This major oil company was committed to demonstrating both the immediate and long-term impact an investment in leadership development could have on its organizational performance. Employing JMW’s unique approach—which incorporates rigorous requirements for results delivery with intensive personal development—the company not only produced a significant return, but also established a new global leadership capability within the organization.

Collaborate, Align and Deliver

JMW collaborated with the company’s Learning and Development Committee to create two customized in-house The Leader of the Future® programs for 52 strategically selected emerging leaders. The overall program was specially designed not only to enhance the leadership capabilities of the executives who participated, but also to demonstrate the organizational benefits by tracking both leadership development and the results of business projects carried out by participants in the two programs.

In addition to 4 one-week sessions delivered over the course of nine months, each program included one-on-one coaching to ensure effective application and integration of key principles. To ensure consistency with the company’s leadership priorities, JMW developed the program’s leadership capability measures from the company’s competency framework. At the completion of each session, participants assessed their development against the framework.

Throughout the programs, participants applied key principles and learnings by creating and carrying out work-related projects that called for significant business results. To accelerate their leadership development, participants identified specific measures to capture the results. Projects were carefully tracked through coaching sessions, project planning forms and conference calls, as well as an interview with each participant at the end of his/ her program.

The 52 participants reported $711 million in value realized during the period in which the programs took place. Results were said to be $2.89 billion, attributable to between $5 million and $50 million per person. Seventy percent of participants noted “significant improvement” with regard to leadership capabilities. Participants also stated that one of the biggest benefits was the opportunity to network with staff at different facilities and to learn more about other areas of the business—noting that what gets done in any organization is a function of relationship.

“JMW’s unique combination of developing leadership while focusing on specific results is complementary and supportive in having a company achieve a new level of performance. As a result of their work, I have observed an unmistakable change in how people view their roles and who they need to be to fulfill in the company’s future. Having JMW on board provides an incredible tool for any leader trying to transform their company from where it is to where they want to be.”