1.

0 Introduction

In today's global communication environment, rapid change and instant access to information
may be vital to an organization's survival. Leadership and organisational culture have long
piqued the curiosity of academics and practitioners alike. Much of the excitement originates
from the idea that organisational performance is linked to leadership and culture. "Little
critical study has been done to examine the relationships between the two notions," according
to the Ogbonna and Harris (2000). Culture is a set of values that regulate how things are done
in an organisation and generate norms of conduct. When a company picks a new
organisational culture that is regarded to be strategically aligned with its commercial strategy,
it is not like losing a skin.

Belcher (2018) defined "A collection of recognised behaviours that are generally endorsed
inside the group according to organisational culture." Organizational culture, it was later
pointed out, is the collection of norms that exist within a company. Furthermore, the culture
of a corporation has a huge impact on the environment. It's one of the most important aspects
of running a successful business. In the late 1970s, this term was first used in management
literature. One of the situational moderators affecting leadership performance is
organisational culture. Furthermore, this notion incorporates all the characteristics that "glue"
the members of an organisation together. As a result, it has an impact on the
operationalization of the company. As a result, companies, and managers, in addition to
academics, are interested in organisational culture (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy 2006)

In a culture change, there is a sense of purpose and belonging. In these cultures, leaders
function as role models, supporting corporate goals and fostering staff commitment to the
mission and vision of the firm. Leadership is proactive, provocative, and foresightful; good
leaders are expected to know or be able to determine what the future holds for their company.
Good managers, on the other hand, work hard every day to ensure that the company runs
smoothly and efficiently; they are more hands-on and present-oriented (Sarros, Gray and
Densten 2002).

People are trustworthy and purposeful; everyone has a distinctive contribution to make, and
complicated problems are handled at the lowest level possible. Transformational leaders in a
highly imaginative and fulfilling organisational culture are likely to rely on assumptions like
these. Leaders that develop such cultures and communicate them to their followers are
usually visionary and purposeful. They bring people together around a common objective and
enable them to take on more responsibility for its accomplishment. These types of leaders
help and educate their followers. Instead of maintaining the status quo, they encourage a
culture of creative change and advancement. They take personal responsibility for the growth
of their followers. Their supporters believe that all members of an organisation should be
given the opportunity to reach their full potential (Tampubolon and Propheto 2018).

2.0 Organizational culture

A wide range of definitions of organisational culture have been generated because of the
various culture studies undertaken in organisational research, and most of these definitions
are linked to some sort of common meaning, interpretations, values, and norms (Larentis,
Antonello and Slongo 2018). According to Kucharska and Bedford (2019) discussing culture,
the following seven traits are frequently mentioned. Firstly, culture is a holistic term that
refers to phenomena that cannot be limited to a single person; culture encompasses a bigger
group of people. Second, culture has a long history; it is a new phenomenon that is
communicated through traditions and rituals. Third, people prefer to stick onto their beliefs,
values, and customs; culture is inert and difficult to change. Forth, culture is a social
construct; it is a human product that is shared by people of various groups. Culture is not
dictated by human nature; instead, it is created by various groups. Then, culture is ephemeral,
hazy, and difficult to grasp; it is genuinely qualitative and does not lend itself to
straightforward measurement and categorization. In addition, culture is typically described
using terminology like "myth," "ritual," "symbols," and other anthropological terms. Lastly,
culture, rather than the real, objective, and more visible aspect of an organisation, most
typically refers to ways of thinking, values, and views about things.

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business culture description. From anthropology

and sociology to the practical sciences of organisational behaviour, management science, and
organisational communication, the issue has been thoroughly investigated. An organization's
culture is made up of all of the life experiences that each person brings to the company. In a
word, organizational culture may be defined as the glue that ties an organisation and its
employees together while also providing a sense of identity to its members. It includes the
organization's working conditions, interpersonal ties, and shared perspectives among
employees, all of which distinguish it from other companies, because it plays such an
important role in influencing and directing employee behaviour at work, a strong and
acceptable organisational culture is essential for a company to run successfully, efficiently,
and productively (Hilhorst and Schmiemann 2002).

There are several principles of organisational culture were defined as follows by Katzenbach,
Oelschlegel, and Thomas (2016). Firstly, work inside and with current cultural surroundings.
Small modifications, let alone major overhauls, will not be enough to transform deeply
entrenched cultures. The culture like an operating system or a processor, cannot be replaced.
The current cultural environment is what it is to some extent, and it comprises components
that provide natural benefits to organisations as well as components that can act as brakes. It
never come across a society that is completely negative or completely positive. To work
effectively with the culture, it must first study it, analyse which attributes are prominent and
consistent, and determine if these traits will be an assistance or a hindrance in different
scenarios. To put it another way, there is a yin and a yang to cultural qualities.

Secondly, if change behaviour, the thinking will change as well (Katzenbach, Oelschlegel,
and Thomas 2016). It is usually considered that behavioural changes occur in tandem with
mental changes, much like night and day. Therefore, businesses routinely attempt to change
people's ideas and, eventually, behaviour by defining values and presenting them in appealing
brochures. Changes in key behaviours that are tangible, practical, repeatable, visible, and
quantifiable are a good place to start. Empowerment, cooperation, and interpersonal
interactions through establishing mutually acceptable procedures for communicating
problematic problems or grievances are some significant examples of behaviour change that
we've witnessed at several businesses.

Thirdly, it necessarily needs to focus on a few essential behaviours (Katzenbach, Oelschlegel,

and Thomas 2016). Everyone should change anything that isn't ideal, according to
conventional thinking. Businesses, on the other hand, must be very picky when it comes to
choosing behaviours. The idea is to focus on what we refer to as "the critical few," a small
number of key behaviours that, if adopted by many people, would have a significant impact.
Identify a few things that people do in the company that have a positive impact on business
success, such as different ways of opening meetings or engaging with customers. Make sure
it in line with the overall strategy of the organisation. Check to discover if people are
enthusiastic about participating in these activities so that emotional commitment can be
tapped. After that, put them in writing to convert those important behaviours into simple,
daily tasks that everyone can do. Next, identify staff groups that are primed for these few
behaviours, as well as individuals who will respond positively to the new behaviours and are
more likely to implement and disseminate them.

The next principle is making use of genuine informal leaders (Katzenbach, Oelschlegel, and
Thomas 2016). Leadership should not be confused with authority, which comes with a formal
title. Leadership is a natural attribute that may be practised and demonstrated informally
regardless of title or organisational position. True informal leaders, who can be found in any
organisation, are generally overlooked and underutilised when it comes to shaping culture.
Interviews, surveys, and techniques like organisational network analysis, which uses email
data and meeting records to generate maps of complex internal social links, can help identify
such leaders. When leaders are identified, it may become powerful allies who can influence
behaviour by "doing what they say." As companies map out their organisations, it may see
leaders that possess a variety of critical leadership skills.

Lastly, the principle is link with habits to company's objectives (Katzenbach, Oelschlegel,
and Thomas 2016). When it talks about feelings, motivations, and ideals, it's easy for the
conversation to become abstract. As a result, it may deviate far from the requirements for
commercial success. Too many employees leave town halls or values workshops focused on
culture wondering how the advice on how to be a better person applies to their work. Provide
tangible, well-defined examples of how cultural improvements result in improved
performance and financial outcomes to reduce this misperception. Activities that are
specifically targeted toward boosting business success and can be tracked over time are
required of organisations.

Apart from that, inclusivity in organization also be one of the important cultures to
organization as its able help to strengthen the organization. In general, inclusion refers to
"ways by which organisations might maximise the benefits of diversity by fostering and
sustaining full employment and advancement rights, access, and privileges for all
organisational members" (Combs et al. 2019). Inclusion, according to Ferdman and Deane
(2014), is a "means of working with diversity: it is the process and practise by which groups
and organisations can benefit from their diversity." As a result, inclusion is seen as the
opposite of exclusion (Dobusch 2014) and is typically recognised as a positive behaviour.
Inclusion is frequently referred to as a diversity or change management "strategic goal".

However, due to the difficulty in defining what 'ultimate' or entire inclusion would entail, this
appears to be a concern. Treating the workforce as a homogeneous group may stifle the
organization's ability to innovate because diverse people require varied social treatment and
have different concerns (Urick, 2016). Employee development and company growth both
require diversity. As a result, diversity in human resource management is critical for
recruiting, developing, retaining, and managing a diverse workforce (Corritore et al. 2020).

According to Podsiadlowski and Hofbauer (2014), one way that organisations and leaders
contribute to less inclusiveness is by claiming to be gender, racial, or culturally neutral. As a
result, firms form employee resource groups, also known as affinity groups or business
resource groups, which are essentially established networks that provide a friendly
environment for minority or under-represented groups. Individual differences, needs, and
perceptions must be considered in efforts to create inclusive workplaces, as well as an
emphasis on building structures, procedures, and processes that make everyone feel respected
and treated equally.

Employee inclusion perceptions have been linked to a corporate environment defined by

justice, according to Vohra et al. (2015), in such a climate, workers are more willing to speak
up and engage fully, and discrimination and harassment are less prevalent. Additionally,
according to some research, views of inclusion are linked to procedural fairness and the
leader's appreciation of members' efforts. Employee involvement has also been linked to an
open communication environment as well as transparent recruiting, promotion, and growth.
Merit-based practises and policies, senior leadership behaviour, manager behaviour, and
work-life balance, according to a Deloitte report, are the drivers of inclusion.

Similarly, a diversified atmosphere is critical in gathering workers' impressions about the

company, its structure, traits, and dominant values. A diverse atmosphere demonstrates how
much a business values diversity-friendly measures such as diversity training and mentorship
of employees at all levels. Even though many characteristics and elements of variety are
impossible to describe in a single description, renowned researcher Kreitz (2008) defines
diversity as "any major difference that distinguishes one individual from another." Age,
gender, geography, lifestyle, education, and experiences, according to Dobbs (1996), are all
examples of variety (Manoharan & Singal 2017). Any firm must deal with diversity, and it
can be managed and transformed into a source of organisational competency and success.

The fact that disadvantaged employees are less engaged recommends that firms should think
about how they might organise their HR system, procedures, and atmosphere to satisfy
employee expectations and inspire commitment among different people (Moon & Sandage
2019). As a result, inclusion strategies that foster a sense of justice, belonging, individuality,
and diversity among employees are critical for fostering workplace creativity (Manoharan et
al. 2021).

3.0 Culture change

Culture encompasses a wide range of facets of life, including many things take for granted
(Inglehart 2018). It placed a premium on similar habits and actions when defining culture, but
the entirety of life encompasses not just what people do, but also how to think and feel.
Culture, as defined above, is the set of taught behaviours and ideas, such as beliefs, attitudes,
values, and goals, that are unique to a certain society or social group (Sagiv, Roccas,
Cieciuch et. al. 2017). Products or material culture, which are objects like houses, musical
instruments, and tools that are the result of customary conduct, can also be produced by
behaviours.

For the reason of culture change is where if enough people shift their old behaviour and
thinking to new, the internal demand for consistency will cause culture change (Moran,
Karlin, Lauchlan et. al. 2020). Change can also happen when people try to come up with new
and better methods to do things. People confronted with a new problem should do mental or
psychological "experiments" to determine how to respond. These trials could result in the
emergence of novel cultural characteristics. Changes in the external environment may have a
significant impact on culture change (Jassmy, Banacu, and Bhaya 2018). If people migrate to
a desert area, for example, they must either abandon farming or create an irrigation system.
Changes in the social environment are likely to be more frequent stimulus for culture change
in the modern world than changes in the physical environment.

In term of organizational, culture encompasses all a company's employees' behaviours,

including their working language, visions, beliefs, symbols, systems, routines, and standards
(Reid, Bekbalaeva, Bedford et. al. 2021). To increase an organization's performance, a culture
shift is required, as well as a shift in how individuals carry out their jobs. Change in an
organization's culture has both positive and negative consequences (Al Khajeh 2018). In
general, there are few advantages and disadvantages of changing the company's culture. For
the advantages of culture change in the organization, employees will be able to learn new
skills, seek out new opportunities, and use their creativity in ways that will benefit the
business in the long run, resulting in more ideas and higher dedication (Rubin and Abramson
2018). When people have idiosyncratic information that is helpful to others, knowledge
transfer occurs during the process, and learning occurs as a result.

Besides, the capacity to handle change can benefit individuals in a firm by allowing them to
establish new chances (Anning-Dorson 2018). A worker who actively pushes to learning new
office technology, for example, can train others who are less confident. This leadership role
has caused the employee to establish herself as a person who can assist others and take on
additional duties, giving her a credible candidate for approaching promotion.

Then, businesses that can handle or even embrace change can foster an environment that
fosters creativity (Dreyer, Riemer, Spadafore et. al. 2021). Employees will be more willing to
think creatively if a boss or the firm owner acknowledges their thoughts. Employees that are
encouraged to think more creatively will help a company expand over time. A small firm can
achieve success through either a solid product or a smart marketing strategy.

In opposite, the disadvantages of culture change within the workplace are employees will
experience feelings of strain, stress, and uncertainty because of a company's organisational
change, such as restructuring or merging (DeGhetto, Russell and Ferris 2017). This will have
an impact on employees' productivity output, achievement, and engagement with the
organisation. To put it another way, the aftermath can be chaotic. The norm prefers the
foreseeable future, but change throws it off, causing confusion and possibly eroding
confidence. Employees who lose confidence and whose ideas are not recognised and
acknowledged by higher management may experience increased stress, which may result in
them not functioning effectively in their regular job routine.

Following that, employees may sense a loss of attachment because of organisational change.
Change usually necessitates collaborating with new people, such as a new boss or a new team
(Horowitz 2018). Employees will gradually grow attached to their co-workers and acquire a
sense of loyalty to them. The pressure of having to break up this loyalty can be stressful and
cause anxiety. Employees believe the environment is uncertain, have a poor tolerance for
ambiguity, have less freedom, and work at an inconvenient time, therefore they are less likely
to take risks, and hence are less motivated and dedicated to make contributions.

Lastly, employee efficiency may suffer because of organisational change (Day, Crown and
Ivany 2017). This is due to employees devoting a significant amount of time to coping with
organisational changes, causing them to become less attentive to their normal work routines.
Staff adeptness and achievement will suffer because of their lack of attention at work, which
might have an impact on the organization's fundamentals. A lack of proficiency is the
primary cause for an organisational change, as modifications are typically implemented in
order to remodel a more cohesive and productive corporation.

Thus, culture change is frequently the most difficult component of the transformation for
firms aiming to become more flexible and innovative. Innovation necessitates new
behaviours from leaders and employees, which are frequently at odds with traditional
company cultures, which have emphasised operational excellence and efficiency.
Organization development practitioners play a critical role in managing organizational
culture, particularly when it comes to culture change and that few change attempts are
successful, an effective method to managing change is critical. This failure can have a
significant impact on an organization's market position as well as staff engagement and
retention. When an organization embarks on a cultural transformation, the risk of failure is
always present (Dziminska 2020).

A major issue is that evidence fails to identify an agreed or clear definition of organizational
culture, nor reliable methods of measuring it. There is a real need for evaluations of culture
change initiatives to guide practice in making more effective investment decisions (Jones
2021). In fact, employees are more likely to be concerned than excited when a change is
announced at an event because they fear the disruption it will generate. Instead, use a more
low-key strategy and make incremental improvements, such as enlisting change advocates to
appeal to the emotional aspect of change (Hartl 2019).

Individuals in a small team deliberate for a long time before deciding to make a change,
which naturally leads to them rationalizing and defending their decision. This, however,
makes it difficult for them to empathize with individuals who do not have the benefit of
knowing what they do and are learning this news for the first time. To get around this, tell
stories that connect employees to the need for change. Allowing members of the larger
organization to comprehend this should help them recognize the benefits of change rather
than the drawbacks of change (Bradley 2018). In the Figure 1 is shown that steps to attain
desired culture (The Clemmer Group 2021).
Figure 1: Steps to attain desired culture (The Clemmer Group 2021)

There are few ways to change organizational culture as shown as below:

 Prepare a clear vision for the company's future and convey it with the rest of the team
through storytelling.
 Identify key stakeholders for the new vision and encourage the rest of the company to
respond to their needs and desires on a regular basis.
 Do define a manager's role as empowering their team and maximizing the potential of
their talented staff.
 Do not begin rearranging immediately. Defining the aim and ensuring that
management responsibilities and procedures are in place to support it is a better
option.
 Avoid bringing in a new management team. It will be much easier to attain your goals
if you work with present supervisors and people who share your vision.

These ideas highlight the need of leaders better understanding how to match business needs
with the human experience of change at work for everyone in an organization to buy into
culture transformation.
Figure 2: Cultural transformation (Gardner 2021)

4.0 Strategic leaders and strategic leadership

In fact, the common understanding of the leadership is a process or behaviour that promotes
the organization, group, or individual to achieve the desired goal (Drath and Palus 1994;
O'Meara 2002). On this basis, strategic leader is an individual motivated by a positive
willingness to take the initiative to lead the team or organization to a specific goal, and its
behaviour is effective. However, due to the influence of environment, personality, cultural
background and other various situational factors, the effectiveness is unstable and thus cannot
achieve the role of promotion. Therefore, this article defines the nature of leader as the
behaviour and process by which individuals in an organization or team use their active
willingness to guide the organization to achieve or approach specific goals.

The division of the types of leaders are varied in different studies (Berson and Linton 2005;
Goh and Soutar 2005; Omolayo 2007). However, the main types of leaders include the
transformational style, transactional style, laissez-faire style, autocratic style, and democratic
style.

Transformational style
Berson and Linton (2005) believed that transformational leader style is the process of mutual
promotion of familiarity and motivation between leaders and subordinates. In other words,
transformational leader style encourages subordinates and sublimates their subordinates by
advocating lofty values and setting exciting and ambitious goals. The realm of work has
changed from "I want you to do it" to "I want to do it" to improve performance and promote
teamwork for achieving the purpose of effective leadership. Transformational leaders make
employees aware of the importance of their obligations, stimulate the high-level needs of
their subordinates, and establish an atmosphere of mutual trust. In this case, subordinates are
encouraged to sacrifice their own interests for the benefit of the organization to achieve or
exceed the desired results.

Transactional style
Burns (2004) put forward the concept of transactional leader style, which believed that
transformational leader style and transactional leader style are at the two ends of a whole,
which means that the concept of transactional leader style is not independent, it was born
with the concept of transformational leader style. Transactional leader style is characterized
by exchange. It means paying money with one hand and working with the other. Leaders
motivate their subordinates to work hard by providing remuneration, including wages,
bonuses, medical insurance, promotion, and recognition, and subordinates are willing to use
them to meet their specific needs. He further pointed out that transactional leader style and
transformational leader style are two different leadership processes, that is, a leader can
become transactional and transformational leader at the same time.

These two different leader types are not isolated from each other. They are a whole and can
be reflected in a leader at the same time. Leaders can have the characteristics of transactional
leader style and transformational leader style simultaneously, and they can occasionally make
“laissez-faire” decisions, but the difference between leaders is whether the leader tends to be
more transactional leadership or transformational leadership.

Laissez-faire style
There is also a laissez-faire leader style. According to Bass and Avolio (1994), it is an
extreme phenomenon for the establishment of an all-round model. Jones and Rudd (2008)
pointed out that laissez-faire leadership is essentially a non-leadership behaviour. There is
neither transactional leadership nor transformational leadership for subordinates, and it is a
non-leadership behaviour. Antonakis (2003) believed that laissez-faire leaders evaded
decision-making, gave up their own responsibilities, and did not use their powers. Generally,
it is the most passive and inefficient leader style.
Autocratic style
Autocratic leaders are immoral and rarely consider the interests of others. In the pursuit of
self-interest, autocratic leaders exhibit characteristics such as arrogance, control, revenge, and
exploitation. The Resource Conservation Theory (COR) shows that stress at work causes
emotional exhaustion of employees, which in turn affects their physical health, work
behaviour, and irritability and other negative emotions. Therefore, autocratic leaders may
impact the work and life of employees.

Democratic style
From the perspective of the characteristics of democratic leaders, this type of leader pays
attention to the participation of subordinates and conducts open communication, focusing on
democratic consultation and openness. Therefore, democratic leaders can often improve
participants’ awareness of democracy. In this case, by satisfying the autonomous needs of
participants will produce higher participation satisfaction, the performance of democratic
management will be improved. Kane and Patapan (2012) pointed out that democratic leader
meets many social needs of employees, such as recognized needs, appreciated needs, and
autonomous needs, which will result in higher participation satisfaction. Omolayo (2007) also
pointed out that democratic leaders can make subordinates more acceptable to decision-
making and are willing to participate in decision-making and actively implement it.

Thus, different kind of the leader nature may have different strategic leadership competency
to manage the organization. The leadership competency here is refers to the personality
psychological characteristics and practical skills that leaders must possess for effective
leadership. Strategic leader competency mainly focuses on senior managers, by researching
what characteristics they should have, what they do, how they do it, and how they affect
organizational performance. The analysis of strategic leader competencies should have a
comprehensive and group leadership concept and should be based on the strategic decision-
making concept of the organization and the environment, which make strategic leader
competency more important when it acts between individuals, groups, and organizations.

Strategic leaders involve six strategic functions of organizational environment, technology,

strategy, culture, structure, and leadership. Environment refers to all external pressures that
have a potential impact on the organization; technology refers to the transformation process
from input to output; strategy is to state the goals that the organization plans to achieve;
culture is defined as a set of beliefs and assumptions shared by members of the organization;
structure is the composition of various basic planning elements collecting, regularization,
uniformity and control spacing of the allocation of human resources in the organization and
the method of how to achieve one's own goals; leadership includes management and
supervision at all levels personnel (Malekzadeh 1995). Strategic attempts require a certain
balance and matching between strategic elements. The higher the degree of matching, the
greater the potential for organizational effectiveness.

Thus, strategic leader play crucial role as it is a person who is responsible for arranging and
changing the environment, culture, strategy, structure, leadership, organizational technology,
and motivating employees to implement decisions. They not only design and formulate
organizational strategies, but also implement their own strategies, playing a dual role of being
both a setter and an implementer. If the organization has not formulated a strategy or it is
seeking a major change and strategic direction, then senior managers will play a critical role
in formulating the organization's development direction based on their own understanding of
the environment. On the other hand, if the organization already has a successful strategy,
senior management becomes a key factor in the execution of the strategy.

On the other hand, strategic leadership is a management style in which CEOs construct a
vision for their company that allows it to adapt to or remain competitive in a changing
economic and technical environment. This vision can be used by strategic leaders to excite
employees and departments, generating a sense of unity and direction among them to
implement change inside their firm (Alayoubi 2020). The basic goals of strategic leadership
are to streamline procedures, increase strategic efficiency, promote innovation, and foster a
climate that encourages workers to be productive, self-sufficient, and to pursue their own
ideas. Sometimes, strategic leaders are called upon to make decisions (Shao 2019).

To be strategic, leaders must first understand their organization's mission. This entails fully
comprehending why the organization exists, who its consumers are, and how it can best serve
them. Then, strategic leaders must construct a vision for how that mission will look in the
future. Finally, leaders must devise a plan to carry out their goal. The strategy should lay out
the stages or modifications that a corporation must make to progress from its current state to
its intended state (Alayoubi 2020). Strategic leaders should be able to challenge prevailing
viewpoints without facing significant resistance, see the big and small picture at the same
time, adapt to market changes and seize new opportunities, make difficult decisions, balance
an analytical perspective with the human dimension of strategy development, and advocate
for and engage employees. Loyalty to the organization's goal, prudent use of power,
transparency, good communication, problem-solving, readiness to delegate, passion for their
job, compassion and empathy for others, and self-awareness are all key characteristics of an
effective strategic leader (Cortes 2021).

Strategic productivity is the core goal of strategic leadership. Another goal of strategic
leadership is to create an environment where individuals can foresee the organization's needs
while doing their own job. Employees at a company are encouraged to pursue their own ideas
by strategic executives. Strategic leaders use a more extensive compensation and incentive
system to motivate productive and high-quality staff to perform at a higher level for their
company. Functional strategic leadership is about using creativity, perception, and planning
to help someone achieve their aims and goals (Ellinger 2020).

Strategic leadership necessitates the ability to anticipate and comprehend the work. The
following are some of the most important aspects, characteristics, features and qualities of
good strategic leaders that lead to outstanding performance. Firstly, is loyalty which is
through their words and deeds, powerful and effective leaders express their commitment to
their mission. Besides, efficient, and effective leaders stay informed about what is going on in
their company. In the organization, they have a variety of formal and informal sources of
information (Alayoubi 2020). Strategic leaders make extremely intelligent use of their
influence. They must master the power game and work to gain acceptance for their views
rather than imposing them on others. Strategic leaders must be able to regulate distracting or
disturbing moods and wants, which means they must deliberate before acting.

Apart from that, social skills are one of the characteristics of strategic leaders must be
outgoing and pleasant. Then, self-awareness for strategic leaders must be able to recognize
their own moods and feelings, as well as how they affect others (Ellinger 2020). In addition,
delegation and authorization readiness is also important as effective leaders are skilled at
delegation, so they understand delegating will prevent the leaders from being overburdened
with tasks. They also know that empowering subordinates to make decisions will greatly
inspire them. Strong leaders can communicate effectively. Constancy reliability to be
strategic leaders must communicate their vision repeatedly until it gets ingrained in the
organization's culture (Cortes 2021). To summarize, strategic leaders can conceive, convey,
and passionately possess vision, as well as relentlessly pursue it to completion. In the Figure
3 to be shown the advantage and disadvantages of strategic leadership.
Figure 3: Pros and cons of strategic leadership (Wooll 2021)

However, strategic leadership comes with a variety of issues that might have an impact on the
overall success of the strategy's implementation (Mubarak and Yusoff 2019). Based on the
executives' perceptions of who they are and where they want to go change throughout time,
influenced by cultural, social, economic, and political developments. In general, there are two
of the main issues in strategic leadership which are facing external challenges come from
individuals and situations and internal challenges come from the leader with the leadership
role itself (Stowell, 2021). In other words, external challenges can be described as those
posed by people and situations; whereas internal challenges are those posed by the leader
himself and challenges posed by the nature of the leadership role.

In term of external issues to strategic leadership, it can be met by a leader who is proactive,
imaginative, confronts disagreement, builds a firm basis, and maintains impartiality, and
seeking out collaboration opportunities (Maghroori and Rolland 1997). Therefore, leaders
must manage external concerns such as a lack of resources, community opposition, and
interpersonal conflicts within the organisation, as well as social, economic, technological,
legal, and political pressures (Hitt, Keats, and Yucel 2003). An example, external challenges
to strategic leadership such as political interference comes from political parties and leaders
across the country and across the political divide (Berg 2013).
Meanwhile, according to the study states that internal challenges to strategic leadership
includes managing diversity among the organization's employees, as well as limited human
and financial resources, are all factors to consider (Leonard and Grobler 2006). Other
example of the lacking capacity on employees available to handle strategy implementation,
unpreparedness during strategy implementation, decision-making from the top down,
budgeting from the top down, a lack of clear understanding of the role of strategic leadership,
internal expenditure management, and delays in funds disbursements by the National
Government (Bhandari 2018).

Apart from that, various studies also indicated others issue in strategic leadership which is
including managing competition to be consider as a challenge and issue (Cannella, Hambrick,
Finkelstein et. al. 2009). In an industrial setting, business organisations naturally coexist
alongside others as they seek their goals. Each player is in a constant battle with the others to
capture and keep the market's attention (Ireland and Hitt 1999). Unless the market is not fully
served by the products, a company's growth nearly always necessitates a reduction in the size
of its competitors' market. This is a difficult duty and a large order for any organization's
leadership to handle. Furthermore, several environmental circumstances have exacerbated the
difficulty, which are globalization, most industries have been deregulated. and information
technology advancements (Qureshi 2020).

Following that of the issue in strategic leadership is managing change and uncertainty is a
difficult task (Wolff 2019). Humans thrive in environments that provide reliability,
predictability, and stability. The environment in which firms’ function, on the other hand, is
anything but stable (Aslan, Diken and Şendogdu 2011). Change is the rule. This variability
has always existed, but it has recently taken on a more turbulent profile. Soon after the
planning, the foundation for projection and planning changes (Arnold 2020). Government,
society, employees, the market, and other stakeholders' demands, and expectations are more
volatile than ever before. As a result, one of the most difficult skills for leaders to learn is the
ability to keep concentration in the face of change and direction in the face of turmoil.

Then, the innovation challenge would also be one of the issues in strategic leadership (Khan
Nawaz and Khan 2016). Globalization and advances in information technology have
combined to make innovation the rule of competition in a variety of businesses. Leadership
has the difficult burden of producing and launching new items in order to exist. This is a
must-have for companies who want to be market leaders. Anything less than new products
and new delivery methods will not suffice in the face of rising customer expectations and a
technologically driven culture (Pisano 2015). This difficulty necessitates a significant
investment in research and development.

In addition, building capacity for growth is an issue in strategic leadership (Leitch, Lancefield
and Dawson 2016). Increased capacity in many sectors is a requirement of growth. As
businesses develop from small to large, they require a wide range of talents and knowledge.
As a result, the need for capital has risen dramatically (Cabeza-Erikson, Edwards and Brabant
2008). Consultants were needed to do levels of accounting, auditing, training, and recruitment
at a given level. All these show that the leadership with some sort of issue.

Lastly, meeting the demands of various stakeholders is an issue in strategic leadership

(Shoemaker, Krupp and Howland 2013). As businesses grow, their operations begin to affect
a broader range of people (The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal 2009).
Growing businesses receive greater attention from the government and the communities in
which they operate than smaller businesses. Diverse individuals and groups who fund the
organisation are more concerned about its success than they should be. In one way or another,
all these stakeholders have a claim on the company. Governments demand greater tax money,
the public asks that the company be more socially responsible, and workers and shareholders
seek pay raises and dividend increases. The leadership of such organisations faces a
tremendous problem because of the conflicting expectations of many stakeholders (Karim,
Rahman, Berawi et. al. 2007).

5.0 The role of top-level managers

Top level executives play a crucial role in businesses since they are responsible for efficiently
designing and implementing strategy (Lumen 2017). Top level managers' strategic decisions
have an impact on how the company is structured and whether objectives are met. As a result,
having a top management team with exceptional managerial skills is a vital component of
organisational success. When making strategic decisions, including those involving the
effective implementation of initiatives, managers frequently use discretion or flexibility for
action (Finkelstein 1988). Managerial discretion varies dramatically by industry.

In general, Chairman, Board of Directors, Managing Director, General Manager, President,

Vice President, Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.), Chief Financial Officer (C.F.O.), and Chief
Operating Officer are among the top management positions (Lumen 2017). It consists of a
group of critical individuals who are responsible for leading and directing the efforts of
others. Managers at this level have the most power. Obviously, top level managers function
within the organization as a leader, controller, administrator, planner, and entrepreneur
(LaMarco 2018).

In term of leader, managers play a leadership role in companies, particularly when they
manage groups inside them (Rao 2017). In this situation, their primary function is to persuade
the group of members to define and achieve goals. They may perform both task and social
tasks in order to persuade group members to take action (Bccampus 2017). Others argue that
leadership jobs necessitate concern for personnel as well as concern for the task or obligation
(Sparks, Faragher and Cooper 2001). The contingency approaches to leadership, on the other
hand, imply that the type of leader-subordinate relationship, task structure, and the leader's
power position are all important factors in leadership influence. We can envision managerial
decisions in organisations through group actions, based on the definitional talks on leadership
thus far. Managerial leadership necessitates the capacity to effectively communicate, identify
human skills, motivate people, and assess performance (Gilley, Dixon and Gilley 2008).

Following that, the top-level managers also as controller or administrative management

within the organization (Edstrom and Galbraith 1977). The process of ensuring that the
operations that are planned and implemented are carried out is known as general control. As a
result, control entails assessing performance and taking corrective action. In a company, the
administrative manager oversees maintaining control (American InterContinental University
2021). To be an administrator, it must have a full awareness of the aspects that affect the
company's success. A competence in pinpointing the sources of activity is required. Despite
being cognizant of the human factors, the administrator does not allow personal allegiances
and influences to muddy the issues at hand.

Then, for the roles of top-level manager is as a planner (ManagementStudyHQ 2021). It is

also concerned with an organization's current and future success. As a result, he's concerned
about results and metrics. The planner is dedicated to improving the firm's future
performance by capitalising on prospects in the firm's past operations and steering the firm
toward its future performance goals (Gordon 2021). The Planner is meticulous, analytical,
and forward-thinking.

In addition, the top-level manager also acts as an entrepreneur (Toppr 2021). It is a risk taker
who does not plan to extrapolate a company's current internal dynamics into the future. An
entrepreneur, in the true sense, is someone who takes on the risk of business ownership and
manages it profitably (Freedman 2020). Entrepreneurial managerial qualities are required
throughout periods of strategic change, as well as flexibility in contemplating different
business portfolios. By compared to the planner, it will most likely remain incremental at this
time by attempting to extrapolate current business characteristics into the future. However, as
an entrepreneurial, on the other hand, is willing to accept the risk of broadening a company's
current commercial activity (Zahra 2018).

In fact, the key criteria that influence a manager's decision-making especially a top-level
manager authority are external environmental factors such as industry structure, rate of
market growth in the firm's principal business, and degree of product differentiation,
organizational characteristics, such as size, age, resources, and culture, with commitment to
the firm and its strategic aims, tolerance for ambiguity, ability to deal with a variety of
individuals, and aspiration levels are just a few of the manager's traits (Aradhya 2021).
Because strategic leaders' judgments are meant to assist the company acquire a competitive
advantage, managers' discretion in identifying acceptable strategic activities is crucial to the
company's success (Dani 2019). Top executives must be action-oriented, and their decisions
should motivate the organisation to act as well.

Top level executives have a role that necessitates a thorough understanding of the company's
operations as well as the three primary components of the firm's external environment which
are the general, industry, and competition surroundings (Lumen 2019). As a result, businesses
strive to assemble a senior management team that possesses the necessary knowledge and
skills to run the company's internal operations while also being able to deal with all the
company's stakeholders and competitors. This typically necessitates a diverse senior
management team. Individuals with diverse functional backgrounds, experience, and
education make up a heterogeneous top management team. The more diverse a senior
management team is, the more capacity it must design a successful plan (Chartered
Management Institute 2021).

Discussion of the many ideas advanced by team members benefits members of a

heterogeneous top management team (Meng, Yan and Cao 2019). In terms of market share
and above-average returns, the net result of such activities by heterogeneous teams has been
favourable. More variability among top management team members fosters debate, which
frequently leads to better strategic decisions, according to research of Smet, Jost, and Weiss
(2019). As a result, better strategic decisions result in improved business performance. It is
also critical that the members of the senior management team work together. In general, the
more diverse and larger a top management team is, the more difficult it is for the team to
implement strategies efficiently (Shammugam and Marimuthu 2018).

It is also critical that the members of the senior management team work together (Center for
creative leadership 2021). In general, the more diverse and larger a top management team is,
the more difficult it is for the team to implement strategies efficiently. Communication
problems among senior executives with diverse backgrounds and cognitive abilities might
stymie comprehensive and long-term strategy strategies (Fraser Dove 2021). Electronic
communications, on the other hand, can facilitate communication among varied senior
management team members, decreasing the hurdles to face-to-face meetings in some cases.
However, if the process of decision-making is not adequately handled, a group of top
executives with various backgrounds may stymie it. Top management teams may fail to
thoroughly assess dangers and possibilities in certain situations, resulting in a suboptimal
strategic decision. As a result, the CEO must strive for behavioural integration among team
members.

Innovation and strategic change are linked to the characteristics of top management teams
(Lee, Park, Marhold et. al. 2017). More diverse senior management teams, for example, have
been linked to increased creativity and strategic shift. The team's or some of its members'
heterogeneity may force them to "think outside the box" and make more creative decisions as
a result (Li, Zhao, Xia et. al. 2018). As a result, companies that need to change their strategies
are more likely to do so if their senior management teams have a varied set of skills and
backgrounds. When a new CEO is appointed from outside the industry, the chances of
strategic change are higher than when the new CEO is hired from within the company or
within the industry. While bringing in a new CEO from outside the industry broadens the
team's diversity, the top management team must be well-managed to make the most of it. As
a result, the CEO should lead transformational change to achieve strategic goals. A top
management team with a diverse set of skills is more likely to notice environmental changes
either is opportunities and dangers or internal changes that necessitate a shift in strategy
(McKinsey 2020).

One of the examples is board of directors play crucial role as top-level management which is
as an important governance tool for overseeing a company's strategic direction and
representing the interests of stakeholders, particularly shareholders (Price 2019). In fact,
when the board of directors is more closely involved in setting a company's strategic
direction, it usually results in superior performance. Boards of directors, on the other hand,
may have a hard time directing the strategic decisions of powerful CEOs and top
management teams. It's not uncommon for a powerful CEO to add a few friendly outside
members to the board of directors, or for internal board members to report to the CEO. In
either situation, the CEO may have a lot of influence over the board's decisions. Thus, the
board of directors and how it decides to oversee the CEO's actions and the senior
management team determine the amount of discretion a CEO has in making strategic
decisions (Cannella et. al. 2009).

6.0 One interview session with an industry manager (s) regarding one of the above
topics in order

The interview is conducted at dated 09th November 2021 through “Zoom Meeting” from
3.00pm to 5.30pm. The interviewee called Mr. Siah Chan Ping is one of the General
Managers for the company the construction companies that specialises in the field of
swimming pools, which is SCRC JAYA Sdn Bhd. It is a well-known name in the Malaysian
swimming pool sector, having been in business since June 1988. The office of company is
located at No. 47-1, Jalan Medan Setia 1, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.

The brand of system in use for swimming pool is known as a 'Hybrid Pool' which is an
Australian technology that is set to be adopted in Malaysia. Currently, ‘Hybrid Pools’ are
licenced by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) with Grade 5 and
categories B, C, E, and ME, with Certified Pool Operator (CPO) recognised by the National
Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF), which is also the region's only hybrid pool builder.

The interview topic will be related to the role of top-level managers. According to the
interview, Mr. Siah stated that he has overseen the company for about ten years after
graduating from school, and that it is also a family business with a current personnel count of
more than 20 people.

Besides, in Mr. Siah viewpoint that the role of top-level managers is basically focus to
planning, organizing, controlling and decision-making. Mr. Siah gives the example of
maintaining a swimming pool, which necessitates scheduling, organising the event when it is
to be held, controlling, and maintaining the quality of the products, and finally making
decisions about the course of action.
Apart from that, from the viewpoint of Mr. Siah regarding to the key managerial
characteristics, he considers having effective communication skills is critical because it
allows to communicate with the employees clearly and conducive to a positive working
relationship to create good culture within the company and also important to have good
problem-solving skills because it will help solve problems and improve company
performance. As a result, it can conclude that effective managers play the role is recognise
that one of their most important duties is acquiring the trust of their employees, customers,
and other stakeholders due to the importance of recognises the need of having organisational
structures and practises that promote trust at all levels which improve everyday interactions,
as well as in driving organisational transformation and dealing with crises.

In conclusion, organizational culture and strategic leadership have a significant relationship.

Every firm has its own distinct culture, which contributes to the company's competitive edge.
It is a critical component that will assist a business in protecting and maintaining its
competitive advantage over its competitors. Strategic leaders, on the other hand, are those
who are familiar with the national cultural values of the business in which they operate to
ensure that management and corporate practises are acceptable and effective in the
organization's operations. When a result, as the organisation grows, culture must be valued as
well as carefully considered and implemented. As a result, as an organisation continues to
grow, treasure, and apply its culture to strategic management, it will assist the company in
achieving its goals and leaders' vision.
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