Publications
Publications
- July – August 2011
- Harvard Business Review
The New Psychology of Strategic Leadership
Abstract
In this article, it is argued that today's dominant ideas about the practice of business strategy-defined by Porter three decades ago-hinge on a specific and therefore partial interpretation of competition. The result is an equally partial picture of the strategist's job. The problem lies not in what strategists are trained to do: Porter's perspective is powerful—so powerful that it has dominated both the teaching and the practice of business strategy for 30 years. The problem lies instead in what strategic leaders are not trained to do. In caricature, Porter's view casts strategists as practitioner economists who expertly analyze and manage market forces. It is suggested that strategic leaders must also be practitioner psychologists who expertly analyze and manage their own and others' thought processes.
Keywords
Cognition and Thinking; Leadership; Business Strategy; Training; Experience and Expertise; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Competition; Markets
Citation
Gavetti, G. "The New Psychology of Strategic Leadership." Harvard Business Review 89, nos. 7-8 (July–August 2011): 118–125.