The Senior Leader as Both a Strategist and Technical Specialist

Abstract

As we plunge further into the twenty-first century, the role of senior leader continues to change and evolve. OD practitioners need to be aware of these changes if they are going to be in the best position to consult to senior leaders. The litany of trends impacting organizations and their leaders is now familiar – globalization, technology expansion, organizational streamlining, increasing knowledge work, the significance of design playing a larger role in products and services (Pink, 2005), aging workforces and populations, multi-cultural workforces, and increasing complexity. Of particular importance in this essay are the trends of organizational streamlining, increasing knowledge work, design issues playing a larger role in products and services, and increasing complexity.

Keywords: Senior, Leader, Strategist, Technical, Specialist