Client Need

Our client is a leader in the retail sector. Historically, newly appointed executives have participated in the parent company’s transition programme. However, significant growth and increased demand for transition support has outstripped the groups’ capacity to accommodate. Our client therefore decided to create its own executive transition program in order to expand the opportunities for leaders to learn about the specificities of their new role and the culture in which they work.

Participants would benefit from fostering relationships with peers from other functions, divisions and regions, and deepening their personal engagement with the organization. A cohort based approach would provide a safe learning environment to launch each transition while also underscoring that  “Leaders Win Together”.

With a very engaged HRD as programme sponsor,  the organisation understands the limitations of one-dimensional or generic expectations of new leaders, emphasizing only financial and operational goals. The inclusion of the equally important cultural, political, organizational and personal leadership aspects of the transition are essential to ensure the new leader’s success.

 

Solution

Building on our award winning Executive Transition Programme targeted at individual leaders, Accelerance developed – in partnership with the global head of learning – a cohort based concept for the transition programme consisting of a 2 module based programme stretching over a period of 9 months. Observations, learnings and  reflections on key aspects of the transition and the business were addressed and enhanced through ongoing coaching, mentoring as well as a personal “personal development roadmap”

The objective for the programme is to accelerate leaders transition by providing a safe learning space, elevating participants’ self-confidence and managing ambiguity capabilities. In addition to core business challenges, new leaders must quickly comprehend and navigate the tensions of competing priorities while establishing effective internal and external relationships, comprehending the politics and culture and facilitating the organization through change. As leaders of teams, each individual will also have to clarify their team’s purpose, ways of working and the direction ahead.

Aimed at leaders transitioning into a country key position maximum two months before Module 1 or one month afterwards, the key features of the programme are:

  • Consistency: a programme aligned with the onboarding process and other Leadership Development Initiatives
  • Leader-led: a programme where senior internal leaders are involved in the delivery and follow up
  • Glocal: a programme designed & delivered by Global, supported by Regions/Global
  • Engaging: a programme blending Exposure to senior Leaders, Experience of  both professional & peer coaching, and strong Education baseline

Over the course of the two face to face workshops, a range of content areas and capabilities were explored in plenary as well as small groups, including “Stakeholder Relationships” (What can I learn from them? What input might they have regarding my transition?); “My success in whose eyes” (How will my stakeholders measure my/our success? How do I shape ‘success’ for my team?); “Establishing Trust”; “Building and Leading High Performance Teams”; “Mindsets” (What must I leave behind? What new am I willing to try?); etc.

 

Impact

The programme is still ongoing, however initial feedback from programme pilot participants suggests the intervention is meeting the desired objectives:

  • “A chance to step back and take time to think about my induction during a heavy and “snowed under” period”
  • “An incredible opportunity to share with peers in the same situation: I’m not alone, my doubts and fears are not stupid!”
  • “Great support from our coach who quickly understood my situation and helped me a lot by focussing on the real subjects”
  • “Observing & working with my peers made me feel comfortable to deal with the emotional challenge of my transition”
  • “Working with my coach helped me find my own answers to the hurdles throughout my transition and following them up with my mentor has been intriguing to double check if I had some blind spots in my own answers”
  • “The programme offered a unique opportunity to listen and learn from our senior leaders’ transition stories and also learn more about the Group”

Module 1 was rated 4.75/5 by the first cohort, with a Net Promoter Score of 9.5/10.