Leadership and ethics in a disruptive world

The Challenge

In 2016, our client identified that their customers were becoming savvier and the industry was increasingly being characterised as a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment. With customer acquisition and retention being more important than ever, and competition increasing, the bank’s third largest business unit decided to take action.

IECL were invited to design and facilitate a half-day leadership development forum for 47 participants across four levels of leadership. The facilitated sessions were very well received and subsequently nominated for an internal award.

In 2017, IECL were invited to design and facilitate a full day leadership development forum, this time incorporating ethical decision making and leadership development, to be delivered to 100 participants across four levels of leadership.

The Solution

What participants learnt on ethics?

• Ethical decision making in a disruptive world.
• The application of the bank’s vision and values to ethical dilemmas.
• What this means for their leadership style/approach.

What participants learnt on leadership?

• About themselves and their leadership.
• About thought leadership, being agile, innovative and building sustainability i.e. a leader that thinks differently.

What was covered?

• VUCA exercise to simulate market disruption, introduced several themes relating to innovation, creativity, ethics and leadership
• Ethical Decision Making
• Growth Mindset
• Strengths Based Leadership
• Leadership Gaps – Technical Problems vs Adaptive Challenges
• Bridging Leadership Gaps
• Action Commitments
• “Why Should Anyone be Led by You?”

The session structure was common across all four cohorts. Differentiation was achieved through activities in each room being based on the real leadership challenges participants were facing and application to their level of seniority.

The Results

Our client indicated that a good program should expect participant ratings between 3.75 – 4.00. A snapshot of participants’ ratings (averaged across the four rooms) shows that IECL met and exceeded these expectations.

Q: This learning equipped me with knowledge/skills that are relevant to my role/development

• Ethics and Values session – 3.94
• Leadership session – 4.03

Q: My knowledge/skills increased as a result of this learning

• Ethics and Values session – 3.91
• Leadership session – 4.05

Q: I am confident I will be able to apply what I’ve learnt to improve my on-the-job performance

• Ethics and Values session – 4.00
• Leadership session – 4.05

Four Key Stats

• 100 Participants (across four levels of people leaders)
• 4 Rooms
• 8 IECL Facilitators
• 1 Full Day