o ³6WUDWHJLFOHDGHUVKLSHQWDLOVWKHDELOLW\WRLQWHJUDWHVKRrt- and long-term visions of the
ILUP ́(Hitt et al., 1994, p.30).
o ³Strategic leadership is the ability to influence others to voluntarily make day-to-day
decisions that enhance the long-term viability of the organization, while at the same
time maintaining its short-term financial stability ́ (Rowe, 2001, p.81-82).
o ³6WUDWHJLFOHDGHUVKLSLQYROYHVDFWLYDWLQJDJHQGDVWKDWLQIXVHRUJDQL]DWLRQVQRWMXVWZLWK
change visions, but also with sustained capacity for change implementation. Therefore,
the leadership needs to accept the change / stability paradox in order to understand the
complexity of change as a collective and multi-level organizational competency ́
(Taylor-Bianco & Schermerhorn, 2006, p.459).
o ³6WUDWHJLFOHDGHUVKLSSURPRWHV³VWUDQJHDWWUDFWLRQ ́LQRUJDQL]DWLRQVSURYLGLQJEDODQFH
between the inertia of Weberian-style bureaucracy and anarchy. To appreciate the ways
in which strategic leadership impacts organizations, it is useful to discuss organizations
as complex adaptive systems with strategic leadership providing the balance between
complete stability and unmanageable disorder ́ (Boal & Schultz, 2007, p.412).
These descriptions point to the enduring and overarching issue in the management sciences that an
RUJDQL]DWLRQ¶V ORQJ-term success depends on its ability to exploit its current capabilities while
simultaneously exploring fundamentally new competencies (Levinthal & March, 1993; March, 1991)
(see Figure 5.2 for a graphic display).
FIGURE 5-2: EXPLORATION - EXPLOITATION DICHOTOMY
Although the importance of strategic leadership in pursuing exploration and exploitation has been
acknowledged (Smith & Tushman, 2005; Tushman & O'Reilly, 1996), the specific means through
which leaders influence exploitation and exploration are still under-developed.