Chapter 3

Question 1

3.1: Suggest why Adair’s threefold action-centred leadership model is useful in the driving forward of strategy.

Answer 1

Adair suggested that effective leadership comes at the centre of the recognition of:

• individual: the need of each person
• group: the aligned needs of the mixture of different people within a team
• task: the requirements for the team of individuals to fulfil the strategic task.

He suggests that every leadership decision will emanate from one of these three aspects, and the effective leader will be
able to take decisions to ensure that all three perspectives are taken into consideration and satisfied appropriately.

Question 2

3.2: Identify the six skills that Schoemaker suggests are needed for successful strategic leadership

Answer 2

Schoemaker suggests that an effective strategic leader requires the ability to fulfil each of the following as and when
appropriate during the development and leadership of strategic change.
* The ability to ANTICIPATE through watching out for changes in the intended path or the surrounding environment.
* The need to be prepared to CHALLENGE the plan, the people and one’s own views.
* The time to INTERPRET what is actually happening or changing and why.
* The strength to DECIDE and therefore drive momentum – you cannot just think about something for ever.
* The recognition of how and where different aspects of the strategy ALIGN and can therefore drive change and
outcome.
* The wisdom to LEARN from the process and therefore to be prepared to change.

Question 3

3.3: A pharmaceutical company employs a team of expert scientists to create a new drug. Suggest briefly why this team,
jointly or individually, might appear in each of the four aspects of a SWOT analysis.

Answer 3

• Strength: the technical ability, expertise and knowledge of the individuals is clearly a value-adding strength to the
  company.
• Weakness: the knowledge of the individuals is limited to what they know at this time, and this might not be sufficient
  for the required research.
• Opportunity: if the scientists are aligned and the strategy progresses well, the team may be able to drive
  competitive advantage for the company.
• Threat: if the company is reliant on one or more of these individuals, what happens if they leave to work for a
  competitor?

Question 4

3.4: Give three reasons why the particular skills of a company secretary and governance professional can make a significant contribution in the development of strategy

Answer 4

• A knowledge of the whole business, its legal structure and its operating parameters, and an understanding of the
  regulatory requirements of the various operating environments.
• A knowledge and understanding of the directors of the business, their personalities, their ability to work together,
  their individual and united strengths and weaknesses.
• The ability to use professional training and personal ethics to take an unbiased and holistic view of a strategic plan,
  with the ability to be prepared to challenge when necessary.