FIGURE 2-1: LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
2.3 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUPERVISORY AND STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
Researchers seem to agree on how to distinguish strategic leadership from supervisory leadership,
understandings pertaining to the incorporation of external elements, the extent of reach and the link
with organizational level.
For a long time it was assumed that the domain of organizational members was largely internal, and
that relatively few members were in boundary-spanning roles (Thompson, 1967). Strategic leadership,
however involves influencing not merely those elements internal to an organization but external as
well (Finkelstein & Hambrick, 1996; Rowe, 2001). A large proportion of leadership responsibilities
that strategic leaders take on involves direct boundary management between the external and internal
environment (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). This aspect is not included in the concept of supervisory
leadership as currently defined and studied.
Moreover, the influence of strategic leadership extends to the whole organization or its major
segments, whereas supervisory leaders exert their influence primarily on their immediate
subordinates. Unlike supervisory leaders, strategic leaders are expected to influence some, if not
many, in their organizations that are not their direct reports.