Challenge
Sodexo were looking for an innovative and impactful way to enhance learning on their Advance Senior Managers Programme. The operating context for their leaders meant they were dealing with a lot of change and a very competitive marketplace. The programme aimed to increase impact, influencing skills and personal resilience to manage complexity and drive change; increase self-awareness (Emotional Intelligence) and leadership effectiveness; and encourage collaborative leadership skills and broaden internal networks.
Solution
They initially selected LeadChange for our strong experiential learning expertise, however, after understanding the overall aims of the programme, we drew on our psychological capability to create a solution that combined experiential learning, Emotional Intelligence theory and a psychometric tool.
As chartered psychologists we were able to select from a number of insight tools, we chose the Emotional Intelligence Profile (JCA) – a scientifically validated self-assessment questionnaire that has been shown to improve performance. The programme layered a theoretical understanding of emotional intelligence, individual feedback on their EI capability via the profile, and feedback from the horses on how they demonstrated emotional intelligence in practise. This accelerated learning cycle allowed participants to explore theory in action and make tangible action plans. We ensured our solutions aligned closely with the wider programme by integrating Sodexo values and managerial behaviours, and designing opportunities to enhance collaborative leadership skills and broaden internal networks.
Results
All the leaders identified EI Actions specific to the Sodexo Managerial Behaviours. They gained:
- Non-judgemental feedback on ‘How they show up’ linked to their EI effectiveness
- Greater confidence and self-belief
- Enhanced presence and impact through heighted self-awareness of feelings and thinking
- Insights into the impact of their attitudes (Self Regard and Regards for Other)
As a group they committed to collaborating now, and beyond the programme, to continue to grow as individuals and to further develop our effectiveness leaders in Sodexo. They identified multiple collaboration channels and agreed a charter of behaviours against which to rate they effectiveness as a group.
Client Quotes
“I was amazed how closely my experience with the horses reflected my EI report, it was like the horse had read it!”
“I came away with real insight into the areas that would increase my leadership effectiveness, and tangible actions to how I would do it”
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