CASE STUDY Executive leadership development for future …€¦ · Executive leadership development...
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With mounting economic and political pressure across European markets, Raiffeisen Bank International needed to equip senior leaders with the skills, knowledge and solution-focused approach to navigate uncertainty and change. Executive leadership development for future board potential The challenge Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 15 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the Group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in the fields of leasing, asset management, as well as mergers and acquisitions. In total, around 53,200 employees service 14.8 million customers through approximately 2,800 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE. RBI had developed ‘Execute’, an executive leadership development programme aimed at leaders across the group who were one step below board level and wanted the skills to progress their careers. However, the programme wasn’t achieving the desired objectives. Judith Hanika-Grünn, Specialist for Executive Development and Performance Management at RBI, explains, “I joined RBI in 2007 and decided to redesign the whole programme and bring in a new partner to work with us. After being introduced to Roffey Park, I quickly realised that their approach was perfect for what we wanted to achieve.” She continues, “Execute participants are already in senior leadership positions and highly experienced. This makes them less receptive to traditional teaching methods, preferring a more immersive, practical learning style. Roffey Park was a perfect fit. Roffey Park’s approach focuses on the needs of the individual through self-managed learning, as well as practical application of learning to live business situations, rather than just theory.” CASE STUDY Roffey Park’s approach focuses on self-managed learning, as well as practical application of learning to live business situations.
Transcript of CASE STUDY Executive leadership development for future …€¦ · Executive leadership development...
With mounting economic and political pressure across European markets, Raiffeisen Bank International needed to equip senior leaders with the skills, knowledge and solution-focused approach to navigate uncertainty and change.
Executive leadershipdevelopment for futureboard potential
The challenge
Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) regards Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. 15 markets of the region are covered by subsidiary banks. Additionally, the Group comprises numerous other financial service providers, for instance in the fields of leasing, asset management, as well as mergers and acquisitions.
In total, around 53,200 employees service 14.8 million customers through approximately 2,800 business outlets, the great majority of which are located in CEE.
RBI had developed ‘Execute’, an executive leadership development programme aimed at leaders across the group who were one step below board level and wanted the skills to progress their careers. However, the programme wasn’t achieving the desired
objectives. Judith Hanika-Grünn, Specialist for Executive Development and Performance Management at RBI, explains, “I joined RBI in 2007 and decided to redesign the whole programme and bring in a new partner to work with us. After being introduced to Roffey Park, I quickly realised that their approach was perfect for what we wanted to achieve.”
She continues, “Execute participants are already in senior leadership positions and highly experienced. This makes them less receptive to traditional teaching methods, preferring a more immersive, practical learning style. Roffey Park was a perfect fit. Roffey Park’s approach focuses on the needs of the individual through self-managed learning, as well as practical application of learning to live business situations, rather than just theory.”
CASE STUDY
Roffey Park’s approach focuses on self-managed learning, as well as practical application of learning to live business situations.
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Roffey Park are different, they really tailor programmes to the organisation.
The solution
Judith and Roffey Park worked together to redesign the Execute programme. “We wanted to keep the key elements of the programme intact, such as keynote speakers and site visits to international offices,” explains Judith. “But to wrap these up in a new way of learning that would maximise learning outcomes and impact on the business.”
She continues, “The structure of the revised programme, with its flexibility and focus on self-managed learning, is distinctly Roffey Park.”
“Roffey Park are different, they really tailor programmes to the organisation,” she adds. “Other providers offer a mostly off-the-shelf solution. Roffey Park invest in their clients and take time to understand the organisation, its objectives and challenges; creating a programme that’s specific to each organisation, group and participant.”
The approach
The revised approach repositions the Execute programme for future board potential, enabling individuals to step up and acquire the leadership skills required of future board members, in the context of real life business.
Each cohort includes senior leaders from across RBI, representing a diverse range of nationalities and cultures. Participants are nominated by a board member as having board potential.
Participants also maintain close contact with their board sponsor throughout the programme, to ensure learning outcomes are aligned to business objectives.
The Execute programme runs once a year, with a maximum of 14 participants per cohort and takes 9 months to complete. Each programme consists of five three-day modules. With a focus on self-managed learning, participants are able to shape programme content according to specific needs and challenges.
Pre-programme psychometric assessment ensures delegates develop self-awareness around strengths and areas for focus. The first module includes one-to-one coaching to explore these areas and agree personal development plans. Participants are introduced to self-managed learning, a key leadership topic and also present a business challenge relevant to their own organisation – two of which are chosen to become the focus of modules three and four.
The second module covers problem solving and consultancy skills, to prepare participants for the third and fourth modules. A keynote speaker, often an acting board member, also shares their advice, experience and personal journey to the top.
The third and fourth modules involve a ‘peer consultancy exercise’. Participants work together on real business challenges identified at the start of the programme, hosted by the relevant international office.
The fifth and final module is hosted in the head office in Vienna, where the CEO plays an active role in discussing the challenges of leadership. Participants review their personal learning journey and programme impact.
To maximise learning, the third day of each module comprises action learning sets, with each person allocated time to consult with their peers on personal development challenges or business problems.
The content of the programme has evolved over time, in line with RBI’s strategic focus, and has just been refined even further for the 2015 participants Judith explains, “Following several years of growth, the Bank is now in a consolidation phase. Business leaders need to be equipped to lead in a large organisation undergoing constant change, in today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.”
“This is where Roffey Park’s focus on flexible, self-managed learning comes into its own,” she says. “Participants come from a wide range of businesses and international markets, each seeking to address a different set of issues and challenges. In the context of uncertainty and ambiguity, it’s more important than ever that a leadership programme is designed around flexibility, real business issues and relevance.”
She adds, “The focus is more about asking meaningful questions and helping the organisation to find meaningful solutions, rather than expecting participants to have all
the answers. It’s a solution-focused approach that enhances innovation and adds immense business value.”
The results
The impact of the programme is clear. Judith says, “The refreshed Execute programme is recognised amongst business leaders and employees across RBI. A high number of past participants are now in executive board positions and nominate their own people for the programme; the programme creates a legacy of learning.”
She continues, “The wider impact on the business over the duration of the programme has been dramatic. On the one hand, the programme prepares participants to take board level positions, establishes a valuable network of senior leaders and equips them with the skills, behaviours and tools to solve real business issues – all critically important,” explains Judith.
“Equally important, the programme enables the board in Vienna to understand regional differences in business climates and cultures,” she says. “Running a retail bank in Croatia or Romania, for example, is completely different operationally from doing so in Russia; especially taking into account the current geopolitical situation and economic pressure. From our vantage point in Vienna, the programme helps us to understand the impact of regional differences and run a successful international business.”
Due to the success of the Execute programme, Roffey Park now delivers other leadership development programmes for RBI; strategic leadership, leadership development for IT managers and coaching skills for managers.
In summary
Central to the success of the programme is Roffey Park. “We have now worked with Roffey Park for over eight years,” says Judith. “During that time, Roffey Park has provided consistently high quality consultants. They effortlessly integrate all the different programme components into a cohesive whole that’s entirely bespoke to our organisation, delivering a learning experience like no other.”
It’s more important than ever that a leadership programme is designed around flexibility, real business issues and relevance.
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For more information about Roffey Park’s services, please contact us:
About us
Roffey Park is an internationally renowned leadership institute based in the UK and Singapore. We develop people who develop organisations. With 65 years’ experience of leadership and management development, organisational development, human resources and personal effectiveness, we provide executive education and research to many of the world’s leading companies and organisations.
Powerful transformational learning to develop people who develop organisations
Without question the greatest asset in any organisation is its people and their ability to collaborate in achieving strategic goals and objectives. We believe that creating the opportunity for each individual to perform to their full potential, every day, will improve business performance – and make work more fulfilling.
This requires individuals to have self-awareness and knowledge of their different behaviours so they can lead, inspire and motivate.
Designing learning which enables a lasting difference
The Self Managed Learning philosophy, pioneered in the UK by Roffey Park, underpins our approach. Self Managed Learning is about individuals managing their own learning by taking responsibility for decisions about what they learn, how they learn, when they learn, where they learn and why they learn. This is all grounded in the context of organisational needs.
We treat individuals as adults, expecting and enabling them to take responsibility for their learning. Our approach is holistic, learner centred and empowering. Our focus is on substance not style using applied learning to bring to life each individual’s own workplace.
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Developing and strengthening a high performing executive team to enhance employee engagement and business performance
BBSRC invested in wide-scale management development, to equip managers at all levels and across all establishments to manage people effectively and cope with change.
Developing managers’ leadership skills and strategic thinking to lead change and transition into senior roles
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