CLC Strategic Planning & Goal Setting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a leadership coaching client expresses that their team 'doesn't buy in' to the strategic plan, the CLC should explore:
- Whether the plan needs to be simplified
- The degree to which team members were involved in creating the plan (Correct answer)
- Whether the team needs to be replaced
- How to enforce compliance with the plan
Correct answer: The degree to which team members were involved in creating the plan
Participation in the planning process significantly increases psychological ownership and buy-in among team members.
Question 2: Which risk is most associated with setting too many strategic priorities simultaneously?
- Overachievement of all goals
- Dilution of focus and resources leading to underperformance across all priorities (Correct answer)
- Teams becoming overly specialized
- Excessive clarity in execution
Correct answer: Dilution of focus and resources leading to underperformance across all priorities
When everything is a priority, nothing is; spreading resources too thin typically results in mediocre progress on all fronts.
Question 3: A CLC uses the '5 Whys' technique during a strategy session. This tool is best suited for:
- Generating a list of strategic alternatives
- Identifying the root cause behind a recurring strategic obstacle (Correct answer)
- Setting SMART goal parameters
- Evaluating the competitive landscape
Correct answer: Identifying the root cause behind a recurring strategic obstacle
The 5 Whys iteratively asks 'why' to peel back surface symptoms and uncover the underlying cause of a problem.
Question 4: A leader wants to pursue a strategy that conflicts with the organization's stated values. The most appropriate coaching response is to:
- Support the strategy if the business case is strong
- Ignore the values conflict since strategy takes precedence
- Raise awareness of the conflict and explore alignment between strategy and values (Correct answer)
- Report the conflict to the board of directors
Correct answer: Raise awareness of the conflict and explore alignment between strategy and values
Sustainable strategy must align with organizational values; a coach's role is to surface conflicts and facilitate reflection.
Question 5: In strategic planning, a 'theory of change' document primarily articulates:
- The financial projections for the next fiscal year
- How and why a specific set of activities will lead to desired long-term outcomes (Correct answer)
- The organizational chart for strategy execution
- The list of risks identified in a SWOT analysis
Correct answer: How and why a specific set of activities will lead to desired long-term outcomes
A theory of change maps the causal logic linking planned activities to intended outcomes, making strategic assumptions explicit.
Question 6: Which approach best helps a leader stay accountable to long-term strategic goals during day-to-day operations?
- Reviewing the strategic plan only at year-end
- Embedding key strategic metrics into weekly leadership routines (Correct answer)
- Assigning all strategic responsibility to a dedicated team
- Reducing the number of operational meetings
Correct answer: Embedding key strategic metrics into weekly leadership routines
Integrating strategic KPIs into regular routines keeps long-term priorities visible and prevents operational urgency from eclipsing strategy.
Question 7: A coachee achieves a major strategic goal but reports feeling unfulfilled. As a CLC, the most insightful coaching question is:
- Why didn't you set a harder goal?
- What does this achievement reveal about what truly matters to you? (Correct answer)
- Should you set the same goal again for next year?
- How can you celebrate this success more visibly?
Correct answer: What does this achievement reveal about what truly matters to you?
Post-achievement reflection surfaces deeper values and motivations, helping the coachee set more intrinsically meaningful goals in the future.
CLC Strategic Planning & Goal Setting 5
When a leadership coaching client expresses that their team 'doesn't buy in' to the strategic plan, the CLC should explore: