Deliberate vs emergent strategies

Written on . Posted in Developing managerial skills

 
Nowadays, when we talk about strategy it is very difficult to think about a long-term deliberate strategy, which means planned and intended. This is because the world is changing very fast and pressures from within the industry sectors and from the macro environment might oblige us to totally review our strategy frequently and in the short term.
 
In 1985 Mintzberg and Waters, two American famous authors on business and management, introduced the concept of emergent strategy. This is a type of strategy that is carried out irrespective of any managerial or organisational intended strategy or in the absence of any managerial or organisational intention. They also stated that the emergent strategy is the context where much effective strategic learning might take place, as the manager is open, flexible and responsive.
 
They identified several types of strategy along the continuum from purely deliberate strategy to purely emergent strategy. Each one is the result of specific internal dynamics within the company or a reaction to the pressures from the external environment. One that is particularly interesting is the umbrella strategy: general guidelines for behaviour within the company are given by the top managers, but also some degree of autonomy is left to the managers who are expected to act in line with the deliberate strategy. If managers behave differently, whether intentionally or unintantionally, the top management might have three types of reaction: they could stop them, they could ignore them for a while, or they could adjust to them. Exactly as if we had one arm outside the umbrella: either we could pull it in, or we could leave it out for a while to get wet, or we could move the umbrella to cover it.
 
All in all, as managers we may ask ourselves how much of “deliberate” and/or “emergent” there is in our strategy. This type of relfection might help us work more effectively.

 

Rethinking the Adaptive Leadership model through the Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Since Heifetz designed the adaptive leadership framework in 1994, the academic literature has benefitted from many qualitative research studies focusing on specific adaptive challenges and how the adaptive leadership framework can be practically used to face these. It seems very few have dealt with adaptive leadership through the quantitative lens and have attempted to measure adaptive leadership behaviors or tested Heifetz’s adaptive leadership six-dimensional model. In response, my PhD research aimed to measure the perception of adaptive leadership behaviors across the Italian corporate context and to investigate whether Heifetz’s adaptive leadership model can apply to the Italian culture. Findings and contribution to knowledge can be read in the thesis: Novellini, P. (2023) Rethinking the Adaptive Leadership model through the Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire, PhD thesis, University of Sunderland.

Download pdf

Novellini - Hall Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Do you want to measure the perception of adaptive leadership within your company or team? You can use 'Novellini - Hall Adaptive Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire', a new tool in the literature of leadership. This questionnaire was designed especially to be used in the business environment with a perspective on the higher level figures in the hierarchy. However, you can use it in any type of environment and at any level by adapting the terminology to the reality you want to focus on.

Download pdf

 

PAOLA NOVELLINI

English for Work

20063 Cernusco sul Naviglio (Milan - Italy)
Phone No. +39 327 7567601

ritratto paola novellini

VAT ID IT05862700969