Special Supplement _ Volume 05 _ Issue 03 2011

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www.efmd.org Special supplement | Volume 05 | Issue 03 2011

A GLOBAL FOCUS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

Excellence in Practice 2011Outstanding and impactful partnerships between businesses and educational organisations



Special supplement | Global Focus Vol 05 | Issue 03 2011

The Excellence in Practice AwardIntroduction

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www.efmd.org/globalfocus

Corporate Learning and Development (L&D) organisationshave consistently matured into effective actors in the realmof investing in people and organisation development. Andthis shows in critical times such as these where only those

practices and projects having a proven impact on businessget resourced.

The projects documented in this special supplement to Global Focus demonstrate just that: investing in people is not a luxury; it is a keyasset for business success if professionally structured and deployed.

These cases also pay tribute to the integrator role of L&D departments:aligning with multiple internal stakeholders (from HR to Strategy) anddeploying a large variety of development approaches (such as coaching,action learning, large group interventions and so on but, above all,mobilising all required expertise to implement the solution typically

in a multi-country multi-business environment.EFMD’s Excellence in Practice Award puts the spotlights on those projectsand interventions that excel in this double partnering challenge of L&Ddepartments: partnering with the business in tackling key businesschallenges as well as partnering with an eco-system of suppliers inproviding solutions that come up to expectations.

And as all jury members to EFMD’s 2011 Excellence in Practice Award willconfirm, this year’s applications were of exceptional quality, successfullygenerating trust and credibility as true learning business partners bytackling business challenges through impactful people and organisationinterventions.

Hence, we decided not just to share the winning cases with you but alsoa number of commendable projects that can add to your inspiration andthe credibility of our profession.

Enjoy the reading!

The projects documented heredemonstrate that investing in

people is not a luxury, it is key



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EFMD Global Focus | Volume 05 | Issue 03 2011

Free TrialFree trial of Strategic Direction

for three monthsFeaturing reviews of the 2011 EFMD Excellencein Practice Award Winning Papers, Volume 27,Issue 11 of Strategic Direction will be availablefor three months from the 23rd October 2011.Strategic Direction is an essential managementinformation resource for today’s strategicthinkers. As a unique service, we scan throughthe best 400 management journals in the worldand distil the most topical management issuesand relevant implications for senior managersout of the cutting-edge research. We regularly

present case study reviews of theFortune 500

companies.

To access your free trial, go to:www.emeraldinsight.com/sd.htmand enter the following details inthe top left hand corner of the page:

Username: EFMD2011

Password: Emerald804

For more information about the journal, pleasecontact the Publisher, William Strange at

[email protected]

2011 WINNERS

Arcelor Mittal

Center for Creative Leadership

Emerging World

ING Bank

INSEAD

Microsoft

Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Philips Electronics

the world we work in

TMA World

Wharton School




Excellence in Practice Awards 2011Observations and Trends

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EIP Case Studies

The EFMD Excellence in Practice Award attractscase studies describing an effective andimpactful Leadership and Development (L&D)intervention. These programmes can be

deployed by an organisation – company, publicsector, charity etc – either together with theirin-house L&D organisation or with an externalL&D provider.

The specific Learning and Development domainin which the intervention is situated can be:

– Leadership Development

– Professional Development

– Talent Development

– Organisation Development

The winners and highly commended casesdemonstrate:

– Operational excellence in their sustainablepartnership and effective learningenvironment

– Excellent programme management indesign, delivery, evaluation and so on

– Strong business impact through alignmentwith corporate strategy

This special supplement of Global Focus includes

profiles of the winning cases, executivesummaries of the highly commended cases andobservations from Martine Plompen on the maintrends from all of the cases submitted in 2011.



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Main trends

— Involvement of senior management andsponsors from the client company in design anddelivery and evaluation becomes increasinglysophisticated.

— Flexibility, speed and commitment, especiallyat the provider side of the partnership, are key.

— Partnerships with the participants allowbuilding on the existing strengths of individualsand of the organisation as a whole. Activeinvolvement in design and delivery ensureengagement and commitment. Additionally,dealing with issues owned by the participantsensures relevance.

—

Learning is an ongoing journey, over monthsif not years, and the blurring of lines betweena specific learning intervention and pre and postactivities continues, especially with technologicaladvances.

— When comparing provider profiles of the2007 and the 2011 cases, the increased diversityof learning and development providers is veryobvious.

— All companies involved in the 2011 casesoperate a set of specified core competencies that

translate in a variety of terms and terminologies,but which evolve around growth andsustainability in the broadest possible sense.

— Face-to-face interaction and project work arethe most common components in the casessubmitted in the 2011 awards. Also, involvementof top management and strategic dialogueand engagement are key.



Strategic alignment

From the EIP cases, it can be observed thatconnection to corporate strategy is enhancedthrough conducting pilot sessions for businessunits, nomination of participants by line

management, programme sponsors fromthe board participating in design and deliveryand involvement of human resources andtalent management people in the pre andpost programme activities. In the strongercases, board-level involvement goes wellbeyond programme participation or availabilityfor strategic discussions and, for instance,translates itself into supervising formal learningagreements or agreeing on the action learning/improvement projects. For enhanced strategicalignment, a common approach is to have the

learning and development needs identified bythe CEO or the Executive Committee of theclient company. Increasingly, the jury membersobserve a broadening role for participants,especially in the capacity of launching newinitiatives or for debating current and futurestrategy. Often, the learning intervention istreated as a strategic investment, with anoverall objective of driving innovation andcreating a substantial financial contribution.

Impact

Achieving business impact is greatly facilitatedthrough a palette of approaches such as workingwith client company data; having managers asinstructors; dealing with real business

challenges and involving the broadest possiblerange of stakeholders. In some cases, veryspecific objectives are set – and met – suchas a 20% increase in internal promotions anda comparable reduction in recruitment costs.Achieving the desired impact can also meanimplementing a systematic approach toleadership development or the creation of apool of change agents; other more difficult tomeasure indicators include increased overallco-operation and knowledge sharing orfeedback on strategy to top management.

More examples of monetary and non-monetaryimpact include financial indicators, overallproductivity, customer satisfaction, sense ofbelonging and personal development. Jury panelobservations furthermore include the interlinkedperspectives of improvement in managementcompetencies and improvement in company-wide engagement with mechanisms focusedon individual development combined withinterventions around strategy, vision and culturalconvergence.

Additionally, there is the clear trend towardsbroader societal partnerships and impactthat has been noted and discussed in the

jury sessions.

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Excellence in Practice Awards 2011Observations and Trends

There is the clear trend towardsbroader societal partnerships andimpact that has been noted and

discussed in the jury sessions



Design and delivery

In essence, learning interventions in the EIP cases are about developingcompetent people and ensuring strategic alignment. Moreover, severalof the cases are perfect illustrations of initiatives designed and managedglobally and delivered and supported regionally. The jury members observe

that main recurring components are residential sessions with formallearning inputs and networking, exchanges with top executives, real-lifeprojects and ongoing alumni-type services. It can be concluded that anoverall iterative process putting the learning experience first will ensure atrue developmental experience. The optimal learning processes in the 2011EIP cases build on existing strengths and processes and showcasesophisticated approaches in diagnostic and development approaches.

Underpinning or overarching are an overall openness and willingnessby the client company to test the waters and by the providers to re-designand re-focus the intervention, which then leads to an exceptional levelof integration and alignment.

Programme management in practice also encapsulates the process ofcreating understanding, excitement and commitment, often done throughworking on real and urgent problems. A rich palette of stakeholderinputs in programme design and delivery has been observed from theEIP cases. Conceptual models combine expertise in learning processeswith the reality of a fast-changing context of management with specificefforts dedicated to the emotional aspects of individuals and teams in ahigh-pressure environment.

An overall design challenge is scalability of interventions and several ofthe cases offer tools to broaden audiences and impact while containingcosts. Another overall observation from the jury members is theimportance of pre-programme phase, going far beyond pre-reading,

with assessments, individualised support and guidance on the selectionof action learning projects.

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Observations and Trends

An overall design challenge is scalability ofinterventions and several of the cases offertools to broaden audiences and impact while

containing costs



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Learning objectives and evaluation

Objectives of the learning interventions in the cases that were submittedin the 2011 Excellence in Practice Awards are primarily focused on:

– Development of talent, engagement of employees, better promotionand career opportunities

– Strategic challenges around business growth, post-merger environment,emerging markets

Improving skills, changing behaviour, strengthening global cohesion,enhancing strategic understanding, providing networking opportunitiesare a few examples of the mechanisms that learning providers offer. Theabove cannot be separated from the assessment and selection processesof participants and additionally there is the level of integration of a learningintervention with the overall people strategy and processes.

Evaluation – in some of the cases submitted – is translated intomeasureable elements such as increased market share, media coverage,

career progression, successful completion of projects, cost savings fromprojects implemented, critical mass of leaders with new skills, reductionin recruitment costs, trainers being trained and participants becomingteachers, certifications delivered, improved speed and accuracy inprocesses.

The achievement of other objectives is indirect and longer term. forinstance loyalty to the company, reputation and brand image, value ofstrategic discussions, exchange of experiences and building capacity,corporate common language, appreciation of soft skills, and changingperspectives on the individual or organisational role and responsibility.



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Accelerating Strategy Executionand Professional Development

ING and ‘the world we work in’

Jetske van Heusden, Kate Ng andGert-Jan van Wijk describe how INGand ‘the world we work in’ co-createdthe High Impact Performance (HIP)

programme. Designed for High Value Specialists (HVS), the HIPsimultaneously accelerates strategyexecution and HVS’ professionaldevelopment from technicalspecialist to trusted advisor.

Challenge

At the International Conference in June 2004,the former CEO of ING Group addressed his

top 200 managers head on: What skills wouldthe new strategy require? Did ING have theseskills in sufficient supply? If not, how wouldthey be developed?

Managerial decision-making, responded the top200, was sound. It was in executing the outcomesof these decisions that the company could hugelybenefit from becoming more adept. Oneparticular group stood out – the High ValueSpecialists (HVS): the high-potential, non-managerial people who “get things done”. Withno systematic approach to their development,their potential was significantly under-utilised.

This was just the sort of assignment that INGBusiness School (IBS) relishes: the mandate todeliver a programme that would be at the heartof the new strategy. The chosen partner for thisinitiative was ‘the world we work in’ (TWWWI),a global network of experienced faculty andfacilitators who share the values of co-creation,business involvement and impact on both thebusiness and the specialist community.



Challenge linked to strategy and desired impact

The team started by taking some critical designdecisions, which connected the developmentinitiative firmly to corporate strategy and securedthe natural involvement of ING business linemanagement and talent management in the

design of each High Impact Performance(HIP). Since 2005 until today, these decisionshave remained fundamental to its success.

1. Run the programme at a business line orfunctional level. While ING’s initial requestwas an open enrolment programme for INGGroup, the design team quickly realised thatthe HVS could better impact corporate strategythrough business/functional strategy ratherthan directly. This business line focus wouldalso engage their motivations more effectively.

2. Request the commitment and participationof a management team (MT) member who actsas a business line sponsor for the programme.This sponsor co-designs the programme andparticipates in a strategic dialogue withparticipants.

3. Focus participant nominations on thebusiness line interest. Nominations are doneby line and talent management, allowingparticipants to build a job-focused, information-rich network that has relevance back in thebusiness.

4. Customise each programme to the strategyand key challenges of the business line.

5. Involve three [internal] clients – seniormanagers from the business line who each bringa live strategic problem to the programme.

6. Involve talent management in nomination,pre-programme phase, re-entry session andpost-programme follow up.

The emergence of a model

One of the benefits of a trusting partnershipis that it facilitates learning and knowledgecreation. Neither party to the partnershiparrived with a model for the HIP. This tookshape and evolved as we discovered the

requirements of the business environment.

Next step was to interview potentialparticipants, line managers and talentmanagers to understand more about HVSchallenges. The outcomes were tested in fivepresentations, including the piloting businessline. The challenges below were then agreed,along with the “three pillars” model of:strategy, client and personal impact.

– Work in more diverse virtual global teams asthe business is becoming more international

[impact].

– Be able to actively search for strategic directionthrough desk research and interviewsinternally and externally [strategy and impact]

– Translate these directions to implicationsfor their own value contribution [strategyand impact].

– Understand (internal) client needs from theperspective of the client, which is essentiallymulti-disciplinary and strategic [client andimpact].

– Build a client relationship outside the technicaldomain of the HVS [impact].

– Craft a workshop instead of a presentation,to influence others effectively throughinteraction and dialogue [impact].

– Understand their own personal styles betterand how their preferred styles impact theirinteractions with others [impact].

– Use their personal differences and signaturepresence in presenting and influencing others

[impact].

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ING and ‘the world we work in’

The four-day programme itself is made up ofa series of well-timed and sequenced actionlearning assignments based upon thechallenges above, interspersed with theoryand skills workshops.

For example, virtual teams are required toinvestigate part of the business line strategystarting four weeks prior to the programme.Each team presents the outcomes throughan interactive workshop in which they mustengage and effectively influence their fellowparticipants and strategy sponsor. They aresupported by theoretical inputs and skillspractices in areas such as dialogue, influence,team working and presentation.

After 15 iterations of the programme acrossdifferent business lines and functions a second

model emerged – a generic career track forspecialists, similar to the career developmentdescribed by Sharan and Drotter (2001) in “TheLeadership Pipeline”.

Three stages were identified: technical expert,trusted advisor and strategic business partner.The HIP helps technical experts make thetransition to trusted advisors. Gert-Jan vanWijk describes “The specialist career track”in a separate article, which is also includedin the EFMD EiP case study (appendix 5).

Virtual teams, are required toinvestigate part of the businessline strategy starting four weeks

prior to the programme



Ongoing customisation

As each business line or group functiondiffers and individual learning needs change,the design changes accordingly. This isaccomplished through a series of designsteps for each programme:

– Initial conversation between lead facultyand talent manager about the participantgroup, strategy sponsor and seniormanagers joining the HIP.

– Design meeting with strategy sponsorto design the virtual team assignment

– Briefing meeting with strategy sponsorand senior managers.

– 30-minute participant briefing calls tostart the learning process and understand

participants’ needs. Faculty fine-tunes theprogramme based on these.

– Letter to participants’ line managers, inspiringthem to support the development of theirreport, prior and post programme.

– Conference call for all participants to kickoff the VT assignment.

– Faculty team meeting to discuss the detailedprogramme and its customised elementsand assign roles.

Impact

Since 2005, 65 programmes have been runsuccessfully within nine business lines andgroup functions, in Europe, the US and Asia.Over 1,300 participants plus 250 senior managersand strategy sponsors have been involved.

Post-programme evaluations show consistentaverage ratings of 4.5 on a 5-point scale.

Recently, however, both partners felt the needto review the impact of the programme on adeeper level. An impact study was conductedfour to six months post-programme, among100 HIP alumni and 15 strategy sponsors andsenior managers. The key findings showed theimpact was experienced as “strong” althoughless so (score 4.0) than in immediate postprogramme evaluations. Participants felt theHIP’s greatest impact was personal.

Strategy sponsors and senior managers,however, emphasised the business impact:

“Personally, I was impressed with the workshopsthey ran during the HIP session; their views onpotential steps to take in the light of revising ourstrategy in this changing environment wererelevant and refreshing. I’m confident that theselearning initiatives are strong engagementdrivers and powerful enablers of our 5-yearstrategy.” (CFO & Strategy sponsor).

The study concluded the HIP programme reallyis a leadership programme for HVS in the contextof their relevant strategy and client environment.It highlighted opportunities to enhance facultycapability and post programme follow-up. As INGsplits its insurance and banking businesses, theprogramme continues to support both.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jetske van Heusden is Senior

Consultant Leadership &

Talent Development, ING

Group Insurance

[email protected]

Kate Ng is a network partner

of ‘the world we work in’

[email protected]

Gert-Jan van Wijk is initiator

at ‘the world we work in’

[email protected]

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65Since 2005, 65

programmes have been run successfully

within nine business

lines and group

functions, in Europe,

the US and Asia

4.5Post-programme

evaluations showconsistent average

ratings of 4.5 on a

5-point scale



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Nerves of steel in ‘glocal’ challenge ArcelorMittal’s push and pull strategy

New global giant mobilises and sustains enterprise- wide training:

Creating the biggest steel company in the world is quitean achievement. Helping the businesses within itrestructure and merge into one coherent enterprise is adaunting task. When Arcelor and Mittal Steel merged in2006, ArcelorMittal found itself with a genuinely globalreach, with large workforces located in both mature andemerging markets.

The challenges of successfully managing such a large-scale business weremade more complex by the cultural diversity at national / corporate /functional levels; linguistic diversity (37 different languages); a large andgeographically dispersed workforce; business units operating at different

stages of the economic cycle; and sites with different levels of technologicalsophistication and production capability. In some countries therehad never been any formal or structured management training orleadership development.

Strategy of convergence and up-skilling

Senior executives from different parts of the business took part ina consultation exercise in 2006. Their comments highlighted thechallenges and opportunities ahead and the most recurrent were:

– It feels like a multinational “start-up”

– Businesses around the world are operating at entirely differentlevels of maturity, sophistication and development

– Values have been defined, but are lived very inconsistently acrossthe operating companies

– Need to shift from an “engineering mindset” to a “value creation mindset”

– Crossroads in terms of leadership; what worked in the past willnot necessarily work in the future

– Common identity but little sense of affinity at this stage

– Many people have yet to feel part of the wider organisation

A strategy of workforce convergence and up-skilling was needed torealign the 300,000-strong employees around a common purpose,brand identity, value system and competency framework.

Under the direct ownership of Chairman and CEO Lakshmi N Mittaland the Group Management Board, an enterprise-wide training

3737 different languagesspoken across the

new business

300k300,000 employees

worldwide, after the

merger



initiative was established, the central purposeof which was to address the two key strategicorganisational needs of up-skilling (whilesupporting the motivation and retention ofmanagers) and promoting greater globalcohesion.

Partnership navigates volatile economic conditions

The ArcelorMittal University entered apartnership with training company TMA World,which has helped many of the world’s largestorganisations become globally collaborative andcompetitive through enterprise-wide trainingsolutions.

TMA World worked with the ManagementAcademy of the ArcelorMittal Universityto support enterprise-wide learning anddevelopment.

A comprehensive curriculum of Core Leadershipand Management Skills programmes (CLMS)was established, capable of being deliveredacross multiple cultures and languages.

The ArcelorMittal University / TMA Worldpartnership has been sustained for more thanfive years, navigating the 2009 global financialcrisis, while continuing to develop new, regionallyoriented solutions that are delivered in localbusinesses.

Steven Pritchard, Director, Global Accounts for

TMA World, commented that “in order to ensurethe alignment of content to key corporatemessages around ArcelorMittal brand valuesand competencies, we mobilised an initial teamof 36 consultants in 26 countries to act as ‘brandambassadors’, as well as deliverers of training”.

During the initial “push” phase of deployingtraining through the University, a set of 12CLMS solutions were designed to addressthe challenges. Solutions were deployedin business units following a further globaltraining needs analysis, conducted countryby country.

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15



Nerves of steel in ‘glocal’ challenge

Sapna Arora, Head of the Management Academy and Functional Academyat the ArcelorMittal University, stressed that “this initiative was able tomeet specific local needs through the close co-ordination of our extensiveglobal Learning and Development network”. The CLMS programmesfocused on three primary themes: developing myself, developing othersand developing teams.

Environmental issues which can influence the effectiveness of training

For learning to have impact, TMA World needed to manage a wide varietyof cultural and environmental issues at different delivery locations.Flexibility is essential when working in countries as diverse as Costa Rica,Bosnia, Brazil, Kazakhstan or India. Environmental issues can influencethe effectiveness of training if not actively acknowledged and factored inbeforehand.

Examples of environmental challenges include:

– Local myopia: in many locations, little exposure to the demands ofworking in a more globally integrated enterprise, together with theassociated skills sets required

– Management culture: reluctance in some countries with traditionallyhierarchical cultures to develop middle management cadres who tendto thrive in flatter structures where senior managers may be challenged

– Poor working relations: industrial unrest and/or lack of trust between theworkforce and local managers limiting the extent to which delegates feelfree to express their views openly on daily management concerns duringtraining

– Workforce quantity vs quality: scepticism concerning the need forworkforce reductions to improve cost efficiency while investing in learningand development to improve management capability

– Linguistic equivalence: ensuring that translations of learning materialhave equivalency of meaning when delivered enterprise-wide

– Under-developed leadership and development infrastructure: lack of awell-developed HR infrastructure in some countries to organise, targetand exploit the full benefits of training before during and after delivery

Currently, these challenges are overcome using a variety of approachessuch as integrating training within local change initiatives rather thandelivering programmes in isolation. Personal development plans identifyan individual manager’s specific learning needs to then target the righttraining accurately.



Shifting the gravitational energy of training

In terms of shifting the gravitational energy oftraining from global (push) to local (pull), thework of the ArcelorMittal University has directlyimpacted the following key areas:

– Localisation: offering training programmesthat are differentiated by their globalperspective, exceptional quality and theArcelorMittal brand mark. They compete withthe local training providers but are increasinglypreferred despite being slightly more expensive

– Cost efficiency: having reliable, high-qualityglobal training provision substantially reducesthe time and cost of searching for andappointing local training suppliers

– Systematic focus: increasing numbers ofmanagers engaged in the Global ExecutiveDevelopment Programme (GEDP) bringingsharper focus to specific individualimprovements in competence and targetingtraining needs

– Locally driven projects (pull): Special projectsinvolving CLMS delivery are increasinglyfacilitated by ArcelorMittal University aroundlocal and functional business needs. Theseare a further endorsement of the success ofan integrated “glocal” approach

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The successful collaboration betweenArcelorMittal University and TMA World hasdemonstrated that training is a powerful toolfor behavioural change and organisationalalignment and assists the process of globalintegration.

Brian Callaghan, Vice President GlobalLeadership and Development atArcelorMittal,says that “despite the challengesposed by such a large and diverse enterprise, thespeed of organisational change combined withimprovements in individual performance throughtraining are very positive. The fact that over 17,000delegates have participated in programmes witha satisfaction rate of 96% globally is testimony tothe perceived value of the initiative”.

This review is based on Global push...local pull:

Mobilising and sustaining enterprise-wide trainingglobally in ArcelorMittal by Sapna Arora(ArcelorMittal) and Steven Pritchard (TMA World).

The paper – a winning submission to theEuropean Foundation for ManagementDevelopment’s Excellence in Practice Awards– describes the collaboration between steel giantArcelorMittal and global training partner TMAWorld.

The case study describes the evolution andsustainability of consistent enterprise-wide

training to support management developmentand organisational alignment. The casedemonstrates the successful migration fromcorporately financed training (push) towardsthe fulfilment of regionally driven trainingneeds funded by local businesses (pull) whilemaintaining the global brand mark.

REFERENCE

Arora, S. and Pritchard, S. (2011),Global push...local pull:

Mobili sing and s ustai ning enter prise -wide trainin g glob ally

in ArcelorMittal , European Foundation for Management

Development Excellence in Practice Awards winning

submission 2011, Special Cases category .

96%Over 17,000 delegates

have participated

in the programmes

with a satisfaction rate

of 96%



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Building the new RBSLeadership development at the heart

of the group’s long-term recovery plan

Recovering the group’s business and reputation

In February 2009, RBS announced the details of a StrategicPlan that would allow the bank to recover from its crisis,making the group safer, stronger, more efficient and

profitable on a long-term basis.

RBS was in an extraordinarily vulnerable position at that time. The UKgovernment had to rescue it so it could stay in business, the shareprice fell to 10p and it reported a £24 billion loss to the stock market.

Morale among senior managers and executives was diminished; therewas a culture of single-minded pursuit of targets and goals; poor businessdecisions had been taken and consequently a better approach tounderstanding and managing risk was vital.

And significantly, the leaders had relied on decisions being made at the

very top of the organisation. But if you’re not leading you won’t make theright decisions.

The Strategic Plan focused on three main principles: “creating value” and“reducing risk” underpinned by a distinct cultural change in leadershipstyle, enabling a more open and thoughtful approach to decision-making.

Building the development plan that would deliver the Strategic Plan

Development programmes are all too often cut at times of crisis but RBSput great weight and energy into its development plan becoming a centralelement of one of the most significant recovery plans in corporate history.The primary objectives of the Leadership Development Programme (LDP)were:

– Equip our leaders to understand, execute and sustain the strategicbusiness plan at both group and divisional levels

– Provide an opportunity to challenge the business plan and buildownership of, and accountability for, the delivery of the strategicbusiness plan

– Develop leaders’ analytical skills and their ability to think strategically

– Promote disciplined and effective collaborative working across thegroup to improve business performance.

– Establish and reinforce common leadership language and behaviours.

There was agreement between all parties that the LDP lent itself primarily

to a workshop approach. However, the two modules required quite differentapproaches due to the contrasting levels of insight around the topics.



Managing for Value Creation involved reasonablyhigh-level theories and concepts – INSEAD’sfaculty demonstrated how to create valueand, perhaps more importantly, how to avoiddestroying value.

Meanwhile Wharton found that there was alreadystrength, process and focus given to traditionalrisk management in the bank – such as creditrisk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational riskand reputational risk. They needed to helpRBS leaders to question what was missing,to see how those risks were systemicallyinterconnected and to help them understandthat managing risk is everyone’s responsibility,not just people with “risk” in their job title.

Partner helps to question what was missing

By late 2009 RBS had run four pilot programmes,

identified its preferred academic partners andwas refining content ready for full rollout in early2010. By the start of 2011 almost 700 participantshad completed the programme, creatingmomentum within the organisation forsignificant cultural change. The February 2011full-year results also indicated that the businesswas ahead of schedule on its recovery plan.

By the end of July 2011, 1,100 executives wereexpected to have completed the LDP involving33 cohorts, 66 core 2.5 day modules mainly atthe RBS Business School in Edinburgh.

RBS’s academic partners, two of the world’sleading business schools, also deliveredmodules – at the INSEAD campus inSingapore and at Wharton ExecutiveEducation in Pennsylvania to accommodateglobal leadership populations cost effectively.

Leaders are applying what they have learned

More than three-quarters of LDP alumnireported that they are applying key conceptsfrom the programme. An independent evaluation

also scored the LDP at the top end or abovethe benchmark indicators for “relevancy”,

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11,00By the end of July

2011, 1,100 executives

were expected to

have completed the

LDP involving 33

cohorts, 66 core

2.5 day modules




Building the new RBS

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“personal impact” and “likelihood torecommend”. In fact, 84% or more of theLDP alumni reported a change in their abilityin line with the goals of the program.

These findings indicate that the programme

has changed participants’ perspectivesof their role as leaders within RBS and,importantly, it has equipped RBS leaderswith new skills that were directly linkedto the group’s longer-term recovery plan.

Beyond the key elements of the programme’scontent and the importance its impact has toplay on the business’s recovery plan, notablefeatures of the LDP that make it stand out are:

– The commitment to a major leadershipprogramme at such a critical andunprecedented moment in the business’shistory

– The sheer size of the programme is impressive– to get the top 1,100 executives in a globalorganisation to participate in the LDP is notan easy task; the logistical requirements ofgetting busy people to take six days out oftheir schedule cannot be understated; theability of the academic providers to get theirkey faculty in place to support such a rate ofmodules is equally challenging. But the realimportance of the participation size is that it

enables change in the organisation– The speed at which the programme was

conceived, designed and implemented. Ithas taken less than two years for the LDPto be first proposed, the key elementsidentified, pilots run, academic partnersengaged, content refined and 700-plus seniorleaders participating. This can only be achievedthrough powerful sponsorship from the highestlevel, excellent administration and finally…

The recovery of RBS willundoubtedly be one of thebiggest and most complextransformations ever seen



– Extraordinary collaboration and trust andtransparency between the client and academicpartners. Wharton Client Director, Eric Weiner,says he “got ‘religion’ on what a real trustedadvisor relationship is….when problems

arose…volcanic ash…faculty in hospital…theywere addressed head-on in a collaborativeway…they treated us as a partner and not avendor…their success was ours”

The recovery of RBS will undoubtedly be oneof the biggest and most complex transformationsever seen. Halfway into its five-year plan, RBShas made good progress rebuilding itself, butthe real value of the programme may onlyreally become apparent some years from nowwhen the impact of the content and deliveryare absorbed into the RBS culture.

Comment

This edited review by Emerald Publishing isbased on “RBS Leadership DevelopmentProgramme” by Peter McGrath, Eric Weinerand Mark Roberts. The paper – a winningsubmission to the European Foundation forManagement Development’s Excellence inPractice Awards – describes the design andimplementation of a development programmefor Royal Bank of Scotland leaders at a criticalpoint in the global financial institution’s history– the bank’s rescue by the UK government andits CEO Sir Fred Goodwin’s fall from grace.

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Development programmesare all too often cut at timesof crisis, but RBS put greatweight and energy into their

development plan becominga central element of one of themost significant recovery

plans in corporate history



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Philips, Center for Creative Leadership and Wharton combined to develop a pool of seniormanagement talent and foster innovation.

How can a €25 billion global organisation develop a strongand sustainable pool of top-talent leaders while also fosteringinnovation that brings significant revenue growth to thefirm?

That was the challenge that Philips’ Learning & OrganizationalEffectiveness team took on in the early 1970s when they launched thefirst Octagon programme. The challenge became even greater as thepace of technology accelerated in the early years of the new millennium,and innovation became essential to the company’s ongoing success.

By 2005 Philips knew it had to grow beyond its in-house training

programme to get the expertise in business strategy and leadershipthat it needed to maintain competitive advantage. CEO GerardKleisterlee tasked the Learning & Organizational Effectiveness teamto search for the needed expertise.

Philips’ history shows why fast-paced innovation leadership is crucial.Anton and Gerard Philips founded Philips & Co in 1891 in Eindhoven,Netherlands, to produce carbon filament lamps.

Since then, research and continuous innovation have been at the core ofPhilips’ success in all of its markets. Over its 120-year history, Philips hasled the invention and innovation of light bulbs, medical X-ray and imagingmachines, television, electric shavers, the audio compact cassette,compact discs (CDs), DVDs and Blu-ray discs worldwide. Philips is alsoa leader in energy-efficient lighting solutions using LED technology.

The Philips brand is now recognised around the world but maintaininga market-leading position requires innovation across a wide range ofproduct lines and consumer cultures. Instead of a sole provider for talentdevelopment, Philips chose a “best of the best” solution, asking theCenter for Creative Leadership (CCL® ) and Wharton to work inpartnership to meet the company’s needs.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania—founded in 1881 asthe first collegiate business school—is recognised globally for intellectualleadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline ofbusiness education. Wharton Executive Education programmes offer

a supportive and challenging context from which participants gainthe skills necessary for their next level of executive development.

The Philips brand is recognisedaround the world, butmaintaining a market-leading

position requires innovationacross a wide range of product

lines and consumer cultures


Philips Octagon A Partnership for LeadershipExcellence and Innovation



CCL is a top-ranked global provider of executiveeducation that accelerates strategy and businessresults by unlocking the leadership potential ofindividuals and organizations. Founded in 1970as a non-profit educational institution focusedexclusively on leadership education and

research, CCL annually serves more than20,000 individuals and 2,000 organisationsaround the world.

Wharton’s contribution to the revampedOctagon programme was on business impact,the “what” of leadership, that gave the leadersstrategic business skills. CCL’s contributionfocused on developing the “how” of leadership– those essential behavioural qualities thatleaders need to apply every day in their dealingsinside and outside the organisation.

To ensure that the programme and its impactwere deeply connected to Philips’ strategy,Wharton and CCL faculty worked closely withPhilips’ senior leaders to understand eachbusiness unit’s specific strategic needs andto find the threads that linked them all. Theseneeds were aligned with the company’s sixleadership competencies and this becamethe foundation for the programme content.

The partners agreed on a framework of threeinteractive classroom modules combined withteam-based action learning projects, defined by

the participants themselves, to drive innovationwithin Philips. Participants would be expectedto apply their new skills as they worked on theteam project as well as in their daily jobs.

Wharton and CCL faculty provided the necessaryknowledge and skills to enable the participantsto tackle their projects during the three on-sitemodules. Using this “toolkit”, the participantteams planned and executed an innovationproject between modules.

At the end of the programme the teams reported

their results (including recommendations forcarrying the project forward in the future) to

22




23



Philips Octagon

50%Of the 13 projects

undertaken by

Octagon teams from

2009-2010, morethan 50% have been

incorporated into the

business

FACTORS IN

OCTAGON’S

SUCCESS:

Strong alignment with

Philips’ Strategy andLeadership Agenda

A corporate culture

willing to invest in

innovation and

strongly supportive

of leadership

development

Active sponsorship

and participation from

senior business leaders

as programme

speakers, project

sponsors and coaches

Programme content

and dynamics open to

adaptation in response

to evaluation data and

feedback.

Careful composition

of Octagon teams to

be diverse and global,and to utilise all team

members’ talent and

expertise

Establishment of

a global network

of Octagon alumni

Seamless, flexible and

dedicated partnership

a panel of Philips senior executive and Management Board sponsors.Each project was assessed to see if it would receive further fundingand become part of the innovation pipeline of a Philips business unit.

The three-way partnership established in 2005 by Philips, Whartonand CCL for the Octagon programme required a strong commitment

to collaborate. CCL and Wharton agreed to adapt their standardworking styles to allow for a seamless experience for Philips. Thisincluded an openness about each partner’s contents, strengths andobjectives so that responsibilities could be allocated to match eachpartner’s expertise.

A key element of the collaboration—and a significant factor in theprogramme’s success—is the direct support and participation of Philips’senior executives, including CEO Gerard Kleisterlee, CFO Pierre JeanSivignon, Group Human Resources Director Hayko Kroese, and Head ofLearning & Organisational Effectiveness Jef Pauwels.

Members of the Philips Board of Management provide mentoringconversations for participants during the programme and dozens of seniorexecutives serve as project sponsors, including financial sponsorship.

Overview of the Octagon Learning Journey

Module 1 was a seven-day intensive session in Philadelphia that equippedparticipants with the skills, knowledge, frameworks and tools to diveinto their Octagon project groups.

Module 2 followed four months later and involved a four-day learning journey in an emerging market (such as Shanghai or Delhi). Home,market and hospital visits gave the participants a first-hand feel of anemerging market. This module also provided deeper insights intobusiness growth strategies, assessment and guidance on their actionlearning projects and feedback on their people leadership skills from

Octagon team members.

Module 3 was a three-and-a-half-day module at Philips’ corporateheadquarters in Amsterdam, completing the overall learning journey.On the final day, Octagon teams presented reports on their projects(including recommendations for carrying the project forward in thefuture) to a panel of Philips’ Management Board and senior executivesponsors. Each project was assessed for its future business potentialto Philips.

The impact

Because Philips has dual goals for Octagon – to develop a strong poolof top-talent leaders and to foster innovation that brings significant

financial gain to the firm - the impact of the programme is assessedin several ways:



– Participant surveys at the end of eachmodule

– Trainers’ reports of what worked well andwhat could be enhanced

– Number, quality and impact of Octagon

projects completed by participants

– Octagon alumni promoted into executiveroles in the company

Of the 13 projects undertaken by Octagon teamsfrom 2009-2010, more than 50% have beenincorporated into the business, adding to Philips’innovation pipeline. Others have helped Philipsavoid costly forays into undesirable markets orrisky product categories, ultimately saving thecompany money.

Perhaps the ultimate measure of Octagon’svalue to Philips is reflected in the career pathsof the programme’s alumni. Octagon alumnireceive a majority of internal promotions toexecutive positions at Philips globally. The costof outside hiring for executive-level positions isextremely high, both financially and in terms ofon-boarding time.

By increasing the percentage of internalpromotions, Octagon is helping Philips’Leadership & Organizational Effectivenessteam reduce costs and gain efficiency. The

programme is building a strong cohort oflike-minded leaders, resulting in a cohesiveglobal leadership team and effectivesuccession planning.

24


Octagon Programme Overview:

MODULE 1PHILIDELPHIA

MODULE 2DELHI /

SHANGHAI

MODULE 3AMSTERDAM

ACADEMIC TRACK BLENDED WITH PHILIPS INPUT ON STRATEGY AND INNOVATION

LEADERSHIP TRACK (ASSESSMENT, EXERCISES, REFLECTIONS, COACHING)

ACTION LEARNING PROJECT IN OCTAGON GROUPS

PRE-WORK:

360 degreeassessment,personality

assessment,readings

INTER-MODULE

SUPPORT:

IndividualLeadership

coaching, ProjectTeam meetings,

Project Sponsormeetings

INTER-MODULE

SUPPORT:

IndividualLeadership

coaching, ProjectTeam meetings,

Project Sponsormeetings

POST-

PROGRAMME

SUPPORT:

IndividualLeadershipcoaching;

possibly projectcontinuation

AUTHORS:

Padmaja Korde, DirectorLeadership Development Programs - Royal Philips Electronics

Regina Eckert, Senior Research AssociateCenter for Creative Leadership

Paula Nielsen-Lazo, Solution ArchitectCenter for Creative Leadership

Deb GiffenDirector, Innovative Learning SolutionsThe Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

ABOVE:

JUBILANT OCTAGON GRADUATES AFTER SUCCESSFULPRESENTATIONS TO THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT



25



Global Impact SubmissionFront Lines –Partnership between

Microsoft and Emerging World

Shannon Banks and Matthew Farmer explain howthe partnership between Microsoft and Emerging

World is helping to build leadership potential in theglobal software company

During times of economic turbulence, many companies stop investingin leadership development. The uncertainty in the market and demandsof the immediate situation overpower the longer-term importance ofdeveloping people. So when the 2008 credit crunch hit we thought wemight have to scrap our plans.

For nearly a year prior to the economic decline, we were establishingthe early vision for Front Lines, a new and highly immersive executivedevelopment programme. The goal was to deliver effective, business-aligned leadership development and simultaneously create value forthe emerging world, supporting Microsoft’s citizenship goals.

When faced with the economic downturn, we asked ourselves the hardquestions we knew we would be asked by the Microsoft executivessponsoring the work. We believed in the goals of the programme but wasthis still the right area of focus given the demands of the marketplace?Would the return on investment be great enough?

With these questions in mind, we drew up a new business plan – onethat addressed issues of scalability and resourcing as well as the timeinvestment of participants. Senior leadership ultimately approved thisplan, giving the green light to move forward.

The Front Lines programme is now an established part of Microsoft’shigh-potential executive development experience. In Front Lines,Microsoft executives come together for an immersive three- to four-dayworkshop in a developing country. Small teams of senior executiveswork together with representatives from local organisations – such asNGOs and multi-lateral agencies – that are already strategic partnersto Microsoft and doing valuable work in the emerging world. Together,the teams work on real business challenges brought by the partners.

Partnership

In the early days of its research around this effort, Microsoft kicked offa lengthy external benchmarking process, looking at similar programmesrun by other companies globally. Not only did this benchmarking surfacemany great learnings from other organisations around programme design,

it also introduced the software company to the Emerging World group(known then as Adopt a Business).



Established in 2003, Emerging World specialisesin providing experiential opportunities in theemerging world as a means for developingleadership capability. A key feature of EmergingWorld’s programmes is that participantsdevelop leadership skills while simultaneously

supporting partner organisations in developingcountries to address their own challenges.

From the outset it was clear that EmergingWorld was the right partner for Microsoft in their

joint ideas for leadership development. Not onlydid this approach align closely with Microsoft’sgoals but the expertise Emerging World hadrunning programmes in emerging marketshelped answer questions that were being askedby Microsoft stakeholders, complementingexpertise Microsoft had in house.

It was also clear from early conversations thatthe two organisations shared an interest in deeppartnership and collaboration. The partnershiphas continued to evolve as Emerging World andMicrosoft continue to evolve the Front Linesprogramme.

Programme details

Over the two years since the programme’sinception Front Lines has been held in Kenyaand Peru, exposing Microsoft executives to thediverse opportunities and challenges in thesemarkets. Regardless of specific location, which

is expected to move to other emerging marketsin future years, the programme has three keyelements:

Immersion

The initiative kicks-off with a day-and-a-halfimmersion experience in which participantsare grounded in issues affecting local peopleand organisations.

In 2010, leaders visited an education project inthe Mukuru slums, heard from local non-profitleaders and toured a flower farm in Naivasha

outside Nairobi.In 2011 the programme was held in Lima, Peru,

It was clear early on that thetwo organisations shared aninterest in deep partnershipand collaboration, which hascontinued as Emerging Worldand Microsoft evolve the Front

Lines programme

26




27



Global Impact Submission

and participants were engaged in similarperspective-building activities in LatinAmerica: visiting a school in the shantytowncommunity of Pachacutec, engaging withlocal micro-entrepreneurs and discussingeconomic issues with politicians.

These thought-provoking and emotionallyengaging experiences build team cohesionand encourage participants to open up beforethey begin action learning and work onpartner challenges.

Action learni ng

For the rest of the in-person workshop andthrough follow-up work undertaken virtually,participants are engaged in action learning.This experiential, “learning through doing”approach gives participants the framework

and methodologies to advance their leadershipskills and build internal networks as they worktogether to solve a real business challenge.

While there are many definitions of actionlearning, the method used in Front Lines isone developed by the World Institute forAction Learning (WIAL). In this method,participants work on real challenges in smallgroups using an interactive process that leadsto new skills, growth and impact as thinkers,problem solvers and leaders.

Guided reflectionThrough skilled facilitation and plannedexercises, guided reflection is also a key partof the Front Lines programme. The reflectionprocess helps participants to consider andmake sense of the varied inputs experiencedduring the programme. It also enables theprogramme management team to shapethe learning in the moment to meet specificleadership learning objectives.

Objectives

For leaders who participate in Front Lines, the

benefits are clear. The powerful combination ofimmersion, interaction, action learning and

reflection has a profound impact on participants,helping to build competencies that directlyaddress the broader business needs of theorganisation. Not only do leaders honetransferable skills vital for senior leadershiproles, such as coaching, strategic thinking and

problem solving, they also develop several keyskills relating to their exposure to the emergingmarkets:

Global perspective: Microsoft’s senior executivesneed to cultivate an awareness of the needs,opportunities and innovations in marketsworldwide. Leaders are given an opportunity tosee how Microsoft’s business is growing in thedeveloping world and what types of initiativesand partnerships create that success.

National competitiveness: As the leaders move

into more senior roles, they are increasinglyasked to partner with political leaders andgovernment officials, understanding the localagendas for the markets in which they workand helping to shape national policy when itcomes to IT strategy. The exposure providedthrough Front Lines helps to begin to buildcompetency in this area.

Corporate citizenship: Strategic corporate socialresponsibility initiatives actively aligncontributions to the welfare of society withthe strategic goals and core capabilities of

the organisation. In so doing, contributionshave strong and lasting benefits for bothsides. The Front Lines experience givesleaders first-hand exposure to Strategic CSR.

Leading in turbulent times: Finally, participantsdevelop skills in leading during times ofturbulence through their exposure to localpartner organisations that must constantlydeal with the resource constraints andunpredictability that typify developing countries.

In addition to these leadership development

objectives, Front Lines directly aligns withMicrosoft’s business strategy. The strategic



28


partners receive valuable consulting fromMicrosoft executives on challenges facing theirorganisations – and they also enhance their ownleadership development. The whole programmedeepens the strategic relationships betweenMicrosoft and the participating partner

organisations. Finally the work undertakensupports the development of the emergingmarkets, thus supporting Microsoft’s broadercorporate citizenship goals.

Impact

Especially in light of the current economicclimate, impact assessment was a priorityfrom early on in the design of the programme.Because of the various “stakeholder” groups,there was a need to measure impact not onlyon the executive participants from Microsoftbut also on the partners and the programme’sbroader Microsoft community. Taken together,these figures illustrate the extent to which thecollaboration between Microsoft and EmergingWorld met Microsoft’s business and leadershipdevelopment goals.

Highlights from Front Lines 2011:

100%...of Microsoft participants said they have a deeper

understanding of the challenges and opportunitiesfor Microsoft in doing business in emerging markets

81%...of Microsoft participants now consider the issues

of national competitiveness to be relevant within the

context of their work

88%...of participants feel more prepared for interactions

with government officials

100%...of strategic external partners said their relationship with

Microsoft has improved because of their participation

40%...of our strategic partners said they felt confident in

achieving a successful outcome on their challenge prior

to participating in Front Lines. This increased to 100%

after their participation in Front Lines

100%...of relationship managers said that as a result of

Front Lines, Microsoft’s relationship with the partner

organisations was stronger

Through skilled facilitationand planned exercises, guided

reflection is also a key part ofthe Front Lines programme

AUTHORS:

Shannon Banks Worldwide Leadership Development Consultant,Microsoft Corporation

[email protected]

Matthew FarmerManaging Director, Emerging World– a UK-based specialist leadership development consultancy [email protected]



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Highly CommendedBrief executive summaries of the

eight Highly Commended cases

Highly Commended Case:Organisational Development

Partnership in design, development

and delivery of the IMpact programmeDeutsche Lufthansa / CoachingOurselves International /Lancaster University Management School / McGill University

The Challenge:

How can learning be carried from personal developmentin a management programme into the organisation for itsown development, especially in difficult economic times?This is a long-standing problem, where the innovative solutiondiscussed could have a huge impact on developmentalprogrammes everywhere.

The Programme Partnership:

– The International Masters in Practicing Management(impm.org), an unusual programme that for 15 years hasbeen dedicated to developing managers in the contextof their own jobs and companies by having them focuson reflecting on their own experiences and sharing theresulting insights with each other.

– CoachingOurselves.com, another unusual programme,in which teams of managers develop themselves at work.

– Lufthansa School of Business, the corporate Universityof the LH Group, driven by the “Increase InnovativeImpact Initiative”

– The Impact Programme, a programme created at theinterface of these three.

The Commitment:

The IMPM has resulted in what is probably unprecedented inmanagement training – several companies have been sendingteams of their managers for almost all of the 15 years.

That partnership has been most evident with Lufthansa,which has not only been sending teams all these years(having missed only the one after 9/11) with the learningbeing passed back and forth continuously betweenprogramme and company but has also led to an innovativeproduct development process, a natural commitment and

a smooth joint execution of IMpact in a close collaborationof business and academics, carrying managementdevelopment straight into organisation development.

The Impact Programme:

Each manager in the programme establishes a team of

high-potentials back home through whom he or she carriesthe learning of the programme into the organisation with thehelp of CoachingOurselves.com.

In effect, instead of a changed person returning to anunchanged organisation, he or she returns to a team ofcolleagues eager to share the learning and, more importantly,help the manager carry it into action. That is the “pact.”

For a company with a tight training budget, this meansthat for every manager sent on the programme five to tenmore are developed, not to mention engaged in drivingchange. As its execution in Lufthansa is discussed in the

text, this has the potential to revolutionize developmentalprogrammes of all kinds.

Highly Commended Case:Executive Development

Thomson Reuters Global Executive Programme

Thomson Reuters / Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth /IE Business School

ln April 2008, the new organization Thomson Reuters was

created when Thomson acquired Reuters, an organisationmore than half its size. The resulting integration was ofsignificant scale and complexity, creating a global organisationof more than 50,000 employees.

For the CEO and his Executive Committee an early prioritywas to deliver shareholder value from the integration, toaccelerate the cultural integration and to develop a cadreof senior leaders able to drive the organisation’s strategicpriorities of organic growth and globalisation.

After considering a range of options, Thomson Reutersdeveloped a custom executive development programmein collaboration with two business schools, Tuck School ofBusiness at Dartmouth in the US and IE Business School



30


in Spain. Formal approval for the programme was givenlate 2008 at the time of one of the world’s worst economiccollapses, a clear indication of the new organisation’scommitment to the development of its executives.

The three parties collaborated to develop GEP (Global

Executive Program), a programme that consists of twomodules – one in the US and one in Spain that are tightlyintegrated into one seamless learning experience. GEP’s threecore themes – “Smart” Growth, Globalisation and PersonalLeadership directly supported the organisation’s strategy.

Engagement of the CEO and the Executive Committeeat every stage has been a defining feature of GEP.

On every dimension, GEP has exceeded expectations.Participants have revised Thomson Reuters strategy inkey areas, including the organisation’s approach to rapidlydeveloping economies and to government and regulatory

affairs and have broken down organisational boundariesto create powerful collaborative relationships.

“Management development courses are often viewed as thesoft, touchy/feely pet projects of the HR department; however,for me GEP is a vital strategic lever in achieving our business

goals.“ Tom Glocer, CEO, Thomson Reuters

Highly Commended Case:Executive Development

How to thrive when the economy crashesaround you

Towergate Insurance / Ashridge Business School

Ashridge Business School and Towergate Insurance havebeen working in partnership since 2007 when Ashridgewon the competitive pitch to deliver the Towergate ExecutiveLeadership Programme (ELP). To date, over 80 of TowergateInsurance’s leaders have been through the programme.

Programme objectives

The programme inspires and empowers Towergate’s highpotentials, giving them the skills to lead, not just to manage.Specifically, it has improved Towergate’s capacity to:

– Instil a culture of innovation, focused on deliveringexceptional customer value

– Achieve growth despite adverse market conditions

– Attract investment

– Develop board-level potential

Overall impact

The programme has helped Towergate’s key people makethe “quantum leap into Ieadership”, allowing them to takethe organisation forward in line with its strategic objectives.

As a result, despite facing the worst market conditions inliving memory, Towergate’s revenues have continued togrow year on year and staff morale is extremely high. Thishas been achieved in perfect-storm conditions for theinsurance industry – with rock-bottom rates, downsizingor disappearing clients, competitors fighting tooth andclaw for survival, banks applying the credit squeeze and

insurers cutting costs to the bone.

The group has also attracted Ð200 million in investment,with private investors impressed and reassured by thecalibre of the Towergate succession pool emerging fromthe ELP.

Towergate is on course to achieve its 2007 strategic goal offloatation on the London Stock Exchange within the nexttwo years. It has a strong pool of people ready for successionvacancies, who are highly skilled in leading projects to growthe Towergate business.

Towergate has also achieved its goal of identifying a numberof individuals who stand out as board-level executive leaders.

As CEO Andy Homer comments:

“As a direct consequence of our strength in so many

insurance markets, we remain a very attractive destinationfor talented people and our staff retention levels remain high.

Those who join us at Towergate quickly identify with the ‘cando’ culture, the potential to learn and grow with the business

and, perhaps above all, they can see the difference they make

to the group as a whole. To ensure this continues, we onceagain bucked the trend in 2010 and increased our investment

in the Towergate Business School and our partnerships withorganisations such as Ashridge.”



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Highly Commended case summaries

Highly Commended Case:Professional Development

The journey to world class operations:

optimising and sustaining assetmanagement capability

Rio Tinto / The University of Western Australia Business School

The challenge for the learning & development programmeis to improve asset management competency and alignasset management activities across the Rio Tinto Group.

Rio Tinto, one of the premier global mining companies,manages $25 billion of plant and equipment (physicalassets) through five mineral commodity-based businessunits. How these physical assets are managed (asset

management) is crucial to unlocking value from eachmineral resource for the benefit of all stakeholders.

In 2004 Rio Tinto launched a strategy to ensure optimal valuecreation through improved collaboration in key areas of thebusiness. Elements of this strategy focused on aligningasset management processes to best practice throughcollaboration, improving competences, increasing assetreliability and developing new asset systems. By 2010 itwas evident that improved organisational discipline in assetmanagement and the focus on asset reliability had contributedto improvements in Rio Tinto’s operating performance.

The purchase, installation, use, maintenance and disposalof plant and equipment involves many of Rio Tinto’s 72,000employees. A critical aspect in changing how assets aremanaged across the life cycle involves influencing theseemployees to change behaviour and practice.

Rio Tinto has approached this through a multidimensionallearning and development strategy coordinated by the AssetManagement Centre. The first programme, launched in 2007,was the Asset Management Professional DevelopmentProgram (AMPDP).

The AMPDP is a global learning and development programmefor engineers, managers and superintendents in production,maintenance and technical-support roles. Delivery of the

programme also engages senior Rio Tinto executives, globalpractice leaders and the local senior management team.

The programme is a partnership between Rio Tinto’sTechnology & Innovation Asset Management Centre andAIM—UWA Business School Executive Education team

(Executive Education). Content development and deliveryis managed through a team of Rio Tinto staff (internal faculty)and academics engaged through Executive Education(external faculty). The external faculty are globally recognisedengineering professors and subject experts who provideexposure to cutting-edge asset management developmentsand can challenge entrenched views. E-tools are leveraged tosupport development and delivery across the different timezones.

The programme develops individual competencies in fiveasset management (AM) dimensions, builds collaborativenetworks and establishes AM leadership expectations.

In the last three years the program has also delivered value of$27 million in short-term savings through AM improvementprojects initiated, developed and approved as a core part of theAMPDP. This focus on demonstrating value was critical inensuring that the AMPDP was the only global learning anddevelopment programme in Rio Tinto to continue deliverythrough the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

Highly Commended Case:Talent Development

Ernst & Young’s EMEIA Women’s Leadership Programme

Ernst&Young / Cranfield School of Management

In the autumn of 2007, Mike Cullen, (then the UK PeopleLeader of Ernst & Young) felt frustrated by the lack of progresswith the UK’s diversity and inclusion strategy. One keyobjective was to increase the number of female Partnersin the UK from 13% to 20% by 2011.

He was aware of the growing body of evidence thatshowed that companies with more women in leadershippositions were more likely to outperform their competitors



32


and a key objective for E&Y was to do just that to achievemarket leadership.

He met with his heads of Leadership & Developmentand Diversity and Inclusion to brainstorm how to raise theprofile of their female high potentials and tasked the two of

them to work together to identify an approach that would;1) make a visible and tangible commitment to supportingthe career development and retention of their women, and

2) help the organisation better understand what it neededto do better or differently to support their women in achievingtheir full potential. This was not, however, about “fixingthe women”.

A single framed gender strategy was developed and oneobjective of this strategy was to identify a women’sleadership programme that would initially target womenwithin three years of being considered for Partnership.

Cranfield School of Management was invited to design,develop and deliver this two-day programme with the keyobjectives to:

– Build participants’ confidence to make a difference, bothinternally and externally, in a way which is whollyauthentic

– Support participants in identifying the key challengeswhich they face in navigating their career at E&Y anddeveloping appropriate strategies for success

– Create a space in which participants could explore adiverse range of effective leadership styles andunderstand the inherent differences in typical male /female strategies

– Equip participants to assess their current state andidentify the appropriate focus for their futuredevelopment

– Facilitate the establishment of a collegiate peer networkto provide ongoing support and strategic challenge

To date, 149 women have attended the programme and thefeedback has been consistently high. It is a mix of plenariesand small coaching groups, opened on the first night by amember of the leadership team with a more informal sessionon the second night with three female Partner role models.

One of the key differentiators of the programme is the

experience of the small coaching groups that harnesses boththe expertise of the coach and the rich E&Y background of thedelegates. To participants expecting a traditional “trainingintervention” the emphasis on working through real personalissues in a confidential and supportive environment comes asa surprise.

The impact of this programme includes an increase in thenumber of women being promoted to Partner; an increasein the number of Partners in the UK from 13% to 18% (theoriginal objective); ongoing business networking acrossthe area; organisational learning about processes andmicro inequities that derail high potentials; access to rolemodels; an increase in the number of female Partnerspromoted to leadership roles; the development of a cadreof change agents; and a healthy retention rate for thisPartner track group of women.

Highly Commended Case:Professional Development

Partnership in design, developmentand delivery of the Certified Client Adviser Programme

Deutsche Bank / ESMT

Deutsche Bank and ESMT European School ofManagement and Technology have jointly developed a

professional development programme to train approximately400 Deutsche Bank corporate banking relationship-managers,covering the highly important midcap segment in Germany.

The programme has been designed as a flagship programmeof Deutsche Bank, training corporate bankers to changefrom traditional banking product specialists to trustedadvisors. It is based on extensive interviews with seniorexecutives and potential programme participants as wellas workshops with executives of the business lines andHR development at Deutsche Bank.

As a result, a seven-module Certified Client AdvisorProgramme covering 21 programme days was created andkicked-off in June 2009.



33



Highly Commended case summaries

The programme’s focus is to change the perspective of therelationship-managers by exposing them to the challengesof CEOs of midcap corporations. Our approach is bothacademic and practical but a significant part of theprogramme is reserved for discussions with CEOs and ownersof midcap corporations. Senior executives of all business lines

of Deutsche Bank are invited to share their experience whendealing with high-profile clients.

The first programme cycle was completed in May 2010 andpraised as an outstanding success both by participants andsenior corporate managers of Deutsche Bank. All participantshave formed a strong network through the programme. Whilethe second cycle will be completed in May 2011, DeutscheBank and ESMT started the third cycle in March 2011. Inaddition, the programme has led to a joint publication ofDeutsche Bank and ESMT; a book on client commitment (DieWiederentdeckung des Kunden) to be published in fall 2011.

Highly Commended Case:Special cases

High-impact learning in a mid-sizedcompany serving international markets

KAEFER Isoliertechnik / Metier Academy / Coverdale TeamManagement / Henley Business School

Insulation is one of the most important techniques to increaseenergy efficiency. As the threat of climate change becomes

real and growing global competition forces businessesin all industries to preserve energy in order to cut costs,KAEFERs services in the field of insulation are in greatdemand all over the world.

For a family-owned, tradition-oriented company over 90 yearsold, rapid growth across various continents constitutes asignificant challenge. Being a service company, KAEFER doesnot own any production facilities and therefore the qualificationand performance of employees is its main asset. Smoothcommunication and cooperation across border, companyunits and ethnic backgrounds is essential for KAEFER.

Faced with these enormous requirements, KAEFER decidedto establish an elaborate personnel development system

– the KAEFER Academy. Not one, but three partners wereselected for this task, each contributing their individualstrengths that best fit KAEFER’s needs: Henley BusinessSchool, Coverdale and Metier Academy. The scope of thiseffort is highly unusual for a mid-size company like KAEFER,but it has already paid significant dividends.

Almost 350 employees have participated in the programmes,raising the bar at all leadership levels while also addingsignificant know-how in the field of project management,one of KAEFER’s core competences.

The programmes have not only increased skill levels amongKAEFER leaders and employees. They have also supportedinternational cohesion within the group, as many employeesfrom diverse parts of the world and personal backgroundshave met and worked on business-relevant assignmentstogether.

In addition, the KAEFER Academy projects have already

had an impact. The results have been discussed at thetop-management level and led to improvements in manybusiness processes. These early success stories show thatthe KAEFER Academy is an excellent investment in thecompany’s future: it secures a steady development of highlyskilled employees and managers. It also helps to spread acommon company culture in a highly decentralised group.

Highly Commended Case:Special cases

The Sheffield City Region Leaders ProgrammeSheffield City Council / University of Sheffield /Sheffield Hallam University

This postgraduate certificate in leadership was designedand developed in partnership between the two Sheffielduniversities and five public-sector organisations, whoserepresentatives were fully involved in specifying its format,style and timing.

It has three ambitious targets: to make a real differenceto the participants; to kick-start a self-sustaining growth

cycle for a regional “leadership academy” and to show-caseexcellence, innovation and partnership in potential



34


contributions of higher education to the knowledge economy.

The programme comprises four sequential modules togetherwith a parallel track leadership module combiningindividual coaching, master-classes and project work.Individual modules involve an initial two days of workshops

presenting and exploring key theoretical ideas and skills.These are expanded with “learning sets”, which identifyand plan workplace-based projects.

Participants undertake this research over the next six weeks,submitting both group and individual reports for assessment.Learning sets mix participants across organisations, therebyguaranteeing a range of approaches and a rich networkof contacts.

The programme is already a success in all its aims.

The partnership between universities led to a uniquelearning innovation – “Deliberate Action Learning”. This is a

blend of the major contrasting approaches to organisationaldevelopment: systematic “deliberate practice” from theskills-based tradition; and the experiential, self-directedgroup approach from the engagement-based tradition.

Systematic evaluations for the current units reveal outstandingparticipant satisfaction and progression. Participants’ ratingsof their competence in core skills doubled from 35.5% to 76.1%and reports were of exceptional quality (the majority in thedistinction range).

Three projects alone produced predicted £400,000 annualsavings, providing a return on investment (for the entirecohort) of 750%. These results reflect the value of an authenticpartnership at all levels – between different learning traditions,universities and organisations.

A UK national assessment of local government interventionsidentified the programme as an example of good practice,concluding: “On the basis of the evidence that we havecollected, we have concluded that the greater the focus onorganisational and place development and the stronger thepractical focus, the more evident the longer term impact willultimately prove to be”.

This innovative, collaborative, stimulating, enjoyable andsuccessful initiative provides a blueprint for constructive

partnership between higher education and public, privateand third sector organisations.

Read more online:

The winning case studies and

the highly commended case

studies are available to read

on the EFMD website. You

can also find details on how

to enter the 2012 Excellence

in Practice Awards.

Visit:

www.efmd.org/eip



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EFMD Excellence in Practice AwardImpactful Partnerships in Learning

& Development

35


Excellence in Practice Award 2011

Winning cases webinars

Global Push...Local Pull: Mobilising and Sustaining

Enterprise-wide Training Globally in ArcelorMittal

By ArcelorMittal & TMA World

17 November 2011, at 12:00pm (CET)

RBS Leadership Development Programme

By RBS & Wharton & INSEAD


Innovation through Partnership: Creating a Global

Leadership Program at Microsoft Benefitting Leaders,

the Business and Society

By Microsoft & Emerging World


Philips Octagon – A Partnership for Leadership

Excellence and Innovation

By Royal Philips Electronics & CCL & Wharton


Accelerating Professional Development and Strategy

Execution: The ING Group High Impact Performance

Program for Specialists

By ING & ‘the world we work in’

2 December 2011, at 10:00am (CET)

Free participation.

The EFMD Excellence in Practice Award recognises effective and

impactful Learning and Development (L&D) interventions in the domains

of Leadership, Professional, Talent and Organisation Development. These

programmes can be deployed by an organisation either together with its

in-house L&D unit or with external L&D providers.

Award winning interventions demonstrate:

– Strong Business Impact (alignment with corporate strategy, impact

for company, integration in HR processes etc)

– Excellent Programme Management (design, delivery, evaluation, selection

of participants etc)– Operational Excellence (sustainable partnership, effective learning

& development environment etc)

The jury-panel is composed of representatives from EFMD member Companies,

Business Schools and Executive Development Centres, as well as representatives

from Emerald Group Publishing.

The names of the 2012 winning cases will be announced in July and the authors

will be invited to the Excellence in Practice award ceremony in the fall of 2012.

Their interventions will get extensive international coverage and will be published

in one of Emerald’s magazines.

Deadline for submission

1 May 2012

How to participate in this award

Please visit www.efmd.org/eip

Expression of interest:

Mrs Florence Gré[email protected] | Tel: +32.2.629.08.37

In partnership with:

Special Supplement _ Volume 05 _ Issue 03 2011

Documents

Transcript of Special Supplement _ Volume 05 _ Issue 03 2011