Leadership
Levels
The above figure shows the
perspectives of the three levels of
leadership: direct, organizational, and strategic.
DIRECT
LEADERSHIP
Direct leadership is
face-to-face, first-line leadership. It takes place in those organizations
where subordinates are used to seeing their leaders all the time. The
direct leader’s span of influence, those whose lives he can reach out
and touch, may range from a handful to several hundred people.
Direct leaders develop their
subordinates one-on-one; however, they also influence their organization
through their subordinates.
For direct leaders there is more
certainty and less complexity than for organizational and strategic
leaders. Direct leaders are close enough to see—very quickly—how
things work, how things don’t work, and how to address any problems.
ORGANIZATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
Organizational leaders may
influence several hundred to several thousand people. They do this
indirectly, generally through more levels of subordinates than do direct
leaders. The additional levels of subordinates can make it more difficult
for them to see results. Organizational leaders have staffs to help them
lead their people and manage their organizations’ resources. They
establish policies and the organizational climate that support their
subordinate leaders.
Organizational leadership skills
differ from direct leadership skills in degree, but not in kind. That is,
the skill domains are the same, but organizational leaders must deal with
more complexity, more people, greater uncertainty, and a greater number of
unintended consequences. They find themselves influencing people more
through policymaking and systems integration than through face-to-face
contact.
Organizational leaders focus
on planning and mission accomplishment over the next two to ten years. Getting
out of their offices and visiting the parts of their organizations where
the work is done is especially important for organizational leaders. They
must make time to get to the field to compare the reports their staff
gives them with the actual conditions their people face and the
perceptions of the organization and mission they hold.
STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP
Strategic leaders are
generally responsible
for large organizations and may influence several thousand to hundreds of
thousands of people. They establish organizational structure,
allocate resources, and communicate strategic vision.
Strategic leaders work in an
uncertain environment on highly complex problems that affect and are
affected by events and organizations outside their own.
Strategic leaders apply many of
the same leadership skills and actions they mastered as direct and
organizational leaders; however, strategic leadership requires others that
are more complex and indirectly applied.
Strategic leaders, like direct
and organizational leaders, process information quickly, assess
alternatives based on incomplete data, make decisions, and generate
support. However, strategic leaders’ decisions affect more people,
commit more resources, and have wider-ranging consequences in both space
and time than do decisions of organizational and direct leaders.
Strategic leaders often do not
see their ideas come to fruition during their "watch" and their
initiatives may take years to plan, prepare, and execute. In-process
reviews (IPRs) might not even begin until after the leader has left the
job. This has important implications for long-range planning. On the other
hand, some strategic decisions may become a front-page headline of the
next morning’s newspaper.
Perhaps of paramount importance—because they exert
influence primarily through subordinates—strategic leaders
must develop strong
skills in picking and developing good second-tier leaders.
Source: US Army Field
Manual 22-100
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