The Role of Strategic Leadership during Change

Abstract

The modern business environment is highly dynamic due to numerous forces that interact with each other to affect organizations. Firms respond to these changes resulting in change programs, which affect the whole organization as a system. This study focuses on the role of strategic leadership on successful change management and how strategic leaders ensure effective management of strategic change programs. The study employed survey research design with a sample of 173 respondents drawn from executive directors, senior managers and managers through stratified sampling who were picked by simple random sampling from airlines. Self-administered questionnaires and personal interviews were used as well as data from books, journals, periodicals, company reports, press releases and the internet. Data analysis was done using descriptive analysis (percentages, frequencies and averages) followed by data presentation on bar graphs and tables. The study concludes strategic leadership is ultimate for success of change programs as it directs all organization resources towards a common goal by effectively motivating employees to achieve a desired common change vision. It is recommended that change leaders and policy makers know the roles they want strategic leadership to play during change and they integrate the numerous resources involved to achieve the change vision.

Keywords: Strategic Leadership, strategic change, organization, change leaders, change programs