Senior Leadership Development in practice
We were approached by the CEO of a precision engineering business, that supports the defence and aerospace industries, and employs 500 people across several sites in the west of England.
Four executive directors sit on the board, and the company has 16 senior managers engaged in the running of the business. The company is owned by private equity investment and has high ambitions for growth over the next five years.
The CEO recognised that he needed to optimise the capability of his senior leaders and for them to accept more responsibility for decision-making and direction within their own sphere. This would free up the executive team to devote more time to managing investors, broadening the customer base and seeking acquisitions. There was also a need to enhance collaboration across the company in order to provide better customer solutions.
Process
After discussion and diagnosis, we agreed that the Senior Leadership Development programme, coupled with some additional mentoring, would meet the CEOs requirements effectively. The programme was run as four 5-hour modules over four months, with emphasis on implementing a new company strategy in the next five years. Inter-module coursework focused on applying the content to individuals’ own roles in the strategy. Monthly group mentoring sessions supported the achievement of these outcomes. The programme enabled each department to design and brief its part of the implementation plan. Tuition was conducted by the Amicus team, involving the executives as advisers and mentors throughout.
Personal development
By the end of the programme, participants had embraced their new skills and applied them within their own departments. They had firmly set team intent and objectives for each of their direct reports, were able to conduct difficult conversations, brief their plans, and reduced their own workloads by up to 20%, freeing up time to focus on strategy implementation.
Follow-up
The CEO has been delighted with the impact. Individuals are functioning more effectively and the team is more focused, committed, accountable and agile. Amicus continues to support the company, mentoring individuals and advising where required. We expect to run a similar programme for the next level of leaders in the business starting soon.