Leadership & Succession works across various industries with the most senior executives of large, complex organisations. They include public and private, professional services firms, government and NFPs. Engagements involve customised assessment and development approaches that align stakeholder expectations with strategic priorities and change initiatives, and are strongly linked to individual and commercial impacts. Recent examples setting out how we work to support clients include the following:
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