Case Studies: Team Development
Case 1: Increasing Board Effectiveness
Following several years of erratic leadership and executive officer turnover, the board of directors of a large organization sought assistance in assessing their leadership effectiveness. An assessment strategy using the Hallmarks of Excellence® in Leadership instrument was initiated which focused on the board members’ leadership traits and team building effectiveness.
The findings were instrumental in establishing a board of directors profile identifying desired traits when recruiting new members and were used for training and developing existing board members to improve their overall effectiveness.
Case 2: Benchmarking a Team
After seven years of effectively leading his organization through a period where the company’s annual budget had doubled and the company had exceeded all of its aggressive goals, the CEO was concerned that the growth had outstripped the leadership capacity and competencies of some of the officers. Sensing that potential leadership gaps could limit the organization’s future opportunities and be defeated by significant anticipated challenges, he requested a leadership analysis of himself and the officers.
The Hallmarks of Excellence® in Leadership was administered to assess leadership strengths and potential gaps, and the resulting results of each member of the team (combined with additional research) were used to construct an officer benchmark. Once the benchmark was constructed, each officer’s Hallmarks® results were compared to the benchmark to determine strengths and gaps.
A customized and focused coaching and development strategy was created and implemented with each officer. Findings from the team’s aggregate results were incorporated into a leadership retreat that focused on principles and team best practices to increase their overall effectiveness.
Case 3: Reducing Training Costs
A mid-size CPA firm budgeted an aggressive amount of money and resources for training and preparing accountants to become Managers and eventually Principals. An expensive training program had been initiated without regard to assessed needs. The significant investment generated considerably less than expected results, and employee dissatisfaction with the training experience was critical. Confused, the Principals requested advice on a better approach.
The firm’s leadership development strategy was addressed by first assessing the Principals to evaluate their strengths and limitations and to establish a benchmark of their competencies and attributes. Select accountants were administered the Hallmarks of Excellence® in Leadership, and the results were mapped to the Principal benchmark to determine strengths and limitations.
To realize the company’s goals, a multi-phase leadership development strategy was implemented to equip the accountants to reach Manager and Principal status better prepared in less time and at a noticeable lower cost per person.
Case 4: Implementing a Corporate Values Model
The acting senior executive of a large organization requested a meeting to discuss a distressing corporate culture dilemma. The once-thriving organization had been hit with three successive leadership transitions after the original leader had led the organization for over 40 years. Leaders from the board to mid-management level were in disarray, under prepared, and discouraged.
After interviewing key leaders, it was determined that securing a baseline of competencies and attributes was the first priority. Leaders from the board, executive team, and mid-level managers were administered the Hallmarks of Excellence® in Leadership. Both collective and individual training and coaching strategies were implemented. Team training was conducted and focused on re-translating the corporate code and corporate processes.
After six months, the organization’s leadership became more confident, corporate processes were being managed more efficiently, and the executive relationship between the senior leadership team and the board of directors was restored.
