The Strategic Objectives of the Elite System in the Thought of the Supreme Leader

Elites are the enormous human asset in each country. Elite affairs management requires the collaboration of all executive agencies associated with elite affairs under the title of "Elite System". Currently, one of the obstacles concerning the elite system is the lack of comprehensive plan and strategic management within elite affairs, which has led to several challenges in the management of elite affairs. The first step in the elite affairs strategic planning is to draw and formulate the strategic ends of the elite system, so this paper intends to investigate the strategic goals of this concept in the thought of the Supreme Leader. The thematic analysis method was used to accomplish the mentioned goal. The analysis unit consists of texts of all the Supreme Leader's statements in meeting with the elites in the period of 2002-2018.By analyzing and coding the comments of the Supreme Leader concerning the research subject, 6 comprehensive, 11 organizing, and 36 fundamental themes were extracted as the country's elite system strategic goals. In general, it can be said that the country's elite system strategic goals in the opinion of the Supreme Leader are: Strengthening the effectiveness of elites in national, international, cultural, and social fields; enhancing and promoting elite motivation; modeling and honoring elites; timely and accurate identification of elites along with the risks of identifying this group; raising elites from an early age (talent development stage) to elite stage and supporting them. The elite system along with the mentioned strategic goals also has the mission of organizational excellence, i.e. it is obliged to grow and promote itself in all aspects and levels such as in the field of management and playing a strategic role in achieving all the specified goals.