Management Chapter 12 1 Instructor Resource Rowe Cases Leadership Sage Publications Inc Case Notes Case Nedbank

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Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

Case Notes

Case 11.2: Nedbank: Coaching Capabilities for Growth Strategy Execution

Dr. Caren Scheepers and Emme Kane wrote this teaching note as an aid to instructors in the

classroom use of the case Nedbank: Coaching Capabilities for Growth Strategy Execution, No.

9B16C003. This teaching note should not be used in any way that would prejudice the future use

of the case.

This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any

form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this

Teaching Note

Synopsis

In 2015, Mike Brown, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nedbank Ltd. (Nedbank), reflected on

the last couple of years and how far the South African bank, Nedbank, had come since its decline

that necessitated a major transformation of the bank’s strategy and execution practices to enable

a financial turnaround between 2003 and around 2009. He was intent on preventing a recurrence

of the turnaround situation, and realized that the bank’s growth strategy execution entailed a host

Case Objectives

The teaching objectives are:

• Improve discernment of strategic options to improve top-line growth, like

internationalization.

Position in Course

The case can be used in an honors or masters business program for courses on: strategy,

organizational development, human resources strategy and talent management courses.

Relevant Readings

• Sull, D., Homkes, R., & Sull, C. (2015, March). Why strategy execution unravels and

what to do about it. Harvard Business Review, 58–66.

• Prahalad, C. K., & Doz, Y. L. (1987). “Dynamics of global competition,” Chapter 3, 38–

66 and “Responding to host government policies,” Chapter 4, 67–100. In The

Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

Assignment Questions

1. Evaluate Nedbank’s strategic actions towards top-line growth strategy execution,

2. Consider the “internationalization” orientation of Nedbank and compare with transnational,

global and multinational orientations, as described by Prahalad, C. K., & Doz, Y. L. (1987).

3. Review Nedbank’s leadership interventions, such as the internal coaching capability,

referring to: The McKinsey article (2011) on Leadership for Growth: Katherina

Teaching Plan

Given the teaching objectives above, instructors could plan to spend at least two hours per

objective. Therefore the teaching on this Nedbank case could potentially consist of up to six

hours of class time with a four hour class and a break in between prior to the last two hours.

Alternatively, the three sessions of two hours each per question, could be spread over a period,

depending on the course schedule.

The teaching plan for all three questions could consist of three phases:

• First, preparation by reading the case study and articles and considering the questions as

part of students’ preparation.

Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

theoretical principle, as well as an element of application of the principle to the Nedbank

case study.

With assignment question 1, instructors could divide the class in five groups of around five to

eight students in a group, depending on the number of students. With a smaller amount of

students, a group could be allocated more than one of the five myths (discussed below). Each

group may prepare a presentation on, first, the definition or theory of the myth, and second, the

Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

In summary the two-hour session time schedule includes,

Time

schedule

Activity

Rationale

Outcome

15 minutes

Orientation around top-

line growth strategy

execution

Students often do not make

a distinction between

strategy formulation and

strategy execution. The

orientation will assist in this

clarification.

An orientation to the

lecture as well as an

introduction to the

assignment question

30 minutes

Divide class into

smaller groups and

allow time for

discussion of the

assignment question.

In larger classes, there is

less participation and in

smaller group discussion

more students have an

opportunity to voice their

views.

A flip chart paper

where the question

has been answered

30 minutes

Groups present the

answers to their

questions.

Groups could get exposure

to one another’s group work

and the instructor could

provide equal time for

presentations.

Whole class had

listened to various

groups’ presentations

and heard multiple

views.

15 minutes

Practical application

question discussion in

larger group

Students could use the

opportunity for reflection

on how to apply the

learning points to

organizations that they

know of, or are part of

Application of

learning point to real

life situations or

future situations

Analysis

1. Evaluate Nedbank’s strategic actions towards top-line growth strategy execution,

referring to Sull, D., Homkes, R., & Sull, C. (2015, March). Why strategy execution

unravels and what to do about it. Harvard Business Review, 58–66.

The instructor could refer students to the case and point out that Nedbank declared that the

increased competition for transacting clients and share of wallet had increased the risk of lower

revenue growth and resulted in a higher expense burden. In mature markets, product innovation

Five Myths on Strategy Execution

Execution Equals Alignment

Nedbank implemented the balanced scorecard of Kaplan and Norton and, usually, this

implementation would be perceived as alignment and therefore as a strategy execution. However,

1 Hough, J., Thompson, A. A., Jr., Strickland, A. J., III., & Gamble, J. E. (2008). Crafting & executing strategy:

Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

in the Sull, Holmes and Sull’s article of 2015, the authors explicitly referred to extensive

research in this area and said that only 9 per cent of managers stated they could rely on

Execution Means Sticking to the Plan

The Nedbank case did not refer specifically to execution in terms of sticking to their plans, however

there were references made to the measurement of strategic targets and the yearly reporting in the

annual reports, etc.

Communication Means Understanding

Various road shows were mentioned in “Transformational Leadership in Sustainable

Instructor Resource

Rowe, Cases in Leadership 5e

SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019

A Performance Culture Drives Execution

It seems that the regular measurement of individual’s, teams’, and divisions’ performances

would drive these entities’ performance and, given the pressures in the various clusters and

business units at Nedbank, a performance culture would exist.

Execution Should be Driven from the Top

The Nedbank case portrayed the executive as influential and it appeared that the strategy was

driven from the top. The group head office was rather prominent in both formulating, as well as

executing, strategy.

2. Consider the “internationalization” orientation of Nedbank and compare with

transnational, global and multinational orientations, as described by Prahalad, C. K., &

Doz, Y. L. (1987). “Dynamics of Global Competition,” Chapter 3, 38–66 and Chapter 4, 67–

100, “Responding to Host Government Policies. In The multinational mission: Balancing

local demands and global vision. New York: The Free Press.

The instructor could refer students to the work of C. K. Prahalad and Yves L. Doz, The

Multinational Mission: Balancing Local Demands and Global Vision (New York: The Free Press,

1987). The well–known matrix will highlight that Nedbank started an internationalization process.

3. Review Nedbank’s leadership interventions, such as the internal coaching capability,

referring to Katherina Herrmann, Asmus Komm and Sven Smit, “Do you Have the right

leaders for your growth strategies?” McKinsey Quarterly, July (2011): 1–5, and “Potential

Coaching,” in Coaching Leaders (Randburg: Knowres, 2012), 8, 229–86.

The instructor could facilitate a discussion on the phases Nedbank went through, for instance, its

survival during a steep decline and the process of a truly sustainable turnaround (see Exhibit TN-

1).

The next phase in the life cycle of the organization was the growth phase. In this phase,

distinct leaders or leaders with different characteristics would be required. Nedbank had a number

of ways in which they developed their leaders, and the case mentioned the company’s training

academies that were playing an important role in professionalizing risk, human resources

Leadership for Executing Growth Strategy

Herrmann, Komm and Smit’s research at McKinsey revealed specific competencies required to

facilitate growth in an organization. The instructor could refer to this article and lead the

Thought Leadership and Market Insight: Looking Beyond Current Context

The instructor can obtain competitor analysis reports in Nedbank’s annual report to indicate the

way it gathers information from the different business units and uses the business intelligence.

Thought Leadership: Strategic Orientation

Nedbank’s 2030 Fair Share vision of energy interdependence is an example of longer-term

orientation. Fair Share 2030 represents a business strategy that responds to the premise that, to be

People and Organizational Leadership: Change Leadership