The organisation identified a Global Talent Pool of high-potential senior managers—typically two years from executive-level appointment—as a critical population for succession planning and long-term organisational sustainability. Between 2011 and 2017, approximately 150 senior leaders participated in the programme.
Business need
From an organisational perspective
- To conduct a rigorous leadership capability “deep dive” at the level immediately below the Group Executive Committee (GEC).
- To identify, assess, and develop a cadre of future senior leaders capable of “future-proofing” the organisation.
- To demonstrate a visible and credible commitment to senior leadership development across the global business.
- To embed the organisation’s Leadership DNA, translating it into clear behavioural expectations for senior leaders.
- To build lasting collaboration and networks across geographies and business units, supporting commercial performance and organisational maturity.
From the perspective of the participant
- To experience a high-impact, career-defining development programme aligned to the organisation’s leadership culture and expectations.
- To be stretched through robust, business-relevant assessment, including “hard-edged” simulation exercises that reflected real executive challenges.
What was delivered
The International Senior Management Programme (ISMP)—a flagship, multi-year senior leadership development programme combining assessment, experiential learning, and sustained coaching.Pre-programme
- Bespoke 360-degree feedback developed in partnership with Mission Performance to assess leadership impact.
- Insight into preferred leadership and working styles using personality and emotional intelligence psychometrics.
- Individual coaching discussions.
- Three-way objective-setting conversations involving the participant, their line manager, and HR.
Residential programme
- A highly immersive residential experience, delivered off-site, ranging from 14 days initially and evolving to 7 days over the life of the programme.
- Content included leadership communication, coaching, strategy formulation and execution, commercial awareness, risk, diversity, values-based decision making, and business simulation.
- Practical leadership challenges delivered in partnership with the Royal Navy, reinforcing leadership under pressure.
- Strong emphasis on networking, peer challenge, and cross-business collaboration.
- Programme design evolved year-on-year to remain aligned with organisational priorities.
Post-programme
- Ongoing executive coaching.
- Personal development plans supported by three-way progress reviews.
- Participant-led creation of a global alumni network, extending learning, collaboration, and commercial opportunity beyond the programme.
Outcomes
- A significant proportion of programme alumni now hold executive leadership positions, with 4–5 promoted directly to the Group Executive Committee (GEC).
- Multi-million-pound commercial opportunities generated through collaboration within the alumni network.
- A visible cultural shift towards “relationships and pull” leadership, moving away from more directive, “drive and push” behaviours, actively sponsored by the GEC.
- The success of ISMP led to the creation of additional leadership programmes, including an Emerging Leaders Programme (ELP) modelled on the same design principles.
- Strong client endorsement of Mission Performance as a trusted partner, with the People Development Director stating:
“We genuinely see xxx as a partner that works collaboratively with us and seamlessly with our other key suppliers to deliver our flagship global senior leadership programme. Their people are first rate—experienced, pragmatic, and consistently focused on meeting our needs with integrity. The breadth of their backgrounds has repeatedly added value to participants’ experiences.”
