US/Europe Mobile Communications Company

US-based company was embarking on the next stage of its growth strategy. This involved the acquisition of a European company, increased investment in research and innovation, and a more aggressive approach to revenue generation. With this came the recognition that executives needed to be the best leaders possible to create an organization where people and new ideas thrive, and excellence is the norm.  This led to the decision to invest in an Executive Development Program involving the entire 11-member executive team.

The program was designed in three phases. The first was a customized interview-based leadership 360 assessment augmented by the EQi 2.0 self-assessment. Interviews were conducted with the executive, his or her boss, peers, and a sample of direct reports. The interview questions were customized to fit the unique context and needs of the organization. This is an extremely powerful approach providing deep, broad, and rich insights that guide the creation of targeted and action-oriented personal development plans. 

In the second phase, the results for all the executives were compiled to identify priorities for the company’s leadership development curriculum. In the third and final phase, the executives received feedback and coaching every 90-days until they had achieved their development goals as determined by their manager, the CEO. This proven and effective approach accelerates behavior change and capability development.

Outcome: The CEO reported observable positive changes in behavior, the acquisition of new knowledge, skill development, and increased contribution to strategy discussions, problem-solving and decision-making. As a result, he has asked that new members of the executive team also experience the process.

Tools: Interview 360 Leadership Assessment (custom), EQi 2.0 assessment (emotional intelligence), Executive Coaching

US High Technology Company

For more than forty years, this US high tech company has held their own against much larger companies with deeper pockets and significantly more resources at their disposal. The challenge was the company needed to grow so it could remain competitive and attract new investors. For this to be possible, senior executives needed to be aligned and operating as a high performing and effective leadership team. Specifically, they needed to work better together to shape strategy, solve complex problems, and make very difficult decisions. The sense was that while relationships on the team were for the most part collegial, changes were necessary to achieve the level of alignment, collaboration, and teamwork that was required. The result was a decision to invest in an initiative to improve the effectiveness of the executive team.

The first phase of the initiative focused on assessing the current situation. A combination of interviews and an online team assessment were used to identify what was working well and could be improved. In phase two, the results were discussed at a workshop whose objectives included clarifying the role of the team (versus individuals), defining operating principles, and refining managing practices to improve effectiveness. The latter included decision-making, prioritization, meeting cadence, and communications. The workshop also provided an opportunity to engage the executives in a team building activity designed to strengthen relationships. A scorecard process was also introduced to monitor progress. Phase three was a formal follow-up which occurred nine months later. A second workshop was held where significant progress was reported indicating they were well on their way to being a highly effective team. Phase four is planned for the near future and includes a follow-up assessment and third workshop to continue to build on this foundation.

Outcome: An executive leadership team aligned and working together effectively to shape strategy, solve complex problems, and make difficult decisions. Relationships among team members also improved resulting in fewer incidences of dysfunctional behavior.

Tools: Team Effectiveness Interviews, Online Team Assessment, Team Effectiveness Workshop (customized)

US Communications Company

Like many smaller companies, this US company had successfully operated for years with minimal infrastructure including employee and leadership development programs and tools. However, as the company grew, there became a need to provide managers and employees with direction regarding expected leadership behaviors plus tools to help them grow and develop. This was also important in order to strengthen talent acquisition and management practices leading to better people decisions. The result was the decision to partner with us to develop a leadership competency model and a development guide that identified specific developmental activities for each behavior in the model.

In the first phase of the project, we developed a high-level framework based on the company’s values and cultural attributes augmented by insights gained from interviews with executives, as well as prior models we had developed. Once approved, we then drafted a ‘strawman’ of the detailed model that identified the leadership expectations by competency for people at three levels of responsibility: Leads Self, Leads Others, and Leads Managers and Functions. This was followed by online employee focus groups where we gathered feedback from people at different levels working at all company locations. After each feedback session, we refined the model until reaching the final and approved end state. With the model approved, we moved into phase two which was to create a Development Guide that managers and employees could use to create effective personal development plans. This is a comprehensive document with tips and advice, as well as actionable developmental activities for each leadership behavior in the model. The development activities were customized to the company and based on the classic ’70-20-10’ approach (on-the-job learning, learning from others, and classroom learning). 

Outcomes: The leadership competency model and development guide are currently in deployment. They are the cornerstone for the company’s new employee development process which is a key component of their strategy to attract, develop and retain top talent. 

Tools: Leadership Competency Models, Development Guide

US Retail Company

As a purpose-focused organization where giving was a core part of its business model, growth had been staggeringly fast. It was time to reflect on what had been achieved and to more intentionally consider how the company would operate as it shifted to more complex structures and systems. The stage was set with the arrival of new players such as a President, new CHRO and an Organizational Development professional. The intention was to connect the dots between the new Strategy, the Brand, Leadership and Culture.

Two steams of activity took place: first, a CultureStrategyFit® survey to understand better the culture emerging with growth, and second, a high engagement approach to connecting the dots that included defining the Future Culture, Core Values and related Essential Behaviors. In such a passionate, high engagement workplace, it was important to balance contribution from start-up employees through to seasoned professionals arriving to bolster global expansion. A Culture Camp was launched that included a series of workshops to articulate Future Culture and Core Values. Utilizing many of our Culture Tools plus Advisory Services, we helped guide and support HR on their culture journey.

Outcome: An organization whose members are aligned in their commitment to a vibrant Future Culture vision and unique Core Values reflecting the company's strong social responsibility focus.

Tools: CultureStrategyFit® Survey, Culture Images, Values Workshop

Global Media & Entertainment Company

To remain in its competition position, this Fortune 100 company cares deeply about the way its culture operates to support agility, creativity, collaboration, engagement and productivity. It faces disruptive external change and worries about the risk that culture dynamics will undermine its reputation, brand and strategy. With multiple independent divisions in locations across the globe, it wanted a new kind of culture survey that would help leaders and their teams learn more about their units’ culture strengths, the way these support strategic imperatives and potentially get in the way, as well as culture development needs to support innovation and growth.

The objective was to help each senior leader and team understand the way the culture was operating and what needed attention across the Division as well as within operating units. To that end, reports were provided at the Division, Group, as well as Regional level. Head Office, including the Global Functions, also received a complement of reports. Given Enterprise strategy, we then consolidated results for the Executive Team and the Board focusing on key culture insights, opportunities and risks. Partnering with HR/OD, we provided Knowledge Transfer throughout the initiative to prepare HR for its role in describing findings around culture strengths, needs and dynamics and facilitating action strategy sessions to act on the results. Workshops with senior HR leaders were held in Asia Pacific, Europe, South America and North America.

Outcomes: Division A has reinvented itself from a stuffy, old school television programming company to a hip new content provider. Division B continues to build on its strength as an innovative creator of unique, respected and admired content. Division C has transitioned from a siloed and fragmented organization to an integrated solution provider leveraging its IP across multiple platforms.

Tools:  CultureStrategyFit® Survey, Culture Change Coaching

Canadian Academic Institution

A strategic planning process raised concerns about a College’s ability to respond to significant external changes. Challenging new strategies needed to be executed cohesively by VPs, Deans and Directors, requiring a significant transformation in programs, structures and systems, but underlying it all was the worrisome factor, its current culture. The President and the Strategy Office asked Culture-Strategy Fit to help its top leaders develop a unified vision about the culture needed to deliver the strategy, the role they needed to play in its transformation and the behaviors to be valued in making this happen.

Culture work began with a day long session to articulate the Future Culture needed to deliver the new strategy and the behaviors that would contribute most to strengthening culture. Following preliminary activities to develop a shared definition of organizational culture, we ran our Chocolate Factory Leadership Simulation to explore the way the current leadership culture was operating to both support and impede high performance and strategy. This immersive simulation allowed the leaders to experience the way their group norms of behavior were influencing the effectiveness of decision making, planning, risk taking, collaboration, innovation and compliance. Leaders still refer to this as the ‘wake up call’ that sparked the transformation ahead.

The leaders then painted a picture of the Future Culture using Culture Cards and the Culture Images activity. After narrowing focus to specific aspects of culture that needed to be preserved, strengthened or developed, the group described what these would look like in terms of behaviors, beliefs and assumptions. Internal resources were then able to lead processes for validating the future culture by engaging the organization. Advisory services and leader meetings continued for 18 months.

What was missing was a set of Core Values to anchor decision making and actions. It was clear that some Accidental Values (Lencioni 2002) had emerged over time that were undermining performance. To start the Values conversation, we asked 40 of the top leaders to gather to share their stories of values in action when the College was operating at its best. Top leaders carefully prepared a story from their own experience and shared these in detail at tables. Stories that resonated with the table were analyzed for underlying values. Stories and values were then shared across tables, building agreement around those that truly reflected ‘us at our best’. A second meeting helped generate descriptors of the behaviors and beliefs that evidenced these Values. The OD team was now ready to engage the next level of leaders, employees and stakeholders in testing these values and descriptors. Following a year of consultation, the Core Values were approved and integrated into Human Capital processes and systems.

Outcomes: The College is celebrating its 50th year in 2017 and has transformed into an innovation leader. Leadership is aligned around a compelling set of values created and embraced with the active involvement of employees.

Tools: Chocolate Factory Leadership Simulation, Culture Cards, Culture Images, Values Workshop