high level consistently. These 4 tactics will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to take your team to the next level.

Identify where each team member is on the linear scale (D1 to D4)
Gauge your leadership tactic (S1 to S4)
Reset expectations when there is movement on the graph

Delegating

Delegating means you can hand off a task to a teammate and call it done. This requires the least amount of energy but requires the most amount of detail.

High directive, low supportive

Supporting

Supporting means to fill in the holes. A way to think about this style is acting as an assistant or technical support on a project to fill in the gaps.

Low directive, high supportive

Coaching

Coaching is a strategy of managing by doing. Typically, coaching requires intensive training and time to walk teammates through the process.

High directive, high supportive

Directing

Directing is ongoing intense coaching required to develop a team member's skill from infancy to execution.

Low directive, low supportive

All in all, these are practical tactics to identify how to bring your team to consistently deliver on a high level and serves as a scale to challenge your team to do more.

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