CSC Leadership & Strategic Planning 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A senior consultant is facilitating a strategic offsite for a Fortune 500 client. The CEO dominates discussions, causing other executives to disengage. The MOST appropriate intervention is:
- Privately ask the CEO to speak less during sessions
- Use structured facilitation techniques like round-robin input and anonymous voting to equalize participation (Correct answer)
- End the session early and regroup with a smaller team
- Validate the CEO's contributions and dismiss others' concerns as procedural
Correct answer: Use structured facilitation techniques like round-robin input and anonymous voting to equalize participation
Structured facilitation techniques neutralize dominant personalities and surface diverse perspectives critical to robust strategic decisions.
Question 2: The concept of 'strategic drift' refers to:
- Intentional pivots in response to market disruption
- Gradual, incremental strategic changes that cumulatively move the organization away from its environment (Correct answer)
- The gap between a strategy document and its operational implementation
- Resistance from frontline employees during strategic change
Correct answer: Gradual, incremental strategic changes that cumulatively move the organization away from its environment
Strategic drift occurs when an organization's strategy evolves incrementally but fails to keep pace with environmental change, creating a growing misfit.
Question 3: Which leadership style is MOST effective when a team consists of highly experienced, self-motivated subject matter experts working on a complex consulting engagement?
- Autocratic leadership
- Transactional leadership
- Delegative (laissez-faire) leadership (Correct answer)
- Coercive leadership
Correct answer: Delegative (laissez-faire) leadership
Delegative leadership empowers experienced, motivated professionals to exercise their expertise autonomously, maximizing their effectiveness.
Question 4: When conducting a stakeholder analysis for a large-scale strategic initiative, which stakeholder quadrant in a power/interest matrix requires the MOST active management?
- Low power, low interest
- Low power, high interest
- High power, low interest
- High power, high interest (Correct answer)
Correct answer: High power, high interest
High power, high interest stakeholders can significantly influence outcomes and must be actively managed through frequent communication and engagement.
Question 5: A client's strategic plan includes a goal to 'improve customer satisfaction.' A senior consultant should advise that this goal be revised because it lacks:
- Executive sponsorship
- Measurable and time-bound criteria (SMART attributes) (Correct answer)
- Competitive benchmarking data
- Sufficient budget allocation
Correct answer: Measurable and time-bound criteria (SMART attributes)
Effective strategic goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) to drive accountability and track progress.
Question 6: In scenario planning, the PRIMARY purpose of developing multiple future scenarios is to:
- Select the single most likely future and optimize the strategy for it
- Reduce executive anxiety by providing a range of possible outcomes
- Prepare the organization to respond effectively to a range of plausible futures (Correct answer)
- Satisfy board requirements for risk documentation
Correct answer: Prepare the organization to respond effectively to a range of plausible futures
Scenario planning builds organizational resilience by developing strategic responses to multiple plausible futures rather than betting on one prediction.
Question 7: A senior consultant recommends a 'build, borrow, or buy' framework to a client addressing a capability gap. The 'borrow' option refers to:
- Temporary debt financing to fund internal capability development
- Licensing, partnering, or outsourcing to access external capabilities (Correct answer)
- Recruiting experienced talent from competitors
- Redeploying existing internal resources from lower-priority areas
Correct answer: Licensing, partnering, or outsourcing to access external capabilities
'Borrow' in this framework means accessing needed capabilities externally through partnerships, licensing, or outsourcing without permanent acquisition.
CSC Leadership & Strategic Planning 3
A senior consultant is facilitating a strategic offsite for a Fortune 500 client.
The CEO dominates discussions, causing other executives to disengage.
The MOST appropriate intervention is: