Successful leadership development programmes set high expectations – then live up to them. Mike Straw explores how the success (or failure) of leadership programmes can often be traced right back to the initial design and communication work, and looks at how bold branding and brave promises can lead to greater buy-in and more powerful delivery.
What do you want your leadership programme to do? Merely upskill your people, or create a cultural and leadership movement that generates tangible business results? Most L&D buyers we work with start off asking for the former, then realise they need the latter.
Creating a movement requires boldness. It requires brave promises and senior buy-in. Audacious commitments and strong branding is a major part of this equation – particularly at the outset.
Cutting through the cynicism and raising expectations
To build a movement, you need to generate enthusiasm right from the start. One of the most powerful ways to do this is with bold promises and commitments. You have to say to the leaders being enrolled: this programme will transform the business; we are designing the most impactful leadership programme you’ve ever been on – that is what we are aiming for!
It can be daunting to make a brave, possibly audacious statement like this at the start of a project. You might think, ‘are we really going to be able to live up to this’? However, you need to get people enthused and committed! Doing something extraordinary is a big test, and of course people need to up their game and find their best selves to do it. Who wouldn’t want to do that!?
Raising expectations does mean you will get a small group of people who want to shoot your promises down. But at least they’re invested, know about the programme, and have an opinion. You can work with any naysayers over the course of the programme, probing them to find out what can be done to make it even better. You’ll end up getting them on board. It’s a virtuous cycle.
Too often, L&D people create low expectations because it’s safer. And naturally, your company’s risk profile is important in deciding how bold you should go. Be brave and make a noise.
Getting senior buy-in
Of course, you can’t simply be cavalier. You also have to prove that your programme is a real business priority that will bring measurable results. That’s where your senior leaders come in. You need a high-up figure – ideally the chief executive – to be involved in the sponsorship and often the delivery. They are your figurehead. They set the tone, the business context, the imperative, expectation and the ‘permission’ for the leaders to prioritise their development. If this is an issue then the programme may not be seen as a business imperative and delivering a ROI. Their endorsement will help build your brand and get people eager to sign up.
Investing in the branding
Branding is also key to generating a noise within the business, but something that is frequently neglected (even by those companies with fantastic external branding). Too often, these programmes get called something generic like ‘Leading the Business’. It’s no wonder that internal enthusiasm is muted. You need a name that wakes people up!
Not only does investing time on the initial branding cut through the noise and gain attention and interest, it signals to potential attendees that this is a serious programme that is being taken seriously by the business.
We work with communications and marketing teams to find and test approaches that can pique interest and cut through cynicism. Programmes we’ve worked on include the Coca-Cola European Partners ‘Accelerate Performance’ programme and the Novartis ‘Tailwind’ programme. These are brands that fit the personality of the company and spoke to attendees.
Launching your movement
So how else do you brand your programme and make some noise? With a launch event! Again, this signals that you’ve put some money and production behind the programme, and that it’s a business priority. You’ve put your money where your mouth is.
Coca-Cola European Partners hired Cologne stadium for four days and got 1,200 people through the programme. Suddenly, they’d done something really big – and created a movement. And their engagement scores shot up by 15% points. Business results followed soon after.
Interestingly, it was actually cheaper to do it this way than in 24 groups of 50 over a longer period. They’d have had to pay for more venues and travel, and for regular reiteration of programme design. Plus, they’d have got a far slower lead time to capability, which is a key measurement.
Of course, there are challenges to choreographing a big launch event. You’ve got to get all the right people there, create the right environment, and get the CEO to dedicate time to it. But there’s bound to be a lot of work involved – after all, you’re building a movement.
Achieve Breakthrough: your leadership development partner
At Achieve Breakthrough, we know that building communications and design into programmes right at the start is key. It allows you to create a brand to roll out across the organisation, keeping the learning front of mind long after launch.
We will work with you on designing a programme to transform your organisational culture and deliver real business impact.