Challenge
A British-based distributor of electronics, automation and control components, engineering tools, and consumables, engaged YSC to partner with the newly appointed Chief Executive to gain a better understanding on the individual profiles within Vice President roles and the Europe Management Team (EMT).
With increasingly disruptive technological advances within the market, the Chief Executive required an in-depth diagnostic of these executives in order to understand whether their capabilities were a ‘match fit’ with the leadership required for the business to transition and evolve.
In order to achieve this, first there was a need to clearly define a transparent and aligned view on what ‘great’ looks like for these executives. Second, there was a need to support leaders in their own journey to align with the wider business vision. Third, there was also a need for the Chief Executive understand what was missing if the business were to reach its desired goals their ambitions.
Solution
Profiles Of Success: YSC partnered with the CEO, CFO, HRD and key stakeholders to articulate the leadership the business would need in the next phase of the organization. The outputs included profiles of success for both the VP and EMT roles – articulating the key enabling experiences, core skills and leadership capabilities required, as well as the underlying attributes required for success.
360° Insights: Prior to the assessment process, YSC conducted five stakeholder telephone interviews for each candidate to deepen insight into their individual operating contexts.
Assessments: With a clear view of the leadership required, YSC conducted a management assessment of 30 leaders. The assessment included a four-hour (in person) biographical interview, brief psychometric exercise, an exploration of life and career history and co-creation of insights about each individual.
Feedback & Coaching: Following the assessments, each individual also underwent a two-hour feedback and coaching session. This provided them an opportunity to discuss the report and start building on the insights it offers to accelerate their development and performance.
Three-way Calls: Reports were also shared with line managers to provide them with insight into how to support ongoing development.
Impact
Individual Level:
Each individual underwent a deep, developmental assessment which resulted in increased self-awareness of their strengths, blind spots and the personal shifts required to be successful in the new context.
Organizational Level:
YSC conducted a detailed aggregate insights analysis across the individual leadership profiles which was presented to the Chief Executive, CFO and HRD. This analysis included: collective strengths and development themes relative to the profiles of success, benchmarking against other comparable businesses, deep dive into the dynamic that exists within the executive team, as well as key recommendations for individual and collective development.
This analysis showed that overall, executives were working in a siloed manner which inhibited their ability to collaborate and innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly disruptive and fast changing industry. This provided the Chief Executive with a unique perspective on how to make shifts within the business.
Find out more about Executive Assessments with YSC...
A business strategy is only as good as the leaders that can bring it to life. In today’s environment of disruption and change, it is increasingly difficult to fully understand and identify the capabilities needed for individuals to be successful in business-critical roles. As roles become more complex, looking at past performance to predict fit for future leadership roles does not suffice.
