Word forms in leadership vocabulary: answer key

English for Professional Purposes

Author
Affiliation

Ben Stanley

Department of Social Sciences, SWPS University

Published

September 1, 2026

Exercise 1: Complete the sentence with the correct form

  1. The CEO’s visionary (vision/visionary/envision) approach helped the company navigate uncertain market conditions.
  2. Team leaders must learn to delegate (delegation/delegate/delegated) tasks effectively to avoid burnout.
  3. They managed the crisis strategically (strategy/strategic/strategically) by focusing on customer retention.
  4. Good collaboration (collaborate/collaboration/collaborative) between departments is essential for project success.
  5. The board decided (decision/decide/decisive) to restructure the company after careful consideration.
  6. Her innovative (innovative/innovation/innovate) leadership style encourages creative thinking.
  7. The manager spoke transparently (transparent/transparency/transparently) about the challenges ahead.
  8. Empowering (Empowerment/Empower/Empowering) employees leads to higher engagement and productivity.
  9. The team responded resiliently (resilience/resilient/resiliently) to the unexpected setback.
  10. Authenticity (Authentic/Authenticity/Authentically) in leadership builds trust among team members.

Exercise 2: Word form transformation

  1. The team collaborates on all major projects. (noun) → Collaboration between team members is essential for all major projects.
  2. She is known for her strategic thinking. (adverb) → She is known for thinking strategically about business challenges.
  3. Leaders must motivate their teams during difficult times. (noun) → Motivation of teams by leaders is crucial during difficult times.
  4. The company values transparency in all communications. (adjective) → The company values transparent communications with all stakeholders.
  5. He adapted quickly to the new market conditions. (noun) → His quick adaptation to the new market conditions impressed the board.
  6. Their approach is highly innovative. (noun) → Their approach demonstrates significant innovation in the industry.
  7. The manager proactively addressed the concerns. (adjective) → The manager’s proactive approach addressed the concerns before they escalated.
  8. We need to strengthen client relationships. (noun) → We need to build strength in our client relationships.
  9. Her decisive leadership was crucial during the crisis. (noun) → Her decisiveness in leadership was crucial during the crisis.
  10. They communicate effectively with stakeholders. (noun) → Effective communication with stakeholders is their priority.

Exercise 3: Sentence transformation

  1. The team worked together to solve the problem. (use “collaboration”) → Collaboration within the team helped solve the problem. → The team’s collaboration was key to solving the problem.
  2. The director speaks in a way that inspires her team. (use “inspirational”) → The director’s inspirational speeches motivate her team. → The director gives inspirational talks to her team.
  3. They made the decision to expand into new markets. (use “decisive”) → They were decisive about expanding into new markets. → Their decisive approach led to expansion into new markets.
  4. The company values openness with its employees. (use “transparent”) → The company is transparent with its employees. → The company maintains transparent communication with its employees.
  5. She leads effectively by setting a good example. (use “leadership”) → Her leadership involves setting a good example. → She demonstrates effective leadership by setting a good example.
  6. Our managers think ahead to anticipate market changes. (use “foresight”) → Our managers show foresight in anticipating market changes. → The foresight of our managers helps anticipate market changes.
  7. The CEO communicated clearly about the company’s direction. (use “clarity”) → The CEO’s message provided clarity about the company’s direction. → The CEO communicated with clarity about the company’s direction.
  8. The team showed flexibility when plans changed suddenly. (use “adaptable”) → The team was adaptable when plans changed suddenly. → The team proved to be adaptable when facing sudden plan changes.
  9. He took responsibility for the project’s outcome. (use “accountable”) → He held himself accountable for the project’s outcome. → He was accountable for the project’s outcome.
  10. They created new approaches to solve persistent problems. (use “innovative”) → They were innovative in solving persistent problems. → They used innovative approaches to solve persistent problems.

Exercise 4: Fill in the table

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb Person
leadership lead leading X leader
negotiation negotiate negotiable X negotiator
resilience X resilient resiliently X
strategy strategise strategic strategically strategist
mentorship mentor mentoring X mentor
innovation innovate innovative innovatively innovator
inclusion include inclusive inclusively X
diplomacy X diplomatic diplomatically diplomat
motivation motivate motivational X motivator
authenticity authenticate authentic authentically X

Exercise 5: Contextual transformation

Scenario: Company Turnaround

The new CEO initiated (initiate) a complete company turnaround. She was visionary (visionary) by identifying new market opportunities. The management team collaborated (collaboration) to develop an implementation plan. They communicated with clarity (clarity) to all stakeholders about the changes. Employees were empowered (empowerment) to make decisions within their areas of expertise. The company demonstrated adaptability (adaptation) to the changing market conditions and implemented innovative (innovation) solutions to address customer needs. The leadership team maintained accountability (accountability) in managing the transition process. They enhanced motivation (motivation) among the workforce through transparent communication and by recognising (recognition) achievements. After six months, the company had completed its transformation (transformation) into a more agile and customer-focused organization.

Exercise 6: Identify and correct errors

  1. The manager’s decisional decisive approach helped resolve the conflict quickly.
  2. We need to transparent communicate our plans to the team. → We need to communicate transparently with the team.
  3. Her leadership style is very inspiration inspiring / inspirational.
  4. The company focuses on innovative innovation / innovating solutions to market challenges.
  5. They collaborated developed the new business strategy. → They collaboratively developed the new business strategy.
  6. The directors showed great accountable accountability for the results.
  7. The team worked strategy strategically to complete the project on time.
  8. His approach to management is very empowerment empowering.
  9. They resilience responded to the market crisis. → They responded with resilience to the market crisis. / They responded resiliently to the market crisis.
  10. The organization values proactive proactivity in employees. / The organization values proactive employees.

Exercise 7: Business email transformation

Transformed Professional Email:

Dear Team,

I am writing to address our performance on the new project. I propose a collaborative meeting tomorrow to discuss strategies for improving our efficiency and ensuring quality deliverables. The client has expressed dissatisfaction with our current output, necessitating a strategic shift in our approach. I encourage everyone to innovatively consider solutions that could effectively address the identified challenges. I am confident in our ability to succeed through collective effort.

Thank you for your commitment, Alex