quadrants are labelled differently. The model for strategic leadership to be tested in this dissertation
consists of four quadrants along the dimensions, Organization-Environment and Exploration-
Exploitation, i.e. Client centricity (Environment Exploitation), Operational efficiency (Organization
Exploitation), Organizational creativity (Organization Exploration) and Business development
(Environment Exploration) (see Figure 5.5).
FIGURE 5-5: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP MODEL
5.6 CONCLUSION
This chapter presented a strategic leadership model on the basis of two paradoxes, i.e. the paradox
paramount in the strategy literature between the organization and the environment and the paradox in
the strategic leadership literature between exploration and exploitation. The strategic leadership model
as conceptualized in this chapter is composed of four quadrants, i.e. Client centricity, Business
development, Organizational creativity and Operational efficiency along the two dimensions
Exploration-Exploitation and Organization-Environment, where the diagonal quadrants (Business
development versus Operational efficiency and Client centricity versus Organizational creativity) are
in a paradoxical relationship and bear antithetical features to one another. Solely, focusing on one of
the dimensions exacerbates the need for the other, often sparking defenses, and engendering
counterproductive reinforcing cycles. In that sense, the strategic leadership model may function as a
guiding principle for tailoring opposite needs while avoiding a choice between opposite objectives.
The basic structure of the two axes (Exploration-Exploitation and Organization-Environment) is
similar to the structure of the Competing Values Framework of opposing Change- Continuity and