What Is a Leadership Strategy and Why Do You Need One?

Imagine that a mid-sized tech company is rapidly expanding, riding the wave of its latest breakthrough product. But while the business is growing, the cracks in its leadership structure are becoming more evident. Teams are misaligned, decision making feels sluggish, and talented employees are leaving because they don’t see a clear direction from leadership.

Sound familiar? That may be because this scenario is all too common within organizations. Businesses often focus on ambitious growth or innovation strategies while overlooking the critical piece that connects the dots: leadership strategy. 

A solid leadership strategy framework can turn chaos into clarity, ensuring every leader in your organization drives toward shared goals. In this article, we’ll explore what leadership strategy entails, outline examples and types of leadership strategies, and guide you through creating one for your organization.

Think of a leadership strategy as a bridge between your business vision and the people who bring it to life. It’s a customized plan to develop leaders who are capable of executing your organization’s strategic priorities.

This leadership strategy framework involves identifying:

• Leadership roles critical to achieving success.
• Key skills and qualities that leaders need to embody the company’s values.
• Cultural and systemic alignment to support these efforts.

A leadership strategy ensures your leadership pipeline is designed to grow with your business, for both individual and collective success. It’s not just about listing desirable traits like “good communicator” or “strategic thinker.” 

It’s about answering questions like:

• How many leaders does our organization need in the next five years?
• What leadership skills and qualities will set them apart?
• How do we ensure leadership efforts align with our long-term goals?

For example, a company striving to be an industry leader in sustainability might prioritize developing leaders who are systems thinkers, can advocate for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles, and lead diverse teams.

A leadership strategy provides clarity on these questions, ensuring your leadership pipeline supports both current operations and future ambitions.

Leadership strategy and strategic leadership are often confused or intertwined, but they serve different purposes within an organization. While they are interconnected, they address distinct aspects of how leaders drive success. Here’s a breakdown of what strategic leadership means and how it relates to leadership strategy.

Strategic leadership refers to the specific behaviors, skills, and decisions that leaders use to guide their organizations towards success. It’s about how leaders think, act, and influence others to achieve strategic objectives.

The four key strategic leadership characteristics include:

• Visionary thinking: Setting a clear, inspiring direction for the future.
• Decision making in uncertainty: Balancing risk and reward when making pivotal decisions.
• Change management: Leading teams through transformation and navigating challenges effectively.
• Influence and communication: Inspiring and aligning others to work toward shared goals.

One example that illustrates the importance of strategic leadership is a CEO guiding their company through a digital transformation, ensuring the organization adopts new technologies while maintaining its core values and operational effectiveness.

These two concepts are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they complement each other. A well-developed leadership strategy provides the framework and resources leaders need to succeed, while strategic leadership ensures those leaders make effective decisions and guide their teams toward achieving the organization’s goals.

For example, a retail company develops a leadership strategy to prioritize customer experience. Then, the store managers practice strategic leadership by making data-driven decisions to improve customer satisfaction locally. Together, leadership strategy creates the environment and strategic leadership drives the execution.

If you are looking to elevate your own organization’s leadership strategy, click below to speak with one of our experts and learn more about our Careerminds leadership coaching and development services.

Speak with an Expert

Learn why we're the right partners for you.

Download

Organizations without a clear leadership plan often struggle to implement their business strategy. Consider this scenario: A tech company aims to dominate its market through innovation, but retains a traditional, risk-averse leadership culture. This disconnect stalls creativity, slows decision making, and prevents the company from achieving its goals.

By failing to align leadership development with strategy, businesses run the risk of:

• Falling behind competitors who invest in adaptable leaders.
• Missing opportunities for growth due to outdated leadership practices.
• Alienating talent who seek inclusive, visionary leadership.

Even the most established organizations can stumble when it comes to leadership strategy. Here are the most common reasons why:

• They rely on outdated competency models that no longer match business needs.
• They create one-size-fits-all development programs that don’t address specific challenges.
• They ignore the gap between leadership culture and organizational strategy.

Developing a leadership strategy framework requires thoughtful analysis and alignment with organizational priorities. Here’s how to get started:

Identify the core elements that give your organization its competitive edge. For instance, if innovation is crucial, focus on leadership qualities that encourage creativity and cross-functional collaboration.

Determine how these strategic drivers influence leadership needs. Ask questions like:

• What skills are necessary to adapt to industry changes?
• What leadership behaviors will foster collaboration or innovation?
• What cultural shifts are needed to achieve strategic goals?

Assess the types and qualities of leaders required for success.

• Roles: How many leaders are needed, and in what capacities?
• Qualities: What characteristics, such as diversity and experience, are essential?
• Capabilities: What specific skills and behaviors align with business objectives?

Design development programs that address the identified leadership gaps. These could include mentorship, experiential learning opportunities, targeted training sessions, and hiring for the additional leadership positions needed.

Continuously assess your leadership strategy to ensure it evolves with changing business priorities and utilize data-driven insights to improve your leadership programs over time.

Leadership isn’t just about guiding teams today; it’s about preparing organizations for the challenges of tomorrow. Without a clear leadership strategy, even the most ambitious business goals can falter. By aligning leadership development with strategic objectives, companies can foster leaders who embody their mission, adapt to change, and inspire growth.

Here are the key takeaways:

• Leadership strategy is the framework for developing leaders, while strategic leadership is how leaders act to execute that framework.
• Failing to align leadership development with strategy may result in your organization falling behind competitors, missing opportunities for growth, and alienating talent. 
• Most established organizations falter with their leadership strategy due to relying on outdated competency models and creating one-size-fits-all development programs. 
• To get started designing a leadership strategy, you’ll need to pinpoint strategic drivers, analyze leadership implications, outline leadership requirements, create tailored development and hiring initiatives, and evaluate and refine your plan.

If you’re interested in discovering more about our leadership coaching and development programs at Careerminds, click below to connect with our experts and determine if we’re the right fit for your organization.

Speak with an Expert

Learn why we're the right partners for you.

Download

Cynthia Orduña

Cynthia Orduña is a Career and Business Coach with a background in recruiting, human resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has helped 50+ companies around the world hire and retain talent in cities like LA, SF, NY, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney, and London. She has also coached over 300 people, from entry to senior levels, in developing their one-of-a-kind career paths, Her work has been featured in publications such as Business Insider, The Balance Careers, The Zoe Report, and more. To learn more you can connect with Cynthia on LinkedIn.