Keeping the competitive edge in manufacturing
We worked with a global nutritional ingredient manufacturer to develop their high potential, middle management leaders to both clarify and reinforce key leadership capabilities and stay competitive in tight labour markets across their key locations.
We’re experienced working with external partners, and in this instance we were building on work already undertaken by another partner. To open the next phase of development, we asked leaders the question:
In the context of your business drivers, what aspects of leadership capability are critical to develop in your people?
Focus
To enable leaders to better deliver on the organisation's strategic needs, we designed a series of modules focused on optimising personal impact through skills such as influence, collaboration, and coaching for performance, as well as business growth through thinking strategically and leading change.
We identified eight capabilities that, when developed in the leadership population, would help this manufacturer to flourish:
Action
The programme began with a suite of diagnostics which fed into the workshop design. We developed two, two day in-person modules delivered with a space of four months in-between. These acute periods of learning were interspersed with 1:1 coaching and self-directed learning including group projects. These modules covered individual goal setting as well as broadening vision, looking to connect these goals with the wider organisational strategy.
We ensured all learning was highly relevant to participants’ work and could be applied to real business issues, using ‘live’ cases wherever possible in the learning delivery. We also paid attention to balancing the development of the individual with that of the collective, enabling leaders to have agency in their work but also learn the skills and grow networks for powerful collaboration.
Impact
High retention and promotion rates amongst the high-potential middle manager participants was a fantastic outcome of this programme, especially given the highly competitive talent market they were working in. High participant evaluation and learning application, together with the creation of a global management esprit de corps were also valued at a time when the organisation had continued to maintain and grow its total income return to its farmer shareholders.
On an individual level, participants reported:
- Greater self-awareness
- More purposeful behaviour e.g. stating expectations
- A shift in focus from the operational to the strategic
- A stronger network across different locations and better cross-boundary collaboration
- Deeper understanding of the organisation and its purpose
- A stronger feedback culture amongst the cohort
The team included Aoife Keane, Kendra Coleman, Johnny Kelleher and Jennifer Rees.
