Leading with Strategic Thinking

Olson and Simerson's four types of strategic leadership - visionary, directive, incubating, and collaborative - are at once intuitive and reaching. These types of leadership relate to and are meant to describe the ways the individual leader thinks strategically.

Linking strategic THINKING with strategic LEADING was a smart way to proceed with this book. It gives the reader insight into a side of strategic leading not often presented. In fact, I have found many books that struggle to differentiate strategic leading from any other type of leading. Olson and Simerson's book excels in that area. I would have liked to have read about how the authors situate their types of strategic leadership within the contexts of other popular theories/styles of leadership (e.g., transformational, authentic, charismatic, LMX, etc.). I also would have appreciated a connection between strategic thinking, leading, and strategy formulation.

Overall, this was a beneficial read, particularly for students of leadership or those interested in better understanding the strategy process.