Leader Lab

Client Need

An American multinational medical technologies organization was in the midst of significant growth, expecting to double its workforce. To continue thriving as a larger organization and adapt to changing client needs, all employees needed to gain an enterprise mindset. As such, the company partnered with BTS to help its senior leaders adopt a mindset of greater interconnectivity and customer-centricity.

Solution

With BTS’s support, the organization developed a Leader Lab solution. This program would enable participants to work together effectively and gain a holistic, enterprise-wide view of the company.

To accomplish this overarching goal, participants were expected to:

• Collaborate across divisions to identify value-creation opportunities and leverage expertise.
• Balance short- and long-term results to accelerate performance in both mature and emerging markets.
• Prioritize and allocate valuable resources to drive growth across the company’s global footprint.
• Nurture unique leadership strengths to shape the culture and inspire future leaders to grow.

The program, which spanned three days and was conducted entirely in-person, included the following:

• Pre-work – a case study reading exercise, which was modelled after the business and set the scene for the business simulation.
• Strategic planning – outlined priorities and the plan to execute the strategy.
• Running the company – a realistic business simulation where participants joined cross functional teams to practice running the business.
• Debrief sessions – a facilitated post-simulation gathering to discuss performance and observed behaviors.
• Company-led sessions – a platform for company leaders to go deep and explore business challenges and opportunities.
• Execute – activities to ensure application and reinforce learning back on the job.

Throughout the Leader Lab experience, participants engaged in an enterprise simulation where they managed a fictitious company that closely resembled their organization. The simulated company had built strong relationships with its past customers. However, technology and evolving consumer needs added pressure to meet expectations. Facing these challenges in a simulated environment enabled participants to debate in teams, determine the best possible course of action, and make decisions with input from across different sectors of the business.After each simulated round, participants took part in facilitated sessions, led by BTS coaches, to explore:

• The results that their decisions had on their performance
• The difficult trade-offs they faced
• How they communicated and effectively worked as a team

In one-on-one conversations, coaches helped participants identify specific leadership strategies and challenges revolving around three central themes:

• Balancing priorities: recognizing the fundamentals, growing in mature and emerging markets, understanding end-to-end business operations to enable an enterprise perspective.
• Innovations in customer-centricity: prioritizing investments that address the voice of the customer, and driving growth through disciplined investment.
• Leading in the industry: balancing organic and inorganic growth when achieving growth, and driving long-term value for both consumers and the broader ecosystem.

Ultimately, these sessions prompted participants to commit to action and hold each other accountable.

Results

 Afterwards, participants provided feedback through comprehensive surveys, yielding the following results:

• Quality of sessions
  • Most participants were highly satisfied with the program.
  • Over half reported that they were “very satisfied” with all aspects of the program, which included customer focus, operating models, relevancy of content, time with BTS coaches, and engagement with peers and leaders.
  • Most believe that the program will positively impact their career growth and development, as well as found it applicable and inspiring.

All of the participants agreed that the Leader Lab content was relevant to their challenges as leaders, the insights generated during exercises and debriefs were helpful, and that they learned something new in the process that will influence future behaviors and decision-making.