Case studies - Management Development
Case Study 1
Client requirement
A large central government department, created by the recent merger of two others, commissioned us to develop a series of fresh and innovative leadership development events for the directors of the integrated Internal Audit departments. The ultimate business driver was their key Departmental project entitled 'Management Capability' originating from their Medium Term Strategy.
Our Solution
In total, we designed four workshops:
- Directors' workshop
- Strategic Leadership
- Leadership and Change
- Influencing and Negotiation.
The full programme was launched with the Directors' workshop, focusing on identifying the key skills, knowledge and attitudes senior managers need to meet challenges in the areas of leadership, negotiation and change.
The subsequent event, Strategic Leadership, helped leaders relate the new department's mission and vision to their own areas of responsibility and identified how both strategic planning and leadership style impacts on individuals and on results.
As with all the workshops, this was highly interactive, using a number of strategic planning models that can be used in the workplace. MBTI helped participants explore the implications for decision making and communications in a highly interactive and enjoyable way, which enables them to devise practical strategies for change using a common language. It naturally led on to the later modules, Leadership and Change and Influencing and Negotiating (contact us for more details)
Outcome
The whole programme has been highly successful, with an overall satisfaction rate of 95% and an increase to 94% in confidence and motivation to do the job.
Feedback included:
- "Extremely useful"
- "Excellent delivery - felt relaxed and at the right pace"
- "Trainers had good knowledge of the subject - better than I've seen before"
- "Right pace, right content. Covered areas that I had not come across before"
- "Enjoyed the day very much"
- "Used theoretical and practical examples to illustrate and put the training in context"
- "Created good environment for exchange of views".
Case Study 2
Client requirement
This Executive Agency invited dynamic learning solutions to meet the organisation's need to transform the middle management team into dynamic leaders who could take the Agency forward to meet its strategic objectives. The Agency felt the learning intervention was needed to equip managers with communication and change management skills, to enable them to transform their existing management attributes into a leadership focus and to view their role as strategic communicators who lead and manage their teams.
Our Solution
The learning intervention we developed is centred on the key themes of:
- Effective Leadership
- Managing Change
- Performance Management
- Coaching
The two day workshop introduces these four key themes to participants in a lively, inspiring and practical way, balanced with underpinning theory, through discussion and practical exercises, to test understanding and application. Managers use questionnaires for self-analysis of leadership style and each leaves with a plan for activities with their teams to lead them through times of uncertainty and change.
The workshop challenges managers to think and feel differently about leading change and encourages them to face the opportunities ahead with enthusiasm.
Outcome
Following the pilot programme, dls suggested amendments that would stretch the learners further to add greater value and these were accepted and integrated into the definitive course. Subsequent feedback assured the client and dls that the level, pitch and content of the programme was entirely appropriate.
Added value
We also developed a one day Train the Trainer familiarisation event for the Agency's in house trainers to introduce them to the content and delivery of the module. The organisation is now in a position to meet its own learning needs for middle managers, allowing external training budgets to be spent on new initiatives.