strategic leadership model were operationalized in terms of behaviors. An exploratory factor analysis
was undertaken on a dataset including 80 managers (rated by 513 colleagues) drawn from an
international engineering firm, in order to demonstrate the four-factor structure of the strategic
leadership model.
Validation of strategic leadership measurement
The resulting strategic leadership measurement instrument was tested with a different sample,
consisting of 158 (rated by 486 colleagues) managers in leadership positions, drawn from different
organizational levels and various industry contexts, to demonstrate the factor structure and internal
validity of the strategic leadership measurement instrument. Lastly, the discriminant validity of the
strategic leadership measurement was tested against a widely used measurement for supervisory
leadership, i.e. transformational leadership, to establish the distinctiveness of the strategic leadership
concept.
Application of strategic leadership
Following the studies aimed at operationalizing the strategic leadership model and validating the
measurement, two application studies were conducted, relating strategic and supervisory leadership to
different effectiveness measures. First, both leadership concepts were related to the most-widely used
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Second, given the very complexity of the interaction with the organizational environment, putting a
lot of strain on the single leader, an alternative source for leadership was sought in terms of strategic
leadership performed by the team. As such, the last application of strategic leadership considered the
team as the unit of analysis, relating strategic leadership as shared by the team to the outcome of team
effectiveness (including external-oriented effectiveness measures). The first application study
included 182 leader-follower dyads. The latter study was based on 29 teams of managers (in total 139
managers rated by 443 colleagues). See Figure 3 for the research design.
Figure 3: Research design