Case Studies

Fortune 500 Automotive Parts Manufacturer

Talent Retention and Development

A Fortune 500 automotive parts manufacturer was having difficulty and disagreement filling plant manager jobs from within the company, causing frustration and turnover, so we:

  • institutionalized a process to develop leadership competencies
  • identified high potential individuals
  • provided focused development options for incumbent plant managers

Accelerated the learning curve for plant managers new to the company and retained high potential and strong performing plant managers.

Fortune 500 Office Solutions Company

Leadership and Cultural Change

A Fortune 500 Services organization merged two business units with distinctly different cultures and leadership styles: the integration was challenging the organization’s 400+ managers, so we:

  • designed a 4 ½ day leadership learning experience for mid and first level managers
  • led an intense development experience designed to stimulate conversation, generate understanding and bridge cultural and generational gaps
  • offered executive coaching, development assessments (360 feedback, Myers-Briggs), and a business simulation that includes senior leadership as the debriefing panel

Facilitated the assimilation and alignment of two cultures and a sustainable, repeatable leadership development process and learning experience with a participant satisfaction rating of 99% – “I am using what I learned in my day to day leadership behaviors and action.”

Southern California Utility Company

Mentoring and Talent Development

Southern California’s largest utility needed to break down organization silos and encourage movement across the divisions, so we:

  • refined an existing mentoring program – to include mentors and mentees in a cross training initiative
  • facilitated targeted development / learning experiences for mentees and coaching for mentors
  • nurtured the development of a learning community

The client was recognized with company wide achievement award for this initiative.

Fortune 500 Financial Services Company

Mentoring High Potentials

An east-coast investment firm consistently ranked in Fortune’s Top 100 Best Companies, wanted to provide opportunities for high potential women, so we:

  • designed a women’s mentoring initiative in collaboration with the client
  • trained mentors
  • provided ongoing shadow coaching to the client
  • established program goals and effectiveness measures

The mentoring initiative enabled the client to give visibility and one-to-one coaching to high potential women in the firm.

Leadership Development Organization-Wide Program Development

Two examples of our most recent multi-year projects are described below. We would be pleased to discuss other clients’ leadership development initiatives with you at your convenience.

Southern California Edison

Management Certification Program

A utility-wide leadership development program for the purpose of up-skilling the existing leads, supervisors, and managers based on a leadership model of the competencies required for SCE’s future business strategy.

We consulted with the client to co-create the overall charter, ensure strategic alignment, develop program objectives and framework, and determine specific offerings based on their leadership competency model. We consulted with the client to create a cohesive facilitator network, evaluate effectiveness and design four individual workshops as part of the overall program. This program was recognized with an ASTD Award in 2003.

This initiative is in its fourth year and has reached over 600 leaders across Southern California Edison in key operating units: Transmission & Distributions, Customer Service, Information Technology, Shared Services and Generation.

Xerox Corporation

Leadership Development Initiative (Leadership: The Art of Balance)

At the request of the Vice President Education and Learning at the Xerox Document University, we created a leadership learning initiative for 400+ leaders in the Xerox Services Organization. Two distinct businesses had been merged, creating tension in how the leaders of the two organizations worked together and how they would lead the new organization. In addition, downsizing had led to large spans of manager control (20-30 direct reports are not unusual.)

The Learning Café partnered with the client to provide: needs analysis, strategic alignment with the business, program design and development, engagement of the Senior Leadership team, communication of the program, facilitating the program and creating sustainers to reinforce the desired behavior changes.

A recently conducted Impact Study showed the following results:

  • 99% of the participants consistently say they have incorporated insight, information and feedback they received throughout the workshop into their leadership behaviors and actions.
  • 97% of the participants consistently say they recommend this learning activity to others.
  • The overall impact of the learning experience on participant ability to lead is consistently very high – 86%.

Respondents consistently agree and strongly agree that as a result of participating in the Leadership Development experience they are better able to:

  • Understand and utilize their leadership skills (97%)
  • Give and receive feedback and coaching (93%)
  • Balance the Four Polarities of LeadershipTM (91%)
  • Maximize the contributions of everyone on their team (89%)
  • Make effective decisions during times of change or uncertainty (87%)