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Threadneedle Investments - The Leadership Challenge
By Sharon Smith, Head of Training and Development, Threadneedle Investments, and
Richard Pound, Business Development Director of Grahame Robb Associates Ltd
Threadneedle Investments is a global asset management company with more than 650 staff members. Founded in 1994, today the company manages more than £70 billion of assets. Threadneedle’s distribution reach covers four continents and more than 15 countries, and is now the UK's third largest retail investment fund management group, managing funds for private and institutional investors across UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Grahame Robb Associates Ltd (GRA) design and deliver innovative and experiential development programmes in the areas of teams, leadership, projects, business strategy and customers to organisations across the globe. They are the sole UK licensee for Crucial Conversations® training, services and products, and the Official Learning and Development Partner to the Skandia Team GBR 2008, the British Sailing Team in training for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. www.gra.uk.com.
Background Issues
Threadneedle’s success over the last decade has not only been put down to sound investment philosophy, but also to the investment in and development of its people at all levels – from graduates and the investment floor to the leadership team. However, in 2005, the HR team felt that there was a need to take a more strategic ‘top-down’ approach to training and development, and as part of the existing ‘Management and Professional Development Framework’, wanted to develop the leadership and management skills of the senior managers across the company – a population of around 50 people.
Threadneedle chose Grahame Robb Associates Ltd (‘GRA’) to work in partnership with the HR team to design and deliver a programme that would be flexible and powerful enough to meet the needs of the managers. In essence, Threadneedle needed a programme which would focus on developing sustainable behaviours which effectively support the delivery of their overall strategic objectives.
What were we aiming to achieve?
We initially held a series of focus group ‘training needs analysis’ workshops, with a cross section of the target audience, and their own managers and direct reports. This helped us to refine the requirements of the programme and the critical measures of success which would allow us to evaluate the outcomes.
The agreed key objectives and outcomes of the programme were:
• To develop an effective network of Experienced Managers who know, understand and trust each other, and as a result can connect their talents and knowledge, share best practice and work effectively across boundaries to resolve organisational issues for competitive advantage;
• To establish an effective leadership and coaching culture which, through a common language and consistency of approach, will successfully support the delivery of Threadneedle’s overall strategic objectives;
• To create a core of Experienced Managers with exceptional team working skills, who collaborate, communicate and consult at all levels to improve performance through ‘Connected Thinking’;
• To create highly motivated leaders who consistently seek to improve their own and others’ performance, to give Threadneedle the competitive edge.
What did the programme look and feel like?
The resulting programme used a blend of individual and group based activities (both indoors and outdoors), and a blend of experiential and input based sessions, with a strong focus on the application of skills back in the business. It was designed to link to the Threadneedle Valued Behaviours of Delivery of Objectives, Team Work, Client Focus, Business Focus, Innovation and Creativity and Leadership.
Pre-work
The programme involved a focused use of individual work (before and after each module) to save time on the programme itself and provide the opportunity for reflection and self-directed learning. 360° Feedback was an important first step, to allow each manager to receive open and honest feedback from peers, managers and direct reports, against the Threadneedle Valued Behaviours. This resulted in a personal development plan and action plan, which would form the basis for the manager’s development throughout the programme and thereafter.
Importantly, each participant was encouraged to have 1:1 meetings with their manager before and after each module to agree the individual development needs and priorities, and ring fence the time for follow-up and application of the learning. Without this follow-up, people can return from the module and get straight back into the ‘day job’, e-mails and meetings and lose the real benefits that come from making the time for individual actions and application of the learning.
In addition, we encouraged the use of ‘learning partners’, where each delegate would have a colleague on the programme with whom they could closely work throughout the programme (and hopefully beyond) to help embed the learning and be the sounding board for ideas resulting from the programme.
Module 1 – Self Awareness
The starting point for the programme is improved self-awareness, to help identify strengths and development needs, and appreciate how the manager’s own actions and behaviours affect or impact on others. This stage helps increase understanding of the participants’ personal work styles and preferences, and builds understanding of their own and others’ team contributions.
This is a two-day module, with a blend of classroom work, 1:1s and group indoor experiential exercises – and is an important first stage for the programme to obtain buy-in and commitment from the managers, and build trust with the GRA trainers. Whilst an initial concern from the participants was often the amount of time they would be spending away from their teams, effective delegation and empowerment (and ‘letting go’) was a key outcome for Threadneedle and the programme merely reinforced that need.
Module 2 – Developing Leadership Skills
This module uses a proven and powerful leadership model, which helps develop a common and simple leadership language. It is important to Threadneedle for the senior managers to have an effective way of opening up communication between staff and themselves around performance and help staff develop their self-reliance. The leadership model allows the managers to appreciate the importance of having a flexible leadership style which changes according to the needs and skills of the person being managed. Overall, our focus for this module is to help the managers appreciate the importance of effectively managing their staff, to learn skills to help them improve their own and others’ performance and to help link personal goals to the organisational vision and objectives.
Module 3 – Leadership and Team Development
This module starts to bring some of the learning together, and the focus of the module is a major business-based scenario. This is a high pressure, 24 hour, team based exercise, involving the team (acting as a stand alone ‘start-up’ business) working to tight deadlines to meet specific and demanding customer needs.
The scenario is tailored to bring out specific learning needs, not only related to the Threadneedle Valued Behaviours, but the financial services industry as well. It requires the team to undertake a number of earnings opportunities (the detail unknown to them at the planning stage), in order to earn funds which allow them to deliver the ‘customer’ requirements.
There is an intensive period of planning, where the team needs to prepare a costed business plan and include their vision, corporate priorities, profit & loss, resource plans, logistic and transport requirements and the schedule of activities for the next day. There are some very real consequences for getting this right or wrong – their plan is presented back Dragons’ Den style to a senior Threadneedle manager who is acting as the Venture Capitalist for the start-up company. Without securing the VC investment, business plans, priorities and forecast P&L may all change.
The next day sees the team implement the plan, reacting to unforeseen changes and risks, providing status reports to the VC and the customer. Operating on a ‘challenge by choice’ principle (with physical and non-physical activities and initiative tests), the scenario is an intense period of activity and requires the team to overcome personal challenges and fears, and also understand and make best use of individuals’ strengths. Whilst high pressure, the scenario is also designed to be enjoyable and fun and creates a powerful learning opportunity outside of the classroom environment.
The final element of the module is a substantial learning review and action planning phase to create strong links back to the workplace and agree what the manager can and will do differently as a result of the learning.
Module 4 – Crucial Conversations® and Coaching
After the adrenalin of Module 3, this next module is designed to develop positive working relationships across the business, by encouraging honest communication and feedback.
Crucial Conversations® forms the basis of this module and is a hugely successful development programme that has been rolled out to more than 500,000 people across the globe. Based on the best selling book, and containing the fruits of 25 years of research, Crucial Conversations® is focused on results by giving people the skills to talk openly, honestly and respectfully about sensitive, difficult issues such as others’ performance, behaviour or failed expectations.
It is followed by a coaching session, based on the GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) model. This session uses a range of practical ‘non-work related’ activities to help accelerate the skills transfer and help managers speed up their own development as well as that of others.
Module 5 – Follow-up
This last module is aimed at bringing the learning together and takes place about four months after the previous module, to allow time for reflection and the application of learning. It is also about creating the foundation for future personal development and learning through the use of career planning and personal goal setting.
What are the results so far?
At the time of writing, the first group has completed the first four modules, and the second group has been through the first two modules. The feedback from the delegates has been excellent and staff at all levels are already starting to see a change in behaviour and a change in culture which is put down to the experience and learning gained from the programme. Specific outcomes include:
• Improved networking and stronger relationships across the organisation, breaking down silos leading to increased trust, improved cross-functional knowledge and better decision-making;
• More open and honest communications between managers, staff and teams on those ‘difficult’ issues that were often ‘swept under the carpet’;
• Increased knowledge of Threadneedle and more clarity of and focus on the organisational goals, objectives and priorities;
• A more flexible approach of individuals’ own leadership styles, which is maximising achievement and others’ development;
• Improved loyalty, through the recognition that Threadneedle is investing in the long-term future of the managers;
• Improvements in individuals’ confidence and skills as leaders and senior managers;
• Support of Threadneedle’s succession planning process through the identification and development of key talent.
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Metrics
Recruiting Challenges
Percentage of employers reporting biggest challenges in recruiting new hires, 2002 and 2006
2002 2006
Competition with other companies 47% 59%
Lack of qualified candidates 48 50
Cost of living/housing issues 26 38
Undesirable areas 22 32
Dual career/family issues 28 27
Inadequate compensation/benefits 7 16
Source: Worldwide ERC (www.erc.org)
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Voluntary Turnover
Average voluntary turnover rate for bottom and top quartile by industry, 2006
Bottom Top
Banking 16.4% 25.5%
Insurance 8.0 13.5
Other finance 10.7 21.4
Health care 9.1 13.6
Telecommunications 7.6 14.9
Utilities 3.6 6.7
IT and electronics 7.5 15.0
Engineering 5.7 12.7
Pharmaceutical 6.2 12.6
Source: Saratoga Institute, PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com)
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