During the last 20 years, the field of strategic leadership has undergone b
oth a rejuvenation and a metamorphosis. We argue that the essence of strate
gic leadership involves the capacity to learn, the capacity to change, and
managerial wisdom. Against this backdrop, we first review issues related to
under what conditions, when, and how strategic leadership matters. Next, w
e selectively review three streams of theory and research. The first is str
ategic leadership theory and its antecedent, Upper Echelon theory. The seco
nd stream of theory and research focuses on what Bryman has labeled the "ne
w" leadership theories. These include charismatic, transformational. and vi
sionary theories of leadership. The last stream of research we classify as
the "emergent" theories of leadership. Among these are theories that explor
e behavioral and cognitive complexity as well as social intelligence. Final
ly, we attempt to suggest how the "new" and "emergent" theories can be inte
grated within what we claim is the essence of strategic leadership.