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Types of Development Directors: Classification by Role in the Organization

Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2025 5:59 am
by Maksudasm
The complex of measures for strategic development includes, for example, the expansion of the company, the introduction of new technologies and entire industries, and the increase in production areas. All this is associated with significant financial costs, and the director of enterprise strategy is responsible for all budget calculations. He must prove the feasibility of investments and predict the payback of the projects being developed.


The title of this position may vary in different industries: director of strategic development (planning), advisor or deputy general director for development issues, director of development strategy, etc.

4 Types of Development Directors: Classification by Role in the Organization
There is a classification of directors south africa email list responsible for the development of the company, depending on their role in the organization and the degree of their influence on the efficiency of its activities.

Theoretical experts

These employees, who usually come to the business from consulting agencies, provide the corresponding services on theoretical aspects. Their job is to discuss the business in theory, analyze it and form several options for the development of the enterprise. At the same time, actual indicators are not used.

Consultants operate with simulated situations and theoretical concepts that may have nothing to do with the real situation on the market. For this reason, an experienced CEO is in no hurry to follow all the advice of a theorist, listening only to some trends.

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"The Grey Cardinal"

This conditional term refers to development managers who have the most complete information about all processes in the company, but rarely appear in public. Their circle of communication includes only general directors, to whom they give brief but extremely valuable advice. Among ordinary employees of the company, "gray cardinals" usually evoke a feeling of great respect, bordering on fear.

4 Types of Development Directors

A leader with valuable external connections

The director responsible for the company's development has a large number of external connections, for which he is valued by the senior management. Thanks to the accumulated experience in a certain area, such an employee is able to bring the company to a qualitatively new level, focus the company's activities on one, the most attractive area, enlist the support of influential people, for example, from government agencies.

Strategic Planning Specialist

This employee is valuable for his ability to build the most profitable business strategies for several years ahead. At the same time, not only a long-term plan is developed, but also methods for its implementation. An important advantage of the director of strategic development is his leadership qualities, which help the manager to form an effective team around himself and successfully manage projects of any complexity.

Specialists of this level, as a rule, work in the largest companies of global or national scale. They are focused on the final result in the long term.