For the past 18 months, I worked with two groups of senior leaders at a global organization. These 10 talented individuals from the U.S., Mexico, Australia, and India were hand-picked by top executives for a multi-faceted program that included designing and delivering a project to hopefully create a new initiative for the company. They also participated in two in-person bootcamps, five live online 3.5 hours events and peer-to-peer coaching.
The final challenge last week was for each group – self-named ‘Shinconsiners’ and ‘True Northians’ – to present their prototype to members of the ELT. This 60-minute Teams meeting was divided into thirds: presentation, Q&A, feedback. The judges were complimentary… and tough. They asked powerful questions, and despite all the planning, research, testing, revision and practice, both groups were held accountable for missing some key insights.
Other coaches worked with the two teams whose members are based in Europe. One of those received a score of 21 out of 24 from the ELT and their idea was immediately greenlighted. The other one scored 15 and was denied. The two I coached earned equal scores of 18… with the possibility for approval after revisions.
In addition to their substantial learning as participants, it was a great experience for me to facilitate the journey, especially from seeing how they approached each task along the way.
Now the opportunity ahead for them is to continue excelling in their roles and someday be added to the ELT – with one perhaps rising to be the future CEO. Of course, that’s a high bar… especially since three more groups just started the second iteration of the program. I’m excited to work with one to see how much they grow.
