**6. Characteristics of strategic leadership**

Strategic leaders' tasks and responsibilities include leading and managing change and making use of the organization's unique resources to ensure the organization's successful evolution. To be effective, a strategic leader must provide direction to the organization in a way that everyone can comprehend and appreciate [10]. Long-term and often major organizational changes are part of the work of strategic leaders, who have a wide range of responsibilities. Strategic leadership is a learning process that uses a combination of thinking, acting, and persuading skills to move an organization in the direction of long-term success. In other words, strategic leaders are excellent managers and leaders who are continually looking for ways to improve.

Strategic leadership is a continuous process and a cycle. 'It is not enough just to 'think,' 'plan,' and 'reflect', people expect to see things happen. This cycle involves (1) assessing where we are. The nurse leader conducts environmental analysis in the facility, or department to know where they are. The environmental analysis involves both internal and external analysis. The internal analysis includes identifying the strengths and capabilities of staff, resources, vision, mission, policies, objectives, activities accomplished previously, etc. The weakness of the organization should also be identified such as staff and resource inefficiencies, etc. the external analysis will help you to identify the opportunities and threats within the environment. The data gathered from this analysis will then be analyzed. (2) Understanding where we are and want to be – Mission, vision. The nurse leader analyses all the data gathered in step (1) to understand the current situation. (3) Learning how to get there —Planning and using strategies that will continue to define us. This involves critical analysis of the data gathered, studying other successful organizations, and using benchmarks to develop plans and strategies. Again, organization of resources as well as alignment and mobilization of staff. (4) Making journey—Implementing tactics. Implementation starts with monitoring and evaluation together with inspiration. The nurse leader monitors all activities being implemented to ensure the right things are done or take corrective actions where necessary. Nurses are inspired throughout the process to maintain the momentum of implementation thus, encouraging creativity and innovation to enhance core competencies. (5) Checking progress—Current performance. The nurse leader continuously checks all the activities been accomplished to sustain enthusiasm by motivation through acknowledgement and praise. Thus, the strategic organization is all about continually becoming. Strategic leadership involves discovery more than determination and is not reserved for those at the top only.

Essential for nurse managers are the provision of direction, application of strategic thinking for policymaking, a clear plan of action, balance long and short-term goals; develop ownership; build partnerships; leading by example and a succession plan for

#### *Strategic Leadership in Nursing DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104512*

the future of the organization. This creates a balance between short-term and longterm goals, strategic leadership in oneself and others, making words into action (making the journey), monitoring the progress, and changing course if necessary are all significant for nurse managers. They need to be able to think, act, and have an impact. A nurse manager's strategic strategy is nothing more than that. The judgments and choices that an organization makes when they implement or fail to implement the plan constitute a real strategy.

Everyone, not only the CEO or nurse leader, has a role to play in strategic leadership. A collection of processes cannot adequately describe this never-ending cycle of personal, group, and organizational growth. It aims at helping senior executives and future leaders build and maintain a focus on the 'essential few' factors that have been determined to be most critical to the long-term success and competitiveness of the organization. All these aspects are necessary for organizations to be long-term winners in the face of change and uncertainty and to continually give value to all of their main stakeholders—including society—no matter how challenging the environment. The 'roadmap' is the executive blueprint for moving the organization to the next level of performance and competitiveness. These important performance components should be included.

To be effective, a strategic leader must have transformative powers, act morally and politically when appropriate, prioritize the relationship between the organization and its environment, and possess strong managerial skills. Successful strategic leaders, according to Cousins [11], have specific cognitive and conceptual abilities. According to him, they are analytical, creative thinkers who can thrive in a dynamic and complicated environment because of their analytical, creative, innovative, reflective, and proactive thinking abilities [11]. As a healthcare organization, nursing necessitates leaders who possess these traits to achieve and maintain a competitive edge.
