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Strategic leadership: The accomplishment of strategy as a 'perennially unfinished project '
Marian Iszatt-White Leadership 2010 6: 409 DOI: 10.1177/1742715010379310 The online version of this article can be found at: http://lea.sagepub.com/content/6/4/409
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Article
Strategic leadership: The accomplishment of strategy as a ‘perennially unfinished project’
Marian Iszatt-White
Lancaster University, UK
Leadership 6(4) 409–424 ! The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1742715010379310 lea.sagepub.com
Abstract Based on an ethnomethodologically informed ethnography of further education college principals, this paper explores the nature and accomplishment of strategic leadership work as an ongoing, processual activity. In particular, the paper focuses on the ‘pre-implementation’ phase of the strategizing process, and suggests how the practices of clarifying, rehearsing, upholding, adapting and elaborating are integral to maintaining the spirit of the strategy in the face of unforeseen events. In so doing, it adopts the notion of strategy as a ‘perennially unfinished project’ (Knights and Mueller, 2004: 55), and explicates the constant need for improvisation and adjustment in order to successfully implement, not the letter of a strategic plan, but its intent. It also echoes Suchman’s seminal thesis on plans as ‘resources for situated action [that] do not in any strong
Strategic leadership: The accomplishment of strategy as a 'perennially unfinished project '
Marian Iszatt-White Leadership 2010 6: 409 DOI: 10.1177/1742715010379310 The online version of this article can be found at: http://lea.sagepub.com/content/6/4/409
Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Leadership can be found at: Email Alerts: http://lea.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://lea.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://lea.sagepub.com/content/6/4/409.refs.html
>> Version of Record - Jan 20, 2011 What is This?
Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013
Article
Strategic leadership: The accomplishment of strategy as a ‘perennially unfinished project’
Marian Iszatt-White
Lancaster University, UK
Leadership 6(4) 409–424 ! The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1742715010379310 lea.sagepub.com
Abstract Based on an ethnomethodologically informed ethnography of further education college principals, this paper explores the nature and accomplishment of strategic leadership work as an ongoing, processual activity. In particular, the paper focuses on the ‘pre-implementation’ phase of the strategizing process, and suggests how the practices of clarifying, rehearsing, upholding, adapting and elaborating are integral to maintaining the spirit of the strategy in the face of unforeseen events. In so doing, it adopts the notion of strategy as a ‘perennially unfinished project’ (Knights and Mueller, 2004: 55), and explicates the constant need for improvisation and adjustment in order to successfully implement, not the letter of a strategic plan, but its intent. It also echoes Suchman’s seminal thesis on plans as ‘resources for situated action [that] do not in any strong
Citations: http://lea.sagepub.com/content/6/4/409.refs.html >> Version of Record - Jan 20, 2011 What is This? Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 Article Corresponding author: Marian Iszatt-White, Lancaster University, UK Email: m.iszattwhite@lancaster.ac.uk Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 Iszatt-White Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 412 Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 Iszatt-White 413 demands and serve to condition its development’ (Knights and Mueller, 2004: 55–56) as those involved respond to the contingencies of its pursuance Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 414 Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 Iszatt-White Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013 416 Downloaded from lea.sagepub.com by guest on June 3, 2013