Shaping frontline leadership in the Biomedical field

Client need

A global medical-device company with over 53,000 employees recognized the need to build its talent pipeline and create future-ready capabilities by preparing senior managers for advanced leadership roles. Many had strong technical skills but lacked self-awareness, relationship-building, enterprise thinking, and business & financial acumen. A siloed structure also limited knowledge sharing, restricting growth and talent mobility.

To drive strategy—launching innovative devices that transform patient care, advancing corporate responsibility commitments, and achieving ambitious revenue targets—the organization needed greater talent mobility, stronger cross-functional collaboration, and new capabilities.

A redesigned program

The company partnered with BTS to redesign its leadership program for high-potential managers, informed by HR leaders, stakeholders, and past participants. The new initiative focused on five core areas:

1. Increased self-awareness to identify leadership strengths and opportunities
2. Coaching and delegation skills to develop team growth and performance
3. Strategic and enterprise thinking for informed, big-picture decisions
4. Collaborative leadership to build strong cross-functional relationships
5. Financial and business acumen to connect work to outcomes and value creation

Launched in 2021, the eight-month program combined two primary modules—leadership immersion and business immersion—integrating 1:1 coaching and peer collaboration to connect learning with real-world application.

Solution

Participants engaged in two customized simulations:

• Leadership simulation: practice for pivotal leadership moments, strengthening presence, influence, and inclusive leadership.
• Business simulation: participants acted as the C-suite, running the business over three years to drive profitable growth while balancing internal and external stakeholder expectations.

Program phases:

• Kick-off and assessment: senior leader sponsorship, 360 feedback, and coaching to shape individual development plans.
• Leadership simulation: two half-day virtual sessions to define and practice effective behaviors.
• Business simulation: four half-day virtual sessions to build enterprise thinking and business acumen.
• Go-do experiments: on-the-job application to reinforce key skills.
• Executive panel and coaching: exposure to diverse leader perspectives and refined coaching approaches.
• Program conclusion: celebratory wrap-up to share insights and build cross-division connections.

Results

The program accelerated readiness for future roles. In a survey of 187 graduates from 2022–2023 cohorts:

• 94% increased self-awareness of strengths and development needs
• 95% enhanced strategic thinking capabilities
• 93% became more inclusive leaders
• 88% made measurable progress on development goals
• 79% improved coaching and feedback skills

Participant insight: “The simulations provided me with a new perspective on decision-making. I now understand the importance of cross-functional collaboration and how it influences outcomes across the company.”