Presently, businesses operate in indeterminate and tumultuous environments characterized by cut-throat competition and rapid shifts. Therefore, the need and value of strategic leadership cannot be overemphasized. According to Stowell (2016), strategic management encompasses the creation of a viable and sustainable future for an organization, particularly because the future is in a constant state of change. Organizations need to be ready to take advantage of opportunities that the future provides and be adeptly prepared to deal with any unforeseen, long-term challenges. This shows that regardless of one’s leadership position, whether mid-level, topmost, or a small team or group leader, the organization requires one to be a strategic leader. Significantly, the compulsion to take advantage of opportunities in the future does not necessarily trample the imperativeness of ethical conduct. While looking out for the well-being of their organizations, leaders need to make decisions that consider the well-being of parties and stakeholders that may be impacted by a particular decision. In a world where the media constantly bombards their viewership with reports of ethical misconduct, the significance of effective ethical strategic leaders cannot be overstressed. An analysis demonstrates that to be effective and strategic while still ethical, leaders should exhibit qualities such as foresightedness, teamwork, agility, open communication, the judicious use of power, ability to challenge the status quo, and be ready to take calculated risks.
Foresight
Ethical strategic leaders demonstrate an unmatched foresight. Such leaders seek and work towards the achievement of extraordinary outcomes while considering the impact of their decisions and actions on others. Strategic leaders perceive business opportunities and threats that are not easily perceived by other leaders. They, therefore, have the ability to perceive the unfamiliar. They anticipate changes and expect ambiguous business threats and react wisely to the perceived changes. Schoemaker, Krupp, and Howland (2013) demonstrate the important of wise anticipation and foresight using Lego’s management. The authors posit that the Lego management lacked farsightedness and thus, they did not foresee the looming revolution in the gaming and toys industry. A foresighted leader could have perceived that with the rapidness of changes and shifts in technological advancements, the Lego business is unlikely to survive for long. The new normal is that the business environment has become increasingly intricate, unpredictable, and highly uncertain. Leaders must, therefore, demonstrate foresight to deal and be prepared to deal with the new normal.
Ethical strategic leaders exhibit foresight and demonstrate the capacity to effectively manage, harness, and leverage the change that is constantly happening while still acting ethically. Therefore, while an opportunity may increase the chances for profit maximization, a strategic and ethical leader may forego its implementation and adoption may cause harm to others (Zigarelli, 2014). Foresight in strategic leadership sees such leaders being constantly vigilant, honing their abilities, as well as those of their followers to anticipate change by scanning the environment and going for only the opportunities that do not lead to a violation of personal and organizational ethics. Strategic leaders demonstrate their ability to see farther than the present through their capacity to pick weak signals from within and outside their organizations and industries. Their foresight is also exhibited when they work to develop mutually beneficial broader networks by always taking customers, employees, and even the competitors views into perspective (Stowell, 2016; Carnall and Roebuck, 2015). The Bible encourages strategic leadership, but leaders are advised to undertake actions in a respectable, responsible, and orderly manner (1st Corinthians 14:40). An ethical and strategic leaders will, therefore, shun from taking advantages of opportunities that are indecent in that they violate Godly ways or the laws and regulations that guide a country or a society. Ethical strategic leaders, therefore, exhibit foresight to ensure that they maximize their organization’s competitive advantage.