Leadership Agility: Unilever's Strategic Challenges and Development

This report examines leadership agility, focusing on Unilever as a case study. It begins by defining leadership agility and its importance in today's dynamic business environment. The report then analyzes Unilever's strategic challenges, including sustainability, maintaining prices and margins, direct-to-consumer competition, talent acquisition, and crowded categories, particularly under the leadership of CEO Alan Jope. An evaluation of Unilever's current leadership agility is provided, assessing it based on people-centric, feedback/reflection-centric, customer-centric, and excellence & achievement-centric attributes. Finally, a development plan is proposed to enhance leadership agility within Unilever, emphasizing the creation of a learning culture and the importance of adaptability in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) environment.

Running head: LEADERSHIP AGILITY
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Leadership Agility
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Development of Strategic Leadership Agility Practice
Introduction
We are living in a gradually more interconnected and multifaceted world, where eminence
attention to external and internal strategic allies, customers, and other stakeholders is vital for
business success. Whilst certain future developments are becoming harder to forecast, there are
two profound trends as managers we can forecast with immense conviction: The rapidity of
change shall keep on increasing, and the level of interdependence and complication shall
continue to grow. For over a decade, organizational change specialists, highly receptive to these
influential trends, have been talking about the necessity to develop “agile” corporations —
organizations which foresee and react swiftly to changing conditions by leveraging exceedingly
productive external and internal relationships (McKenzie, & Aitken, 2012). In order to develop
organizations and teams with the level of agility required by present day’s tumultuous business
environments, companies require leaders who embody an equivalent level of agility (Aitken,
2019). It is no wonder, then, that higher-ranking leaders have positioned agility amongst the
most vital leadership competencies looked-for in their firms today. Leadership agility in essence,
refers to the capability to lead efficiently under situations of hasty change and increasing
complexity (Bill Pasmore & CMC, 2010). Since these trends impinge on all levels of
management, I tend to think that this is a competency that is even more required not simply in
the managerial suite but throughout the organization.

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Unilever Company leadership case study and its strategic challenges for remaining ‘fit for
future purpose’
The terminology “strategic challenges” is used to refer to those difficulties which put forth an
influential pressure on a company’s possibility of future success (Kunisch, Keil, Boppel, &
Lechner, 2019). Such pressures often are driven by a firm’s future competitive situation in
relation to other providers of similar goods and services. Whilst not entirely so, strategic
challenges in general; are outwardly driven. Nonetheless, in reacting to outwardly driven
strategic challenges, a company might encounter internal strategic difficulties. External strategic
challenges might affect market or customer needs or anticipations; technological or product
changes; or social, economic, and other needs or risks (Dahl, & Rasmussen, 2018). Internal
strategic pressures can affect a corporation’s abilities or its human resources and other
possessions.
Unilever Company is among the organizations facing immense strategic challenges. This
company is encountering a sequence of strategic challenges ranging from the battle for talent to
questions over sustainable business and the mounting menace of disruptors and direct-to-
consumer brands. Unilever former CEO, Paul Polman’s pronouncement to retire after ten years
at the control of the company comes in the middle of increasing challenges for the Fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG) industry as consumer trends shift and future growth emerges harder to
find (). After taking a closer look across the entire industry I have noted that numerous world’s
leading firms have changed the individual at the senior level in the last couple of years, from
Mondelēz to PepsiCo, Kellogg to the Nestlé Company. That appears in the midst of an
environment of slothful development in the consumer goods sector and increasing competition
from smaller and newer brands. Every eye has now turned to Alan Jope (a marketer) to navigate

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political and economic uncertainties, disruptor pressures at the same time maintaining profit
targets and improving growth in Unilever (Fleming, 2019).
Discussed below are the key strategic challenges Jope has been facing since he assumed office
on January 1st this year.
Paul Polman’s sustainability legacy: After a decade as CEO it is a disgrace Polman’s legacy
has been affected by the substandard effort to strengthen the company’s headquarters. Even
though Unilever is obdurate this is not the cause of his departure it undoubtedly hastened his
retirement and many shall remember Paul Polman for his botched endeavor to change Unilever’s
dual-ownership configuration and shift its headquarters to the Netherlands. A longer-lasting
legacy shall be his dedication to sustainability, which was the main focal point for Polman all
through his term as CEO. He constantly supported a kinder capitalism and under his leadership
the corporation formed the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010. The strategy embarked on
determined targets on environment, health, and work, including bisecting the firm’s water
consumption by 2020. That time limit is now almost over. Unilever has accomplished some of its
obligations already but some of them are further off, for instance the corporation’s present water
impact per consumer use has only diminished by approximately 2% from 2010. Unilever has
continually championed for the company impact of sustainability, not simply its environmental
and societal impact. However, the Kraft Heinz’s 2017 attempt to acquire Unilever shows it has
not completely won that argument. Jope, the new CEO shall without a doubt have his individual
unique infatuation points, although environmental obligations have to be fulfilled or surpassed in
order to maintain consumers on side. More than ever the publics are scrutinizing corporation’s
sustainable decisions and two years down the line, Jope shall have to push the company to make
sure it fulfils every target promised (Fleming, 2018).

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Maintaining Prices and Margins in Unilever: Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is
at present navigating a complicated period with Nestlé, Procter Gamble, Mondelēz, and
Unilever, all shifting strategy and upping prices. There numerous chief reasons for the decision
that is rising commodity prices, but the subsequent quarter shall see customers start to feel the
impact of pricing changes. Preceding pricing increases have been moderate and this change in
strategy shall be an experiment of brand power. As corporations struggle to maintain loyalty in
the middle of the rise of Amazon and competition from new entrants, price increases might
possibly flop. Jope shall comprehend the significance of marketing in this possible pricing fight
but shall have to be cautious that it does not enter into promotion wars wherein everybody will
lose. With Brexit as well as other political qualms just round the corner, customers can become
more vigilant with their spending again and Unilever shall have to be wary of the balance
between value and voluminous sales (Fleming, 2018).
Distraction by Direct-to-Consumer: The risk of direct-to-consumer has been talked about
deeply across marketing. Sometimes this might have felt exaggerated but the sudden increase of
brands for instance Glossier and Harry’s as well as their impact on large brands should not be
underrated. Beauty brand Glossier is just four years old in the market but it has developed a cult-
like position. In spite of having simply a handful of shops together with its online presence it is
currently valued at $390m and its growth is continuous. I am sure Unilever is aware of this and
this is why in 2016 it purchased subscription shaving brand Dollar Shave Club in part to
comprehend better the way these subscription business works. However, it shall have to come up
with its own brands and redesign the business frameworks of its core products in order to sustain.
As the present president of Unilever’s personal and personal care division, I feel that Jope shall

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be knowledgeable in the risk of direct-to-consumer but he will have to apply this understanding
across the business (Fleming, 2018).
Competition for marketing talent: Employing top talent has not tended to be a challenge for
Unilever Company, with its extensiveness of reputation and brand ensuring it is a primary choice
for fresh graduates. Nevertheless, in a fast-paced environment FMCG’s supremacy is declining
as young marketers start to prefer hands-on learning over legacy. As Jope attests – he joined in
1985 on a marketing grad scheme – Unilever still favors the conventional pathway of promoting
from within. As progressively many young people desire to have a diverse resume, including
smaller big business and start ups, it may have to become accustomed (Aitken, 2019).
Navigating crowded categories
Overcrowded categories in Unilever is not a new-fangled strategic challenge but is emerging
more pressing. Retailers are placing more concentration on own-brand commodities and superior
brands are being impelled to compete with cheaper competitors. Methinks that Jope shall have to
make sure that Unilever’s marketing continues to bring about devotion among customers so that
they do not rely on cheaper options (Fleming, 2018).
An Evaluation of how Agile Unilever Current Leadership is
As discussed above, immense changes in the FMCG sector are looming meaning Jope has to
ensure leadership in Unilever in as agile as possible. As a leader, he requires very specific
competencies and skills to fruitfully meet the challenges faced by the company. I agree with
Bushe, & Marshak, (2016) that orthodox characteristics of thriving leadership, for example
consistency and stability, are emerging less significant during these periods of digital disruption
and market instability. Leadership in an agile company such as Unilever calls for a different skill

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set than we are used to. Team members may be unenthusiastic to give open feedback to these
roles.
In order to evaluate how agile current leadership in Unilever is, we can refer to the following
competences of an agile leader in regard to the current CEO, Alan Jope:
People centric: According to me, an agile leader knows his people and cares for them. He
creates a mutual ground, mentors and develops them (Mergel, 2016).Truly, leadership in
Unilever under the direction of Jope is people centric and this why most graduates look for
opportunities in this company. Unilever leadership focuses on constantly developing its people,
to aid them and challenge them surpass their professional potentials. This makes is possible to
lead them based on their intrinsic motivations and strengths.
Feedback/ Reflection Centric: I agree with Abrahamsson, Salo, Ronkainen, & Warsta, (2017)
that learning from doing and developing after every iteration is a vital part of the agile
framework. Unilever leadership is agile to a certain degree since leaders enthusiastically create
eco-systems where there are structural reflection instants followed by the execution of the key
learnings, thus shorting the time to learn. Mangers have created a culture in this corporation
where there is space and time for the teams to reflect. Every worker is also periodically provided
with a systematic feedback of their performance.
Customer centric: In Unilever, consumer is in the driver’s seat. In this corporation, the voice of
the consumer dictates the direction the company takes (Hayward, Freeman, & Tickner, 2017).
This is one of the characteristics of agility in the leadership of this firm. The corporation has a
steadfast ability to put the customer in charge of its destiny.
Excellence & Achievement Centric: The primary goal of Unilever leadership is not to
accomplish more but to attain what has most value (Dubey, 2016). Jope has brought in a new

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way of thinking in value whereby he encourages the company stakeholders to celebrate the
accomplishments and at the same time creating the energy for the next step.
In summary, the leadership in Unilever is characterized by a great deal of agility. Jope and the
rest of the management squad is realizing the potential of all its people and is helping them
accelerate the organization’s ability to learn.
Development plan to increase leadership agility, including practical details about specific
development activities, and how they might track progress in implementing their
improvements
Today, we are living and operating in a multifaceted and rapidly changing environment,
sometimes referred to as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) (Seow, Pan, &
Koh, 2019). In this particular environment, it is vital that leaders are agile and able to respond
and adapt quickly to shifting circumstances, exemplifying the demeanor to allow those around
them also to remain agile. Unilever and any other company operating in the contemporary
business environment can use the below development plan to enhance their leadership agility:

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Source: Chief Outsiders, 2019. Advice for CEOs on growth and scaling: Maximize Your Growth
Potential by Supercharging Your Learning Agility.
https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/blog/maximize-growth-potential
1. Creating a Learning Culture: An organization culture commences with and originates from
its leaders. Therefore, the leadership team in Unilever should be devoted to creating a learning
organization. I need to emphasize that they must also be proactive learners as well. In order to
keep track of this, managers can periodically subject all internal publics to tests meant to gauge
their level of knowledge and skills (Foster, 2016).
2. Institutionalizing Core Learning Activities: When firms come up with their strategic
development plans, they concentrate on what to do – and less on the way to do it. To position
Unilever Company to fruitfully deliver growth strategy, Jope and his team should have ample
time on how to execute the company’s strategy. Top management in this organization should
regularly look for core learning activities in order to ensure more and more agility in their
administration.

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3. Leveraging Learning Tools and Resources: When managing any project, Unilever should
consider shifting away from linear administration to a framework of inventive, iterative, and
hasty testing. In order to track progress, organization leadership should see every project is
supposed to be thought of as a journey of discovery and learning. This development technique is
sometimes called agile project management.
4. Igniting worker’s Passion for Learning: Member of staff development should always be a
priority. Thus, Unilever should invest as much time as possible in order to generate empowering
and impactful employee development plans (Denning, 2016). In order to keep track of progress, I
suggest that every employee in Unilever devotes effort every year to designing one. The plans
are supposed to bring into line organisational business priorities and career development
objectives.
How I intend to increase my own leadership agility for obtaining the achievements I would
like in the next phase of my career and life.
Five ways through which I will increase my leadership agility include:
 Regularly update my knowledge of my career and the environment I hope to operate in
 Keep a clear head by using mindful techniques to aid provide me with lucidity
 Comprehend the way to inspire and lead in effecting a change
 Being self-aware by ensuring that I have a splendid comprehension of my own abilities and
emotions and how they impact on others
 Comprehend how to recognize signals in my career path and life in general.

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Conclusion
The word “agility” was initially used in the 90s to explain manufacturing organisations which
could become accustomed rapidly to changing customer wants and needs (Conboy, 2009). By
the early 2000s, the conception of agility had widened to imply the capability to “foresee and
take action to respond to quickly changing conditions” and to “efficiently manage multifaceted,
mutually dependent relationships.” As managers, we are living in a global economy which
continuously barrages us with change and complexity. Each year, new markets, technologies,
and competitors emerge at a growing pace. In order to relish continuous success, corporations
have to develop a level of organizational agility which offsets the escalating level of complexity
and change in their business environments. Hitherto, for the infinite majority of corporations,
full-grown operational and strategic agility is up to now more an ambition than a reality. One
among the primary reasons for this ongoing “agility gap” is the necessity to build up more agile
leaders. As change speeds up, so do uncertainty and novelty. Future opportunities and threats
appear harder to forecast. As a result of increasing complexity and a persistent, speeding up pace
of change in the international economy, it emerged clear that every organisation, including
service government agencies, non-profits, and firms, and– and the teams within them – have to
come up with higher levels of agility (Shao, Nijstad, & Täuber, 2019). Over the course of this
past decade the agile software development movement has also gathered significant momentum.
As proved in this reflection paper, I stand to argue that agile organizations and teams necessitate
agile leaders. But until lately, little was known about what agile leadership looks like in action
and the underlying emotional and mental capacities it requires.

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