Leadership Levels in an Organization

Leaders are members of an organization charged with the responsibility of increasing efficiency and effectiveness levels of the groups they lead.  To lead well, leaders enjoy a mixture of both formal and informal sources of organizational power that they employ to positively influence organizational resources – Human, technical, and financial. They are expected to utilize their power bases to apply available resources in achieving organizational task, enhancing group work, and developing individuals.

There are typically three levels of leadership in an organization. These are strategic, organizational, and direct level. The number of strategic leaders is normally fewer than that of organizational leaders. Majority of the leaders in an organization are direct. They lead mainly only the people who report to them directly – bottom line employees. The shape of organizational leadership in reference to the number of people involved resembles a pyramid - many direct leaders, few organizational leaders, and fewer strategic leaders

This essay discusses possible job titles, primary responsibilities, and the path an individual can take to hold positions at the three levels of leadership found in an organization.

Strategic Leaders

There are several labels that are used to refer to strategic leaders of an organization. Examples are top-level managers, top managers, senior management and/or management executives. Strategic leaders normally hold positions at the echelon level of an organization. Holders of such positions bear such titles as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chairperson of the Board, Corporate Affairs Head, Founder and Chairman, Group Managing Director, Group Leader.

Holders of these positions would normally constitute what is commonly referred to as the top management team. Top management team is made up of the holders of strategic positions lead by the Chief Executive Officer.

The work of top management team is to make organization wide decisions rather than departmental or sectional ones. It sets goals for the organization and directs the company to achieve them. The overall objective of the top management or strategic leadership is to improve the performance of the organization through creation of synergy among the different sets of departments, groups, and individuals.

Strategic leaders are expected to possess exceptionally good managerial experience. Often they are the employees of an organization who have climbed up the ranks of management within the organization or in another similar organization.  Founders of organizations become strategic leaders organically. As their baby organizations grow, they too grow position wise.

Advance education is a necessary prerequisite to becoming a strategic leader. A Masters in Business Administration, Communication, or Organizational Leadership is vital but not a must for one to master the art of strategic management and leadership. Some organizations prefer to engage top executives from other organizations. Others prefer to develop their own leaders from within. They prepare junior staff for strategic leadership through leadership development activities like leadership coaching and mentoring. Such organizations would normally have in place clear succession plan for identifying potential leaders.

Organizational Level Leaders

Organizational leadership commonly referred to as middle-level management, comprise of departmental leaders, divisional leaders, and other middle level managers. These are the leaders who hold leadership positions in an organization those of the strategic leaders. Common titles of organizational leaders include General Manager, Plant manager, Marketing Manager, Communication Manager, Research and Development Manager, Regional manager, and Divisional manager. Holders of such positions execute goals strategic leaders have set for them. To do so they in turn set goals for the leaders of departments and business units.

The leadership excellence of organizational leaders is observable from three stand-points. First, one can observe how they communicate with direct leaders in order to motivate them towards the achievement of business objectives. Second, one can observe the way they communicate with strategic leaders as they offer suggestions and receive feedback. Third, one can observe their cross functionality to see how they work together to move the organization forward. Organizational leadership is pivotal to the well-being of an organization. Since it gets more involved in the day-to-day operation of the organization than strategic leadership does, it should be expected to be an important purveyor of vital information instrumental to the strategic leadership of the organization within its sector and the wider business environment.

Depending on the size of the organization and the number of organizational leadership positions, an organizational leader could lead a small or a huge number of direct leaders as well as report to a small or a sizeable number of strategic leaders. Normally, an organizational leader is either an employee of the organization that has been promoted from among direct leaders or a person recruited from another organization through external recruitment. The next level of development for an organizational leader is to become a strategic leader and focus his or her attention to external issues impacting on organizational performance.

Direct Leaders

Direct leaders are commonly called supervisors. Job titles often used to refer to direct leaders include Office Manager, Shift Supervisor, Department Manager, Foreperson, Team leader, Warehouse Manager. The basic responsibility is the daily management of employees who directly produce organizational outputs – products or services. Each work unit established within an organization is expected to have a direct leader. The influence of the direct leaders on an organization should be obvious. On behalf of the organization, direct leaders involve themselves daily with line employees. Therefore, if direct leadership of an organization is wanting then organizational performance would be wanting too. A large number of employees can easily lose its focus and motivation because of poor direct leadership.

To become a direct leader in a given organization one requires basic education. Proof of a four-year bachelor’s degree program taken in a recognized college or university is mandatory for one who aspires for direct leadership position in future. To stand a better chance for promotion from among line employees one would also need to demonstrate communication and leadership skills.

Conclusion

The purpose of this essay was to delineate the four levels of leadership found in an organization and to highlight possible job titles, primary responsibilities, and the path an individual can take to hold positions at each levels. It was suggested that leadership in an organization can be understood as comprising of strategic, organizational, and direct levels. The higher the level of leadership in an organization the more strategic it becomes. The lower the level of leadership in an organization the more direct it becomes. Whereas a direct leader leads those directly under him or her, a strategic leader encounters a number of layers before he or she can reach the led. Strategic leadership is leading through other leaders. Its success demands an excellent organizational leadership and an influential direct leadership.