CLM Technical Skills & Application 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A mentee is preparing for a high-stakes negotiation. The mentor introduces the BATNA concept. BATNA stands for:
- Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (Correct answer)
- Baseline Assessment of Target Negotiation Assumptions
- Behavioral Approach To Navigating Adversity
- Best Attainable Terms in a New Agreement
Correct answer: Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement
BATNA defines the course of action a party will take if negotiations fail, giving negotiators clarity on their walk-away point.
Question 2: Which strategic planning tool helps a mentee map internal strengths and weaknesses against external opportunities and threats?
- Balanced Scorecard
- PESTLE Analysis
- SWOT Analysis (Correct answer)
- Porter's Five Forces
Correct answer: SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis structures an organization's internal capabilities against external environmental factors to inform strategic direction.
Question 3: A mentor uses the Johari Window to develop a mentee's self-awareness. Which quadrant represents information the mentee knows about themselves but hides from others?
- Open/Arena
- Blind Spot
- Hidden/Façade (Correct answer)
- Unknown
Correct answer: Hidden/Façade
The Hidden quadrant contains information the person is aware of but deliberately keeps private from others.
Question 4: A mentee wants to increase team psychological safety. Based on Amy Edmondson's research, which leader behavior MOST directly builds it?
- Setting high performance standards publicly
- Modeling vulnerability by acknowledging own mistakes (Correct answer)
- Limiting team meeting frequency to reduce pressure
- Rewarding only results, not effort
Correct answer: Modeling vulnerability by acknowledging own mistakes
Leaders who openly acknowledge their own errors signal that it is safe to take interpersonal risks, which is the foundation of psychological safety.
Question 5: In change management mentoring, Kotter's 8-Step Model places 'creating a guiding coalition' as which step?
- Step 1
- Step 2 (Correct answer)
- Step 3
- Step 4
Correct answer: Step 2
Step 2 of Kotter's model is building a powerful coalition of change champions after establishing urgency in Step 1.
Question 6: A mentor helps a mentee analyze a persistent performance problem using the Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram. This tool is PRIMARILY designed to:
- Prioritize corrective actions by impact
- Visualize cause-and-effect relationships for root cause analysis (Correct answer)
- Track performance metrics over time
- Map stakeholder influence and interest
Correct answer: Visualize cause-and-effect relationships for root cause analysis
The Fishbone Diagram organizes potential causes of a problem into categories, facilitating systematic root cause identification.
Question 7: A CLM mentor assists a mentee in building an Individual Development Plan (IDP). Which element is ESSENTIAL to make the IDP actionable?
- A list of the mentee's past accomplishments
- Specific learning activities tied to measurable milestones (Correct answer)
- Endorsements from the mentee's current manager
- A comparison to peer development benchmarks
Correct answer: Specific learning activities tied to measurable milestones
An actionable IDP links targeted developmental activities directly to measurable outcomes and timelines, not just goals in the abstract.
CLM Technical Skills & Application 5
A mentee is preparing for a high-stakes negotiation.
The mentor introduces the BATNA concept.
BATNA stands for: