Journal of Strategic Management Studies

Journal of Strategic Management Studies

Leadership style and strategic thinking with the role of empowering employees

Document Type : Research

Author
Hassan Khalili
Assistant Professor, Faraja Institute of Law Enforcement Sciences and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/smsj.2024.407600.1947
Abstract
Introduction: Today, organizations are facing problems that are becoming more complicated every day due to the drastic changes in the surrounding environment and technology. Solving it requires leadership style, creative thinking and organizational productivity. The present research has examined the relationship between leadership style and strategic thinking with the mediating role of employee empowerment. This research has been done with a descriptive-survey approach. The studied population was 240 employees of Isfahan Police Command, of which 148 employees were selected using Cochran's formula and simple random sampling.
Methodology: In order to collect the data of this research, the standard questionnaires of Hatton and Venk's leadership style, the researcher-made questionnaire of strategic thinking with 40 items and the standard questionnaire of employee empowerment with 35 items were used. SPSS 18 and PLS Smart software were used for data analysis.
Results and Discussion: The findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between leadership styles, strategic thinking and employee empowerment at the organizational level. The results of the research findings indicate that the choice of ethical leadership styles, transformational leadership, as well as paying attention to the dimensions of systemic thinking, conceptual and intuitive thinking, have a very important role in improving the job performance of the police, and on the other hand, it is one of the components of Empowerment of employees is having transformative leadership styles of decision-making managers, as a result of which it is possible to improve the mission of employees, increase productivity and work discipline, which was the main goal of the researcher to achieve this issue. The transformational leader develops admiration, respect and loyalty in his followers with the influence of his charisma, which causes a common commitment in the organization. By motivating employees mentally, he brought about the emergence of creativity and the creation of innovative solutions for problems. Through motivation, it creates enthusiasm and appropriate behavior in employees and draws a clear picture of the future of the organization (proper vision). With proper communication with employees, he understands their needs and by meeting them, he takes steps to develop their capacities and, as a result, increase their commitment and effectiveness. Also, by emphasizing the vision, managers can connect the thoughts of employees towards the goal and excellence of the organization, and by creating harmony and supporting creative ideas through spiritual and material rewards, they can be a platform for the development of employees' potential capacities. Also, by delegating authority and involving employees in decision-making, they should empower and perform better in the organization. Managers should identify the emotions and feelings of employees and meet their needs by establishing a friendship relationship, as well as by rewarding and encouraging them for their efforts and Appreciate their effort, according to the results of the research, it is suggested that the law enforcement organization should create a meaningful relationship between the empowerment of employees and the organizational thinking of managers by following leadership styles. On the other hand, if there are managers with a transformational leadership style, the law enforcement organization can play a very important role in facing law enforcement crises and manage the upcoming crises with timely decisions. Organizations will be successful and effective if their leaders, by adopting the appropriate leadership style and the influence they have on the employees, can motivate them and make their efforts aligned and coherent in order to achieve the goals and excellence of the organization. Therefore, to achieve this, organizations will need leaders with strategic thinking skills, who will develop this skill at the organization level and create a competitive advantage for the organization. In general, the process of strategic leadership starts from within the organization and based on the analysis that the leader makes of the strategic environment and the members of the organization.
Conclusion: Then the leader formulates the vision of the organization based on individual and organizational values and using technical, emotional and spiritual skills. In the next step, based on what industry the organization operates in, who are its customers, what are its main capabilities and what products and services it provides, the mission and strategic goals of the organization are formulated. Strategic objectives are the basis for preparing strategies, which can be formulated at organizational levels, work departments, and even at individual and operational levels. Of course, in this context, one of the effective methods is to compare oneself with other colleagues and competitors and model their activities. One of the most difficult stages of the strategic leadership process is the change process, which if implemented correctly and leads to learning, we can hope that the achievement of organizational effectiveness has been achieved.
Keywords
Leadership style
Transformational leadership
Strategic thinking
Systemic thinking
Employee empowerment
External employees

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 27 October 2023
  • Revise Date 23 January 2024
  • Accept Date 29 May 2024