Global Life Insurer and Wealth Manager

Challenge:

  • Lack of understanding internal leadership talent for potential promotion to one of several country CEO positions across Asia

Initiative:

  • Supporting the organisation’s regional talent team to conduct stakeholder interviews and provide analysis to define a target success profile and assessment framework at Country-CEO level

  • Conducting in-depth developmental assessments of 18 internal C-Suite level candidates who have been identified as high-potential

  • Helping individuals to craft individualised and personally relevant development plans that also support succession readiness for future promotion opportunities

  • Providing follow-up development support through one-on-one coaching and quarterly development plan progress reviews

Impact:

  • A clear and aligned understanding of ideal capabilities, experiences and characteristics for success as a Country-CEO

  • Involvement and engagement by the regional management team and incumbent Country-CEOs in hands-on support of talent development

  • A rigorous and reliable developmental assessment process that was also highly valued by participants as an opportunity for self-reflection and gaining clarity of key priorities relevant to their careers but also current roles

  • Coaching and development support that maintained a focus on key development priorities whilst also embedding development activities in the critical priorities relevant to each participant’s current role

Large Multinational Construction Company

Challenge:

  • Board priority to strengthen succession health combined with a major strategic change process led by the CEO and Group Executive

Initiative:

  • Developed target leadership capability profile supporting strategic objectives

  • Evaluated 93 of the most senior leaders across the Group

  • Planned development initiatives that aligned target capabilities with individual priorities

Impact:

  • Participants endorsed the experience as ‘one of the best’ in their careers

  • Evaluation findings were considered to be ‘complete and rigorous’ and provided practical development strategies that were immediately useful

 

One of Australia’s most established law firms

Challenge:

  • Managing Partner succession process against the background of challenging market conditions and structural change

Initiative:

  • Developed a target capability profile of the ideal next Managing Partner from interviews with 50 partners

  • Evaluated three internal candidates

  • Facilitated the partner voting process

Impact:

  • Collective clarity of the choices available to the partnership

  • Deep understanding of each candidate whose appointment is seen as a function of known risk that can be mitigated through practical disciplines

 

ASX-listed telco provider

Challenge:

  • Supporting the selection and on-boarding of a new CEO who succeeded the long-term founding CEO and who prevailed against external candidates

Initiative:

  • Developed target capability profile of the ‘ideal’ CEO

  • Provided transition-support to the new CEO for the first 12 months across content, events and ad-hoc priorities

Impact:

  • Clarity of the board and senior leadership team regarding the critical operational and strategic priorities

  • Greater clarity and confidence of the new CEO who understood that initially feeling uncomfortable was a normal part of the process

 

One of Australia’s largest domestic law firms

Challenge:

  • A new partner development initiative aimed at supporting 18 ‘young’ partners who were expected to step up to full productive capacity

Initiative:

  • Individual coaching targeted at individual priorities, best practice professional services performance standards

  • A 2-day group workshop which enabled the formation of peer-relationships and a ‘cohort culture’

Impact:

  • A sustained cohort connection which persisted beyond the 6-month program

  • Tangible outcomes that benefited financial and operational performance, and team culture

  • A recognition of the difference between skills training and true vertical development

 

ASX-listed wealth management company

Challenge:

  • Board objective of strengthening succession with a reasonably new CEO who was highly regarded

Initiative:

  • Evaluated the six executive team members against critical leadership capabilities and with respect to their own career ambitions

  • Reported to the board on viable succession options, degree of readiness and potential time frames

Impact:

  • Individual clarity of career ambitions and critical performance outcomes and collective tasks of the leadership team

  • Board clarity that viable succession solution can emerge over time from internal candidates

 

Global investment bank

Challenge:

  • Sought external development support for the firms partners and managing directors in partnership with internal HR L&D team as part of a number of different programs

Initiative:

  • Support included individual coaching support, qualitative feedback at senior partner level and two separate global programs which targeted accelerated leadership development and strategic business objectives

Impact:

  • Consistently high level of engagement and perceived value of the development support

  • Contribution to internal leadership development standards through sharing of best-practice approaches from evidence-based knowledge domains