Underpinning global growth through executive leadership development
Here is a client’s experience of partnering with ASCEND+ to create an executive leadership development programme that would underpin our Client’s rapid growth across the globe.
Industry: Construction
Number of employees: 20,000+
Location: Multinational
The brief
This Organisation was continuing to grow and expand its international operations when our key stakeholder joined the organisation as Head of Group Leadership Development in early 2022. Headquartered in Ireland and with more than 22,500 employees around the world, the Organisation was committed to building its customer base and global product offering. Things were changing, and fast.
Several years previously, the Organisation created an executive development programme that helped senior leaders across the business grow their careers. It was the first time the Organisation had introduced a programme of work that identified and developed high-potential leaders across all of the Group’s different operating Divisions. While the executive development programme had been well-received and had earned a solid reputation within the company, the Organisation had evolved.
“...we needed our leaders to be equipped with the skills, confidence and mindset to be able to work successfully in our global business at the pace we were now operating”.
The challenge was clear: to completely redesign the program to take leadership development to the next level. The Group had to invest in the leaders who would underpin the continued growth of the organisation with a trusted learning partner that could redesign the current approach and bring new energy and globally relevant content to deliver a high-quality outcome.
The solution
In September 2023, the Organisation partnered with ASCEND+ to redesign and take on the next chapter of the executive development programme. ASCEND+ came into the Group with big boots to fill after the previous provider had created such a positive internal brand.
“ASCEND+ aligned very well with the Programme objectives. They were clearly experts, operating on a global stage, and felt very ‘local’ to us. The breadth of experience and quality of the team was critical to the next phase of the Programme”
ASCEND+ hit the ground running by meeting with the Head of Group Leadership Development and, the CEO, to better understand the current and future needs and expectations of the Group’s senior leaders. The team then began to reimagine the Programme, establishing new learning goals and outcomes that aligned with the organisation’s new global context. By building on the preexisting programme, ASCEND+ enhanced and repositioned the Program as a globally-oriented, commercially underpinned talent development offering.
The Executive Development Program is now a multilayered programme utilising different learning methods such as in-person residential workshops, coaching, group work and projects, leadership profiling and assessments. Focus is placed on translating development material into practical actions that leaders can implement immediately. “The programme goes very deep with every participant – we explore who they are, and what kind of leader they want to be. The emphasis on skills development is a core element of the Programme, as well as the opportunity to build your internal global network as a participant. The credibility and trustworthiness of the facilitators and coaches at ASCEND+ enables significant development for our leaders”.
The results
A few years on from the Organisation’s initial partnership with ASCEND+, the positive impacts of the revised programme are evident. A large number of programme participants have progressed in their careers globally, fulfilling their goals while supporting the company’s growth ambition. The executive development programme is continuing to produce high-quality leadership talent, which is needed to enable the Group to continue growing and expanding in a sustainable way.
“Part of the journey of the Programme is helping people to see that they could do more, and helping them to want to do more. We’ve seen people take on very significant roles after finishing the programme, moving around the world and contributing to big programmes of work. The executive programme brand is stronger than ever, and is a really prestigious and desirable programme for leaders right across the Organisation”
ASCEND+ continues to partner with the Organisation’s leaders to prepare them for their future careers, while all the time underpinning the current and future success of the Group.
Do you need to build a pool of high-performing senior leaders to help take your organisation to new levels?
Our team of development experts are passionate about leadership effectiveness, emotional intelligence and adaptive leadership.
ASCEND+ helps you to focus on what really matters, creating leaders who can thrive now and into the future. We develop and upskill to meet the evolving needs of the business.