Leadership is a recognised pillar of practice for all UK healthcare professionals and is critical at the advanced and consultant levels. A six-month national fellowship secondment provided experience and exposure to strategic level leadership activities for a cohort of imaging and oncology practitioners. During the fellowship, their self-perceptions of personal and professional leadership development were evaluated to identify the impact of the secondment. Seven secondees were recruited to the fellowship in 2023. The multi-method evaluation comprised pre and post-secondment surveys alongside analysis of work activity diaries. Individual reflective diaries provided qualitative data subsequently analysed using narrative inquiry methodology. The surveys demonstrated a significant increase in self-rated confidence levels associated with leadership development and skills attainment in relation to communication (Z = -3.42; p = 0.01), networking (Z = -4.61; p < 0.01), policy (Z = -4.11; p < 0.01) and management (Z = -6.7; p < 0.01). In-depth analysis of the reflective diaries corroborated these findings, and four clear narrative threads were identified as being central to their experiences: self-belief, independence, partnering and visioning. The fellowship opportunity improved the practitioner's self-perception of their own leadership skills development. The evaluation also highlighted specific areas of leadership which they had not been exposed to previously, and which then having experience in via the secondment, were identified as being of benefit to them in future strategic leadership activities. Non-medical practitioners working at advanced and consultant levels are not exposed to sufficient leadership development opportunities and therefore greater support for practitioners looking to align to higher levels of practice is necessary. Experiential opportunities working with leaders at system, regional or national levels, or dedicated education and training programmes that focus on key skills are required to successfully operate at this level of practice.

Competencies and leadership attributes for radiographer-led management in clinical practice: A document analysis of job advertisements in the United Kingdom.

Linking strategic leadership to innovation and competitive advantage: The roles of strategic choices and organizational culture in SMEs

In today’s competitive business environment, the importance of cultivating a strong and positive organizational culture cannot be overstated. A resilient culture does not emerge by accident; it requires intentional focus, strategic leadership, and consistent effort. Organizational culture naturally evolves over time, whether through strategic realignment, or workforce growth and demographic shifts. Regardless of the cause, these changes can yield either positive or negative outcomes depending on how they are managed. One effective approach to managing cultural evolution is through the application of organizational development (OD) tools. By aligning people, processes, and strategy, OD interventions can strengthen communication, optimize job design, and enhance employee retention three critical elements in building a thriving corporate culture. This article explores how OD tools can be leveraged to create a positive workplace environment characterized by trust, engagement, and collaboration. In doing so, it emphasizes that effective communication, thoughtful job structuring, and retention-focused strategies form the foundation of a sustainable and high-performing organizational culture. Effective communication fosters transparency and trust, ensuring alignment between leadership intent and employee understanding. Optimized job design promotes purpose, clarity, and motivation by aligning individual roles with organizational goals. Finally, robust retention strategies help sustain a culture of commitment and belonging, reducing turnover and supporting organizational continuity. Together, these elements form an integrated approach to cultivating a positive corporate culture that enhances organizational performance, employee satisfaction, and long-term sustainability.

Purpose This research formulates an integrative framework bridging established strategic theories and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in Ibero-American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), addressing how resource-constrained organizations navigate digital transformation challenges. Design/methodology/approach Employing a structured narrative literature review following Torraco (2016) and Juntunen and Lehenkari (2021), this study synthesizes 72 articles from multiple databases (2015–2024). The analysis integrates resource-based view (RBV), dynamic capabilities theory and institutional theory through thematic synthesis and systematic coding procedures. Findings Four interrelated drivers enable SMEs to overcome resource constraints: strategic synchronization, leadership commitment, technology sensing and institutional bridging. These drivers result from iterative thematic synthesis, demonstrating how organizational antecedents interact with contextual moderators through implementation processes to generate performance outcomes. Originality/value The framework extends strategic management theories to emerging market contexts, offering eight testable propositions linking capability development to AI-driven performance. For practitioners, findings highlight how SME leaders can align AI initiatives with strategic capability growth to improve competitiveness despite resource limitations.

Strategic collaborations and visionary leadership are widely acknowledged as crucial facilitators of innovation, academic excellence, and sustainable development within higher education, particularly in African contexts, where universities must align with socio-economic priorities and enhance cross-sector partnerships. This systematic review sought to examine the culture of strategic collaborations and visionary leadership at Kisii University, Kenya, to identify challenges, opportunities, and best practices for embedding these elements to enhance institutional growth, research output, resource mobilisation, competitiveness, and regional development. A structured, systematic review methodology was employed, utilising peer-reviewed and policy literature sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and institutional repositories through Boolean-combined keywords related to collaboration, leadership, higher education, Kenya, and Kisii University, focusing on publications from the last decade. Eligible qualitative and quantitative studies pertinent to strategic collaborations, leadership models, and institutional culture were thematically synthesised and critically appraised, guided by Transformational Leadership Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, and the Collaborative Advantage Framework. The systematic review of the available literature revealed that Kisii University’s collaborations are fragmented, with reported engagement of less than 30% of potential stakeholders, alongside weak internal coordination and communication (fewer than 50% of departments reported effective inter-unit communication). These deficiencies coincide with a 25% decline in joint research projects and 40% underutilization of partner funding over five years, indicating suboptimal partnership management and constrained external resource leverage. Visionary leadership was deemed insufficiently cohesive to align institutional goals with collaborative opportunities and national agendas such as Vision 2030. Faculty and staff resistance was notable, with 45% perceiving collaboration as bureaucratic rather than value-adding. This systematic review uniquely contributes to the literature by integrating diverse theoretical frameworks (Transformational Leadership, Resource Dependence, Collaborative Advantage) with empirical evidence to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of the specific challenges and opportunities for strategic collaborations and visionary leadership at Kisii University. The resulting synthesis offers a novel, context-specific framework for understanding and addressing institutional inertia, ultimately proposing actionable and evidence-based reforms to enhance Kisii University's research capacity and societal impact.

This study examines the readiness of Saudi higher education institutions for the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) accreditation through a document-based, exploratory analysis of strategic plans, self-studies, annual program reports, and compliance review reports. The analysis is guided by NCAAA accreditation standards and selected international quality assurance benchmarks to assess institutional preparedness and alignment with these standards. The evaluation covers eight criteria: strategic planning, integrity and transparency, teaching and learning, students, faculty and staff, institutional resources, research and innovation, and community and partnerships. Findings indicate progress in faculty development and infrastructure but reveal a weak alignment between educational outcomes and job market needs, with varying quality across institutions. Although institutions largely meet international accreditation standards, adaptations are required for the local context. The study recommends strengthening strategic leadership, establishing continuous improvement systems, and fostering collaborations with regulatory and institutional bodies to ensure sustainable accreditation compliance and support universities in achieving national and international quality objectives.

This article conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) on Hidden Champions&amp;mdash;highly specialized, globally leading firms that remain relatively unknown to the public. Although interest in these firms has grown, academic research is dispersed across disciplines and regions. To consolidate this knowledge, the study reviews 58 peer-reviewed articles published between 1992 and 2024 from Scopus and Web of Science, following transparent selection criteria. The synthesis identifies five key thematic clusters: strategic niche focus, innovation-based advantage, leadership and organizational culture, internationalization, and relational capital. Findings show that Hidden Champions combine a narrow market focus with long-term strategic commitment, embedded innovation routines, distinctive leadership, early international expansion, and strong relational networks that reinforce their global niche dominance. While these patterns largely align with Simon&amp;rsquo;s foundational work, recent studies highlight customer-proximate innovation, global customer intimacy, and deeper ecosystem embeddedness. The review also notes a geographical evolution: European cases still predominate, but contributions from Asia and other regions are rising. By integrating fragmented insights into a unified framework, this article advances theory building and proposes a research agenda stressing broader geographic coverage, longitudinal designs, and greater attention to digitalization, dynamic capabilities, and sustainability.

In the evolving healthcare landscape, orthopaedic surgeons are increasingly required to demonstrate not only clinical excellence but also strategic thinking, leadership, and financial literacy. This review explores the intersection of business principles and surgical practice, highlighting foundational concepts frequently taught in MBA programs: project management, value proposition, the time value of money, cost accounting, and operations management. This article presents an evidence-based discussion on how these principles can enhance surgical efficiency, as well as long-term financial and career planning.

ABSTRACT Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has become an important component of firms' long‐term sustainability strategies. This study examines the influence of military‐connected board members on ESG outcomes in Thai listed firms from 2000 to 2022. We find that the presence of military‐connected board members has a positive effect on overall ESG scores, particularly on the environmental component. Economically, a one standard deviation increase in the proportion of military‐connected board members and high‐ranking military board members is associated with 7.1% and 8.2% increases in the environmental score, respectively. Our findings support strategic leadership skills, ethical standards, and disciplined decision‐making hypothesis such that boards with a high ratio of military experience personnel, especially at the general level, are associated with stronger ESG performance. We also find that ESG performance improves significantly when military‐connected boards operate under a military‐affiliated government. Although the study focuses on Thailand, the findings offer broader insights into how board composition and leadership background may influence sustainability across different geographies. Overall, the findings highlight board‐level military experience as a strategic governance resource for advancing ESG performance.

The United States Army Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) role presents a unique opportunity to lead teams in successfully implementing sustainable, evidence-based practice (EBP) change that drives measurable and lasting outcomes in mil- itary healthcare. An Army CNS is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) who holds an Additional Skill Identifier (ASI) “7T”. The 7T ASI is awarded to APRNs who successfully complete a master’s, doctoral, or post-graduate certificate program, and obtain National Board Certification as a CNS. Army CNSs play a pivotal role in advancing military healthcare by integrating clinical excellence with strategic leadership

Unseen Influence of Nurses in Regulatory Agencies: Strategic Leadership for Nurse Executives

Strategic school leadership is a key factor in facing the demands of improving the quality and accountability of educational institution performance in the midst of the dynamics of changing policies and the educational environment. However, leadership practices in schools are often still administratively oriented and not yet fully geared towards achieving sustainable institutional performance. Quantitative data was collected using a Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed through linear regression, while qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis to deepen and explain quantitative findings. The results of the study show that school strategic leadership has a positive and significant effect on institutional performance, especially through strengthening strategic vision, change management, and optimizing school resources. Qualitative findings reveal that adaptive and collaborative leadership is the main mechanism in encouraging increased effectiveness of school organizations. This research contributes to strengthening the study of education management by emphasizing the importance of strategic leadership as a determinant of institutional performance and provides practical implications for the development of leadership capacity of school principals.

The construction industry worldwide is experiencing a paradigm shift due to the impact of digitalisation, BIM, AI, IoT, automation, cloud computing, etc. This revolutionises the planning, coordination, and construction approaches currently employed across projects. Nevertheless, India faces challenges, such as fragmented workflows, that may hinder the workforce's ability to fully adapt to the digital revolution. This paper provides an overview of the competencies required in project management in India, in the context of Digitalisation, as opposed to those of the construction industry, and across sectors such as IT, manufacturing, and logistics, which are among the most digitally advanced. A systematic analysis of the available data has identified five distinct areas. These areas are Digital technical competency, Governance competency, digitally enabled project management competency, Behavioural interpersonal competency, and Strategic leadership competency. This study presents a Competency Framework and an Implementation Plan to address the project management industry in India. These findings are significant given the notable shift in the construction industry in India, which is dependent on workforce competency and the establishment of necessary leadership.

Against the backdrop of global cultural digitization, the two-dimensional (2D) industry has emerged as a crucial dimension for measuring a country's cultural soft power. Based on industry data from 2013 to 2024, this study systematically evaluates the export competitiveness of China's 2D cultural products (including animation, games, and derivatives). The findings reveal that the industry is characterized by "strong foundations but structural imbalances": the domestic market has surpassed RMB 300 billion, yet exported content is notably "juvenile-oriented"; game exports have reached a scale of billions of U.S. dollars but are overly reliant on mobile platforms and markets in the United States, Japan, and South Korea; the derivatives sector has explored effective pathways through the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model. The study identifies five major bottlenecks: insufficient original creative capabilities and talent shortages, weak IP ecosystem operations, key technologies being constrained by external factors, inadequate intellectual property protection, and persistent cultural barriers. Through an in-depth analysis of the case of "Genshin Impact," a systematic improvement framework encompassing strategic leadership, technological support, and operational coordination is constructed, providing path guidance for the industry to achieve a critical leap from scale-based exports to value-based exports.

Introduction: Strategic leadership refers to an individual’s capacity to work strategically with others to deliver quality, efficient, and effective care to the person and their loved ones, contributing to organizational performance. While numerous leadership frameworks exist, few specifically address strategic nursing leadership. Objective: This article proposes a framework for the development of strategic leadership in nursing. Methods: The first version of the framework was developed as part of a doctoral study, which aimed to provide an in-depth description of the capacities associated with strategic leadership according to nurse managers (n = 31) from nursing directorates. The initial version of the framework guided the second study conducted with nurses’ members (n = 15) of the Executive Committees of the Council of Nurses. The revised reference framework guided the third study conducted with women nurses (n = 35) regarding strategic leadership in academic and clinical settings, using a gender-based approach. Results: The results of the first 2 studies describe 3 capacities that would be associated with strategic leadership in nursing: the capacity to integrate learning, the capacity to adapt to changes, and the capacity to manage social interactions, along with their main domains of influence. The third study explored the strategic leadership of women nurses in academic and clinical settings and made educational recommendations. Discussion and Conclusion: This framework offers a comprehensive strategy for fostering strategic nursing leadership. It emphasizes the importance of strengthening key domains of influence, thereby enhancing the impact of nurses in health care settings.

This study examines the strategic leadership of Bada Kaji Amar Singh Thapa (1751–1816), a key figure in Nepal’s western frontier governance during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While existing literature on Nepal’s unification and state survival often emphasizes the contributions of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, this article highlights Thapa’s role in integrating military command, civil administration, and ethical governance under conditions of resource scarcity, contested borders, and complex sociopolitical dynamics. Using a qualitative, interpretive historical methodology, the study situates Thapa’s leadership within the frameworks of crisis leadership theory and strategic leadership theory, explicitly defining these analytical lenses and contextualizing them within a pre‑modern Himalayan setting. In a qualitative research design, this paper unfolds how Thapa integrated terrain‑informed operational planning, adaptive defensive tactics, morale‑based leadership, and institutional loyalty to sustain frontier stability and state cohesion. His governance encompassed revenue administration, infrastructure development, and engagement with local intermediaries, exemplifying a model of civil‑military integration attuned to the challenges of small‑state leadership. Building on these insights, the study proposes the Amar Singh Thapa Strategic Leadership Model, a five‑pillar framework comprising resilience under pressure, ethical command, terrain mastery, strategic autonomy, and integrated governance. The findings suggest that Historical insights can productively inform contemporary officer training, doctrinal reflection, and civil‑military coordination in Nepal, emphasizing adaptive, ethically grounded, and context‑sensitive leadership without imposing outdated prescriptions.

Changes in the increasingly dynamic organizational environment demand the implementation of strategic change management that is not only normative, but also contextual and adaptive. However, empirical studies that explore the real practice of strategic change management in the context of public organizations in Indonesia are still relatively limited, especially at the micro-organizational level. This research aims to examine in depth the strategic change management practices applied in improving organizational adaptability in a dynamic environment. The research uses a qualitative approach with an exploratory case study design conducted on one Regional Apparatus Organization of the Semarang City Government. Data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with four purposively selected key informants, consisting of one strategic leader, two change implementers, and one affected staff, and supported by an analysis of organizational documents. Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis techniques through the stages of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The results show that organizational adaptability is influenced by participatory strategic change management practices, continuous change communication, adaptive leadership, and flexibility in adjusting policies and work procedures. This study concludes that contextual and dynamically based strategic change management practices of local public organizations are able to strengthen organizational adaptability in a sustainable manner. These findings contribute to the enrichment of the literature on strategic change management by offering a model of organizational adaptability based on the context of Indonesian public organizations and provide practical implications for change management in the public sector

This study aims to describe and analyze the implementation of madrasah principal leadership in developing teacher professionalism, the level of teacher professionalism in carrying out professional duties, and its implications for graduate quality at MAN 1 Bandar Lampung, MAN 1 Pesawaran, and MAN 1 Pringsewu. This research employed a qualitative approach using a multisite study design. The data in this study consist of qualitative data on madrasah principal leadership, teacher professionalism, and graduate quality. The data sources include primary data from madrasa principals and teachers, as well as secondary data from official madrasa documents. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis, while data analysis was conducted through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, supported by triangulation to ensure data validity. The findings reveal that madrasa principals play a strategic and multifaceted leadership role by regularly planning, organizing, implementing, and evaluating continuous teacher professional development programs. Differences in leadership focus were identified across sites, such as technology-based supervision, mentoring for new teachers, and innovation-oriented instructional leadership, reflecting contextual adaptation to institutional needs. Teacher professionalism is demonstrated through strong pedagogical competence, mastery of subject matter, effective classroom management, social engagement, and exemplary personal character, all of which contribute to effective learning environments and positive student development. The study further shows that the synergy between madrasah principal leadership and teacher professionalism significantly enhances graduate quality, not only in terms of academic achievement but also in non-academic skills, religious character, creativity, and competitiveness for higher education and social participation. This study concludes that the integrated relationship between effective madrasah principal leadership and sustained teacher professionalism is a key determinant in producing high-quality, holistic, and adaptive madrasah graduates capable of meeting contemporary educational challenges.

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of integrating military leadership into Nepal’s civilian governance structures, focusing on the period from 2015 to 2024. Grounded in Network Governance Theory, Civil‑Military Relations Theories, and Realism, the research employed a pragmatic mixed‑methods approach. Data was collected using key informant interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and semi‑structured surveys among policymakers, military leaders, and national security experts. The study identifies legal‑institutional gaps, political resistance, and trust deficits as key barriers, while pointing to opportunities in strategic education, leadership development, and defense diplomacy. The article concludes that a structured, democratically accountable integration can significantly enhance national security outcomes .