Emerging Leaders with Global Bankers
Overview
Global Bankers Insurance Group manages a family of insurance and reinsurance companies across the U.S. and abroad. In 2018, Global Bankers partnered with Conversant to develop their managers’ leadership capabilities with a focus on ownership.
Challenge
Global Bankers is a fast-paced organization with a relatively young staff. Many of its leaders were in stretch roles, mid-level managers lacked the skills to drive team performance, and new managers were struggling to make the shift from being good executors to capable leaders.
Strategy
Conversant collaborated with Global Banker’s CEO, CHRO, CTO, and CSO to determine the organizational needs and identify key leverage points. After conducting a survey and determining leadership expectations, we developed 10-12 specific behaviors on which to focus.
During a one-day workshop, the entire organization aligned around core leadership principles, giving them a shared language and foundation. Over the course of six months, the emerging leaders cohort participated in interactive and playful sessions, engaged with senior leaders and experts, and were coached through 360 feedback reviews.
“I have loved this program. I thought a couple of times that I would ‘dread’ an exercise – in particular, the 360 degree feedback from my peers. It turned out to be one of the most beneficial sessions of the program.”
Results
Over 20 people participated in the program. Participants developed a shared language and learned practical skills that applied to their day-to-day work and personal lives. Ultimately, the people participating in the program connected with one another on a deeper level and felt they could rely on one another for help solving problems and getting to new ideas. 100% of participants said the program was a valuable use of their time and they’d recommend it to a peer. A year later, Global Bankers saw an increase between 3% - 5% in their Manager Effectiveness scores.
What We Learned
Trust and collaborative design are vital in the success of our programs. Together, we custom built 360s to meet Global Banker’s leadership expectations and designed highly interactive and playful sessions that supported their naturally collaborative and collegial culture. Support from senior leadership was also critical. Global Bankers’ internal sponsorship was impeccable, as senior leaders showed up to many of the sessions to engage and participate.