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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT
Do you want to elevate leadership performance in your organisation?
Today’s organisations face many complex challenges. Their ability to adapt, change and transform is essential for success and leaders have a fundamental role in enabling that to happen. Impactful and well-designed leadership development can give those leaders the capabilities they need to initiate meaningful action and achieve genuine and lasting business improvements.
From programme creation to curation
The Leadership Development Programme I run has been described by a Senior Vice President as one of the most important capital investments made within their business.
Every company will of course have their own unique objectives that the programme must achieve for them. Your organisation might have grown as a result of acquisitions and now needs a more cohesive leadership team that can embed new company values. You might require your leaders to effectively articulate the strategic direction in a more compelling way to inspire others to bring it to life. You might be embarking on a process of culture change. Whatever they may be and whichever level they’re at within your organisation, the programme will be designed to meet your specific leadership challenges and objectives.
I have extensive experience working with, and meeting the needs of, a range of stakeholders in companies. I collaborate with the people in your organisation who can offer a deep understanding of its challenges, its culture, where it is now and where it needs to be going in the future. That could include HR, your first-line managers, middle managers, business leaders and global C-Suite executives.
Working alongside your people, I conduct and complete an extensive and comprehensive initial needs analysis that identifies the current skill and competence levels within your organisation, and your individual and organisational requirements for the future. I’ll explore the blocks and human factors that could impact the process and devise an action plan accordingly.
I’ll then create the programme and engage external suppliers as required. A successful programme requires an agile and responsive approach as it progresses. I will identify the most appropriate ongoing evaluation methods and reporting mechanisms to provide you with that information, and to create learning opportunities so the programme is continually being refined.
“I have worked with Karen for the past 18 months, where she has been instrumental in the development and application of leadership development for the middle and senior leadership teams as well as the development of a framework for the management of skills and competencies within the entire business - a seminal activity needed for our continued operation as providers of flight safety critical equipment. Karen is highly qualified and hugely experienced across all Human Resource areas and has made a significant and sustained impact on our business.”
Raising self-awareness
People are looking for authenticity from their leaders but sometimes leaders feel they cannot fully be themselves. The programme raises participant self-awareness, helping them understand the habits they’ve adopted and the patterns they follow. What are the visible behaviours others see and what lies behind them? Do your leaders hold any form of self-limiting beliefs? A lot of the learning comes from exploring the “knowing / doing” gap. Leaders, for example, might often counsel their team on prioritising – yet not do it effectively themselves.
As your leaders develop a greater level of self-awareness, it gives them more insights into the motivation behind the behaviours of those around them too. Performance is shaped by a blend of ability, motivation and opportunity. By understanding how they can influence these, leaders will be empowered not only to bring about sustained change in their own performance but also in the performance of those around them.
“I found Karen to be an impressive HR manager, highly intelligent and informed, proactive rather than reactive but always appreciating the importance of listening before acting and of an evidence-based approach to all her work. She showed great sensitivity in implementing strategies that, whilst essential for organisational progress, needed careful handling if they were to gain acceptance at every organisational level. I have great confidence in her expertise and record as an HR professional who not only speaks the language of the business fluently and persuasively but – rarer – consistently puts into impressive practice the strategies and plans that she recommends, tailoring these skilfully to the particular needs and characteristics of the organisations and individuals affected by them.”
Authentic leaders make sure their behaviours match up to their words. That is true of those sponsoring leadership management programmes too. Which is why, even with the programmes that are not directly targeted at your exec team, they will still be encouraged to be closely involved through active sponsorship, greater accessibility and participation where appropriate.
Flexible and cost effective
Programmes are designed to be cost effective (maximising the use of the Apprenticeship Levy and regional funding), time efficient and as flexible as possible. They are delivered using blended learning methods and can be timed and scaled according to your requirements. All programmes are created to ensure there is time for participants to reflect and practice what they learn. Programmes can be delivered remotely (including mobile-enabled where possible) to participants across the globe.
“Karen did an excellent job in managing the JCB Group Global Leadership Development Program which I was part of over the last two years. I would recommend Karen to any company / individual looking at Organisation Development initiatives.”
If you are seeking a way to take your leaders’ performances to the next level and achieve lasting improvement, then please do get in touch with me today for an initial chat.
CASE STUDIES
The challenge: “It’s ten years since we last ran a Global Executive Development Programme. We have identified twelve high potential directors in five different countries, and we need to equip them with the knowledge and behaviours to take the organisation forward. Can you help?”
The solution: Acting on behalf of the client organisation, I worked closely with Manchester Business School representing the interests of the CEO and Group Executive. Together we co-designed a seven-module mini-MBA programme running over an 18-month period.
The programme took place in the United Kingdom, Brazil, United States, India and China. I established virtual project teams to successfully deliver the learning outcomes for each module, which included benchmarking visits, guest speakers and experiential learning activities.
The delegates, who collectively were responsible for over 35% of the company’s annual turnover, have since progressed further into new, challenging roles.
The challenge: “We have introduced lean and gained some initial cost savings, but we can’t seem to achieve the production output levels we require. We need to benchmark team leaders, who are ILM accredited and able to work in all areas of the business. We’ve done training in the past, but it hasn’t made the difference we need. Can you help?”
The solution: I worked with over 150 people across all functions to support the programme design, delivery, and implementation including the commissioning of a dedicated training facility. To ensure the programme integrated with the fabric of the business, I incorporated lean manufacturing principles throughout the development of the programme’s design and delivery.
As Programme Manager, I established and maintained stakeholder relationships through weekly reporting to the CEO and the board (the project sponsors) on key project milestones. I also presented information for strategic decision-making, such as deployment.
The programme achieved significant cost savings of £3million per annum along with greater management competence, more effective behaviours and greater accountability. The design and delivery methods have since been evaluated by the CIPD’s Chief Examiner and feature in the current Learning and Development Core Text.
MORE PROGRAM TESTIMONIALS
“As a provider of Executive Education and a consultant over many years, I have worked with programme managers from small but mostly large organizations. Most programme managers are quite competent; however, Karen Green is among the best. She relates extremely well to delegates or participants in her programmes and is creative in working with the faculty in the design of leadership programmes according to their level in the organization. Her communicating style is sensitive, transparent, open and sincere.”
“Karen and I worked together on delivering a program for top-level executives at a UK based multinational company. Aimed at developing a global mindset and cross-cultural sensitivity, the design needed careful and continual attention to where the participants were coming from. I found working with Karen easy and delightful. She was adept at switching FROM focused and firm TO funny and light-hearted. Her perceptions of the needs of the group were spot-on. Karen was skilful at getting adequate inputs in order to steer the direction of the program. Her efforts on behalf of "her" participant group were clearly appreciated by them. I wish her luck and success in all her efforts.”
“Karen's attention to detail and passion for delivering strategic projects that really impact the business and facilitate change is boundless. I was fortunate to work with Karen on a large-scale training and culture change programme which had many complex challenges, including formal accreditation. She has a great talent for working collaboratively to find solutions, while never losing sight of the project objectives and the quality of the deliverables. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Karen again and have no hesitation in recommending her.”