ITIL 4 Strategic Leader

The ITIL 4 Strategic Leader (SL) designation recognises the value of ITIL across all digitally enabled services. Becoming an ITIL 4 Strategic Leader enables professionals to develop a clear understanding of how IT influences and shapes business strategy.

It also ensures that organisations can create a more agile, resilient and continuously improving business culture.

• Understand the key concepts of digital and IT strategy, including the impact of digital technology on service management.
• Gain knowledge on how to lead digital transformation efforts and drive business success through effective IT and digital strategies.
• Learn to foster a competitive advantage by developing and implementing innovative services and products.
• Grasp the importance of a multi-tiered approach to strategy and how it interacts with business and operating models.
• Apply the ITIL® Service Value System to strategy development, recognizing the importance of opportunities, demand, and value streams.
• Incorporate ITIL® Guiding Principles and Practices in governance and continual improvement initiatives.
• Develop a clear and compelling vision to guide digital strategy, considering the implications of digital disruption.
• Conduct environmental and readiness assessments to evaluate the current state of digital capabilities.
• Formulate strategic plans that encompass financial aspects, business model innovation, and portfolio optimization.
• Design strategic approaches to achieve operational excellence, drive evolution, and maintain social responsibility and sustainability.
• Implement and measure strategic initiatives effectively, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.
• Foster an organizational culture that supports ongoing innovation and the adoption of emerging technologies.
• Manage strategic risks through systematic identification, assessment, and treatment processes.

ITIL 4 Strategic Leader designation consists of two modules:

ITIL 4 Strategist Direct Plan & Improve

This module provides individuals with the practical skills necessary to create a ‘learning and improving’ IT organization, with a strong and effective strategic direction.
The module covers the influence and impact of Agile and Lean ways of working, and how they can be leveraged to an organization’s advantage. It will provide ITIL practitioners with a practical and strategic method for planning and delivering continual improvement with the necessary agility.
ITIL Strategist Direct Plan and Improve is aimed at managers of all levels involved in shaping direction and strategy or developing a continually improving team. It will cover both practical and strategic elements.
Therefore, it is the universal module that will be a key component of both streams, ITIL 4 Managing Professional and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader.

ITIL 4 Leader: Digital and IT Strategy

This module explores the use of the ITIL framework to support organizations on their digital transformation journey. ITIL DITS provides a structured and flexible approach to addressing service management challenges and utilizes the potential of modern technology to achieve the most value from digital.
The module enables IT and digital leaders to influence and drive strategic business decisions, by helping them to:

• Create an appropriate digital strategy aligned with the wider business goals
• Understand how business and IT leaders across the globe are responding to digital disruption by reshaping corporate strategy, adapting processes, and even repurposing entire business models
• Explore the use of the ITIL 4 framework to support organizations on their digital transformation journey, addressing service management challenges and utilizing new technology.

The module also covers how ITIL 4 can be integrated with emerging practices and new technologies to meet new internal and external challenges.

• ITIL Direct Plan & Improve can support you in creating an evolving IT organization with a strong and effective strategic direction. ITIL DPI equips you with the skills to control, influence, and inspire others to work in a desired way and create effective, high-performing IT and digital teams.
• ITIL Digital IT Strategy can help you create an appropriate digital strategy aligned with the wider business goals. ITIL DITS prepares you and your organization for the digital future.

The ITIL® 4 Digital and IT Strategy course equips professionals with insights into managing digital strategies effectively.

• CIOs and IT executives
• Digital transformation leaders
• IT managers and directors
• IT consultants and strategists
• Business leaders and managers
• ITSM managers and practitioners
• IT professionals aiming for leadership roles
• Project managers involved in IT projects
• Risk management professionals
• Business analysts
• IT enterprise architects
• Innovation managers
• Change managers

• Accredited training for the ITIL 4 Strategic Leader modules is mandatory to enable a full understanding of the core material
• ITIL 4 Foundation is a prerequisite for all modules
• In addition, the ITIL Leader module requires a minimum of three years of IT managerial experience.

• This module provides individuals with the practical skills necessary to create a ‘learning and improving’ IT organization, with a strong and effective strategic direction.
• The module covers the influence and impact of Agile and Lean ways of working, and how they can be leveraged to an organisation’s advantage. It will provide ITIL practitioners with a practical and strategic method for planning and delivering continual improvement with the necessary agility.
• ITIL Strategist Direct Plan and Improve is aimed at managers of all levels involved in shaping direction and strategy or developing a continually improving team. It will cover both practical and strategic elements.
• Therefore, it is the universal module which will be a key component of both streams, ITIL 4 Managing Professional and ITIL 4 Strategic Leader.

• ITSM Manager
• Solution Architect
• System Administrator
• Service Delivery Manager

Exam Structure:

• 30 questions
• Multiple choice
• 21 out of 30 marks required to pass (70%)
• 60 minutes
• Closed book.
• To pass, you need to get 21 out of 30 questions (or 70%) correct.