Case Study: Leadership Development
Case Study: Leadership Development
Business Challenge: How do we support our leaders to ensure development and engagement during tough times?
In the highly competitive pharmaceutical field, where intellectual capital is the only real competitive advantage, a large pharmaceutical company found they required a more strategic approach to develop and engage leaders in their Canadian R&D Centre. In working with the client’s leadership, it became apparent that we needed to develop a level-specific leadership skill building curriculum that would not only stretch and develop key leaders in the organization, but get these leaders working on the problems of the business as a vehicle for development. Both leaders and the organization saw this as the critical “win-win” value proposition that could drive engagement and productivity.
To design this curriculum, Right Management first conducted interviews and focus groups to identify the ideal leadership success profile and the priority areas for development. Armed with that feedback, we implemented a series of business relevant learning sessions focusing on specific skill development that ultimately supported the leadership profile required by the organization. Throughout the sessions we administered a variety of assessments to help leaders better understand their strengths and development areas. Between each session, participants were given active learning assignments that allowed them to apply their new knowledge on the job and develop solutions to on-going business problems. Leaders attended each module with a cross-section of colleagues from different divisional units, to gain different perspectives and enhance collaboration across the R&D Centre. Moreover, each leader was matched up with a Senior Vice President, who provided additional coaching and mentorship throughout the program.
Through this process, leaders developed a universal approach to communication ensuring messaging was consistently aligned with corporate goals. In addition, they became more adept at objective setting, conflict management and coaching, enabling them to manage their teams more successfully. As a result of team-building activities and a new, shared approach, team effectiveness improved. In fact, overall communication and productivity was boosted significantly evidenced by focus groups and surveys completed inside the organization.