One of the largest regional credit unions in the United States was built on a directive approach to leadership, where leaders control and are responsible for the goals and work of their teams. This leadership style worked well as the credit union grew.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how the organization worked, introducing a hybrid work model and a heightened emphasis on employee wellbeing. The credit union’s members increasingly expected a modern, digital experience and so did newer employees. In addition to its technology, it needed to modernize its leadership and people development strategy.

As it looked to the future, the credit union recognized the imperative to transform.

A Cultural Paradigm Shift

The increasing relevance of digital transformation brought a new lens; it was the perfect setting to take a closer look at the organization and begin making improvements to better equip employees so that they could, in turn, take even better care of members. To do this, the credit union introduced leadership development as an official function in the organization, and in doing so realized transformation required significant shifts.

“People often forget that transformation starts with changing mindsets, and that can be a massive leap for a traditional organization that has always done things a certain way. Our senior executives understood that to continue to hold our position at the forefront of finance, we had to embrace new ways of communicating, relating to, and leading people,” said the credit union’s Vice President of Leadership Development. “We had the will; we just needed the way.”

The credit union already had, in pockets of the organization, people who were actively mentoring and supporting leaders, but wanted to make the shift to deliver consistent leadership development at scale and gain buy-in across an organization during a fundamental cultural shift.

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® came alongside to support them.

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Solution

“When the credit union came to us, we knew the first thing we needed to do was really listen to understand. We also wanted to make sure that they knew they were not alone,” said Anne Credi, CCL Strategic Business Partner.

“Since COVID, organizations have been coming to us, in some phase of transformation — each knowing that the change is inevitable to their survival, yet struggling with its complexity within an increasingly unpredictable environment. We knew the credit union was headed in the right direction, and we were impressed that they knew they had to engage and motivate all people leaders around this shift. The question was, how?” recounted Credi. “Our priority was to join forces with the credit union — understanding their needs and leveraging our evidence-based solutions to achieve their goal. We understood they needed meaningful leadership at scale, where leadership development wasn’t limited to small groups of high-potentials; rather, a solution that allowed everyone to be included — allowing a rising tide of shared understanding, practice, and language of leadership.”

The solution? CCL Passport.

A Subscription to Trusted Leadership Development

CCL Passport offers a flexible, licensed leadership development subscription to content that organizations can modify and add their brand to. But Passport isn’t just a subscription — it’s a partnership. We work closely with organizations to provide unlimited use of our programs, content, and tools, and help them navigate and make the most of their leadership development journey. Backed by our 50+ years of research and experience pioneering industry best practices, Passport makes scaling leadership development affordable, replicable, and fast.

“CCL Passport was exactly what we needed. At the time, there were just 2 of us in the newly formed leadership development function, and Passport helped us prioritize goals with content that is fully developed and ready to implement. It had digital content that we could scale to all 1,400 leaders and in-person classroom content with presentation decks, facilitation guides, workbooks, and communication plans. Passport is very much like the easy button for leadership development content. The only hurdle was deciding which content to launch and when, and that’s where our partnership with CCL has been instrumental,” said the VP.

We collaborated with the credit union to identify the best place to start. They chose Better Conversations Every Day (BCE), a coaching skills program designed to help participants improve their leadership, coaching, and communication skills with in-person classroom training and practice.

Initially, the credit union invited all senior leaders to voluntarily participate in the BCE program with the goal of creating evangelists on the executive and senior leadership teams. We ran the first session, training and certifying 3 credit union trainers to ensure they felt confident delivering the program.

A group of 24 senior leaders attended the first session. While the VP and her team had anticipated a slow rollout to the rest of the organization, the participating leaders were so enthusiastic about the experience that they insisted BCE be rolled out for all credit union leaders within 2 months.

To date, over 1,000 of the credit union’s 1,400 leaders have voluntarily attended BCE.

Results

The impact has been magnetic. “What has taken me most by surprise is the demand for more and the dedication to communicating better. We have leaders who have asked to return to class because they feel that they need one more practice day with their peers of having better conversations,” said the VP. “The demand is high and attendees are constantly asking us what else we have to offer.”

The impact has not just been on other leaders — the VP has experienced it herself.

“As the VP of a brand-new department at a large organization, I needed (and still do) all of the support I could get. I truly credit our CCL success manager with coaching and encouraging me, challenging my own limiting beliefs, and supporting me through this journey,” said the VP. “One of the most surprising impacts we’ve seen has been how leaders who thought they were going to a program to learn how to get their people to do their jobs better come out of it having become more self-aware, with a better understanding of their own leadership opportunities for development and better equipped to lead. Another important impact is the connections leaders make with each other because of BCE, and their willingness to support and coach each other long after leaving the classroom.”

By the Numbers

Meaningful Impact

The VP reports that she and her team hear of leaders who are going back to their teams and asking for a reset on how they’ve been leading.

“One of my favorite stories is of a direct report who did not know that their leader was going to the BCE training. That leader came back and began to implement the learnings by truly listening and asking powerful questions. The direct report could not figure out what had happened to change this leader’s communication style. So the direct report resorted to checking the leader’s calendar to try to figure out what could possibly have happened to instigate this big of a change. It’s stories like this that make me feel so grateful that a meaningful shift is happening — one person at a time,” reported the VP.

To help the development stick, the credit union intends to make BCE mandatory for all newly hired or promoted leaders. The credit union also plans to include CCL Passport content in their leadership onboarding program and include BCE communication competencies in job descriptions. The credit union is currently exploring delivering digital Passport content to support the development of all 8,000+ employees.

“CCL has been a consistent support system for our small team. From the beginning, CCL has been careful to truly understand the needs of the organization as well as the goals of leadership development. They’ve been very responsive and supportive for the entire time we have worked together, always providing timely updates to content and suggestions that expand our mindset of what is possible. CCL Passport has equipped us to scale true impact very quickly. We would not be where we are today without CCL,” concluded the VP.

Participants Say

The post How a Regional Credit Union Scaled Leadership Development to Thousands With a Team of 2 appeared first on CCL.

Together, they’re helping local nonprofit leaders grow and achieving results none could reach alone, demonstrating the power of a unified approach.

“The nonprofit work in our community is very rich, and as we look to expand its scale and sustainability, we recognize that it starts with the leaders,” says Ashley Douglas, Vice President of Southern Dallas Thrives, an initiative led by the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. “This partnership is investing not only financially but also in the success of nonprofit leaders, their organizations, and the lasting impact they create.”

Building Leadership Capacity To Strengthen Impact

Southern Dallas faces challenges like limited access to quality education, economic opportunity, and healthcare — barriers shared by cities across the country and felt acutely here. Southern Dallas Thrives addresses these issues by delivering new programs, resources, capacity building, and partnerships to create real community impact.

Their Southern Dallas Roundtable brings together about 35 foundations from corporate, community, and family sectors to promote strategic, collaborative investment. Organizers help the roundtable focus on what to fund, how to fund it, and why it matters for both immediate and long-term results.

In recent years, Southern Dallas Thrives has also been asking local nonprofit executives about their challenges and examining existing capacity-building programs to look for gaps. An important theme emerged — community changemakers need more support for leadership development to keep making strong, lasting changes.

“Everything came back to giving our leaders the skills to be effective with funders and build relationships with other nonprofits,” Douglas says. “If leaders don’t feel confident in their skills to sustain and grow their work, that says a lot about the organization’s direction and potential to grow.”

Says Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew, a consultant who has worked in Southern Dallas for decades: “We wanted a program that could help leaders on the front lines do the work that they do even better.”

Although nonprofits recognized the need for leadership development, most lacked the budget to support it. That’s where a funder from the roundtable suggested the Center for Creative Leadership. We’re a nonprofit too — and as part of our mission, we provide leadership development opportunities that strengthen community and nonprofit leaders worldwide.

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A Data-Driven Response to Leadership Needs

CCL joined a Southern Dallas Roundtable meeting where we discussed how to collaboratively identify the community’s leadership strengths and gaps, and how this would help us create a program tailored to those needs.

From these talks, we initiated a Leadership Explorer for the Nonprofit Sector (LENS) report focused on Southern Dallas. LENS is a free tool that helps funders and corporate social responsibility teams make data-based decisions about leadership development needs for their grantees or staff.  We received 49 anonymous responses from Southern Dallas nonprofit leaders, revealing which skills, competencies, and capabilities matter most  for success.

The report confirmed what funders and organizers had heard — nonprofit leaders want leadership development that closes capability gaps in areas such as data-driven decision making and change management, and helps them put skills into practice. It clarified the program’s vision by highlighting the specific growth priorities and preferred formats for learning.

“The report helped us make the case for why a leadership program mattered here,” Douglas says. “The LENS report’s data and detailed insights from so many organizations made CCL’s approach stand out.”

Discussions with funders emphasized how leadership development for nonprofit executive directors creates a ripple effect — strengthening organizations, residents, neighborhoods, and the broader community — and how funders can link this impact to their investments when presenting to their boards.

Importantly, 4 funders in the Southern Dallas Roundtable came together to pool their resources and get the program started.

A Custom Leadership Program Takes Shape

Working with the partner foundations and Southern Dallas Thrives, CCL developed the Southern Dallas Executive Leadership Institute — a 9-month journey shaped by the LENS report and tailored to the needs of nonprofit leaders from many different backgrounds.

The first cohort includes 8 participants representing a range of nonprofits — from large organizations with multimillion-dollar budgets to smaller grassroots groups. This diversity was intentional to encourage sharing and learning among participants beyond the formal lessons. Douglas and Booker-Drew aimed for a more intimate experience than the traditional capacity-building programs in the area, which often included 50 or more people.

“Participants found a space, made specifically for them, where they could be vulnerable much earlier than expected,” Douglas says.

The journey combines assessments and 1:1 executive coaching with in-person learning sessions on topics such as Direction – Alignment – Commitment (DAC), influential leadership, Better Conversations Every Day, decision making, strategic thinking, and collaboration in funding.

There are leadership circles for honest reflection and sessions with funders and participants to share the program’s impact. These moments are helping to deepen learning and relationships, and to strengthen the work being done across Southern Dallas.

“Participants are gaining a supportive community that will help them sustain transformation after the program,” Booker-Drew says. “Funders are given an opportunity to walk alongside us during the program. Even funders who didn’t pay for this cohort have been showing up to hear first-hand about its impact.”

Douglas praises CCL’s authentic and flexible approach, which allowed the program to be tailored for Southern Dallas.

“Together, we curated a program specific to this community and moment,” she says. “There’s magic in that.”

Organizers Say

The post How Philanthropic Partnerships Are Strengthening Nonprofit Leadership in Southern Dallas appeared first on CCL.

Hoya Vision Care is a global leader in the optical lens industry, providing innovative technology and vision care solutions for people at every stage of life. As the second-largest lens provider in the world, Hoya has high aspirations for growth and expansion in North America.

In 2024, Hoya North Americas’ senior leadership team engaged the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® to strengthen its foundation of collective leadership. As Eduardo Martins, President of Hoya Vision Care Americas, explained, “I was brought in 4 years ago to create change at Hoya, to essentially build a new organization. It has been a very big change for the organization. What I thought would take 2 years has taken much longer. The good news is, I now have a very stable team at senior leadership.”

With a talented and strongly committed group of leaders, the senior team had a solid baseline for success; however, it still operated in well-defined silos and escalated problems to the CEO whenever there were conflicts. Getting the executive team to work as a collective enterprise team — and not just a group of individual function leaders — was critical to Hoya’s success. Since the organization operated like links in a chain, each business group depended upon the others for success: if one link didn’t support the others, the customer would ultimately suffer.

“We have a strong foundation for leadership at the senior level, but we are not yet what I would call a high performing team,” confided Martins. “I want to develop a team that will talk to each other, understand each other’s challenges, and work together to reach agreement and make decisions in the best interests of the company.”

Given this context, the next step was to foster collective leadership within the senior leadership team. By collaborating and driving change as a collective, they could create a more capable and responsive global company with “effective people, processes, and platforms.”

Solution

CCL partnered with Hoya’s Human Resources group to design and deliver a senior leadership development journey, comprised of a series of strategic touch points.

First, CCL conducted one-on-one interviews with each executive team member to understand the business context, leadership culture, and team challenges. CCL also administered 2 different assessments: a CCL research-based team survey to measure dimensions of executive team effectiveness, and a change style profile to understand individual preferences for dealing with change.

Next, CCL worked closely with Hoya’s VP of Human Resources, Sean Dineen, and its Director of Talent Management and Organization Effectiveness, Beth McCormack, to design a 6-month development journey focused on achieving the team’s desired outcomes. The design included an initial 2-day offsite session, followed by 2 one-day development sessions at the team’s next 2 quarterly meetings. The executive team wanted the experience to be pragmatic and solution-oriented, with a plan for creating positive change as a team, as opposed to just building camaraderie. As one member put it: “I think we need to acknowledge ‘where we are’ and ‘where we want to be’ as a team. And then identify the path to get there, knowing that change will take time.” This was good news, because CCL’s team development methodology mirrors this approach to building team performance by creating ongoing, sustainable change.

For the 2-day offsite session, the first day focused on building trust and fostering a shared understanding of “where we are” (current state) and “where we want to be” (desired state). Over the course of the day, the team engaged in robust and candid conversations about its strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement, highlighting the need for greater collective leadership. CCL introduced its Direction – Alignment – Commitment (DAC) framework as a foundational model for recognizing and strengthening the team’s 3 critical roles for collective leadership: setting direction, creating alignment, and maintaining commitment.

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A turning point in the team’s conversations occurred when CCL introduced the skills of team dialogue. Rather than focusing on making a decision or winning an argument, team dialogue explores different perspectives on a topic in order to develop shared understanding.

The power of dialogue is that it not only helps a team address difficult issues, but it also promotes connection by reinforcing skills in deep listening, empathy, and an openness to learning from others. Most importantly, dialogue required the Hoya team to shift their conversational style from passionate advocacy to thoughtful inquiry. Afterward, one of the sales leaders shared: “I found the dialogue exercise insightful and eye-opening. How little I knew and understood about the needs of my support structure.”

On the second day, CCL focused on “the path forward,” spending time on creating a framework for how the team could realize their aspiration for greater collective alignment. CCL identified 4 key topics for discussion along with guiding questions:

• Shared purpose and responsibilities: What is our shared purpose as a leadership team? What are our high-level responsibilities?
• Strategies for alignment: What are strategies for creating alignment? How can we set priorities, manage boundaries, allocate resources, and adapt to urgent demands?
• Meeting structure and protocols: How can we organize and conduct more effective meetings? How can we create time and space for dialogue and strategic conversations?
• Norms for communication and collaboration: How will we ensure effective communication and collaboration as a team? When conflict occurs, how will we manage it constructively? How will we hold ourselves accountable?

CCL encouraged Hoya’s leadership team to shift from a mindset of constraints to one of creative possibilities, imagining how the team could work together more effectively to achieve its goals. The remainder of the day was then spent on generating shared expectations, actions, and agreements for operating as a more integrated and unified team.

After completing the offsite session, the Hoya leadership team participated in 2 follow-up sessions at their quarterly meetings to check in on their progress and to continue building their collective leadership capabilities. For the Hoya team, development focused not only on how they operated as a team but also on how they could lead the organization more effectively. In these follow-up sessions, CCL addressed 2 key leadership skillsets for strengthening their change efforts: communicating Hoya’s core values and leading organizational change.

Results

While knowing that change takes time, the Hoya leadership team was committed to improving their collective leadership. The development journey had provided the senior team with key frameworks and tools for collaborating more effectively, and they were eager to put their plans into action. Despite some challenges along the way, the team made steady progress on its collective leadership outcomes.

To measure progress and impact, CCL re-administered the executive team survey to assess the team’s effectiveness after 1 year. The results were extremely positive. The team made progress on each of the 3 dimensions of high-performing executive teams: strategic focus, collective approach, and team interaction. In addition, the team saw significant improvement in areas related to the mindset and behaviors of collective leadership as shown below.

Program Impact

As the team focuses on the future, they acknowledge that working in a global matrix structure creates ongoing challenges in terms of setting priorities, communicating transparently, and managing conflicts. But they are moving in the right direction.

Overall, CCL is excited about the partnership with Hoya and looks forward to supporting the leadership team in its organizational change efforts and in its ongoing journey to embrace collective leadership.

Participants Say

The post Hoya Vision Care: From Individual Performers to Collective Leadership appeared first on CCL.

There is a significant lack of women, particularly women of color, in management positions. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women achieve the same, and this disparity is even greater for Black women, with only 54 promoted for every 100 men, according to the Women in the Workplace report by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company.

Women face the “broken rung” phenomenon, where men at entry-level are promoted to managerial roles at much higher rates than women.

This early career setback puts women at a lasting disadvantage. Rachel Thomas, co-founder and CEO of LeanIn.org, emphasizes that this “broken rung” restricts women’s career progress. Despite some progress at higher levels, these advancements often come with caveats.

The Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation (SGB) is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting equality and resilience through 4 initiatives: LeanIn.org, Lean In Girls, OptionB.org, and the Dave Goldberg Scholarship Program. Launched in 2013, LeanIn.org supports Lean In Circles, small groups of women who meet regularly to empower each other personally and professionally. These Circles help women build confidence, develop leadership skills, and achieve their goals. Over 100,000 women in 183 countries have started Circles, with 85% of members reporting positive changes within 6 months of joining.

To enhance the leadership skills of regional Lean In Network Leaders, SGB partnered with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). “We chose CCL for their exceptional reputation and expertise in leadership development,” said Nikki Pawsey, Director of the Global Network Leader Program. “Their global reach and commitment to co-creating a tailored leadership course for women aligned perfectly with our vision of empowering more women leaders in the workplace.”

Solution

CCL and SGB collaborated to create the Network Leadership Development Program (NLDP). This program is designed for mid-career women leaders, focusing on immediate and practical application to build confidence and navigate strategic leadership challenges. According to Pawsey, “Our primary goal was to offer our global network of volunteers the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in a way that would empower them both personally and professionally. We wanted to raise their level of self-awareness and provide tools for them to strengthen their ability to lead, inspire, and make a difference in their communities worldwide.”

The NLDP is a 3-month, multi-modal learning experience that includes:

• Asynchronous preparatory learning in a custom online course
• Offline peer discussions managed by participants
• Live online sessions every other week to engage on topics
• Pre-work including the WorkPlace Big Five Profile, a senior leader interview, and defining a Key Leadership Challenge

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The program elements designed to boost engagement and learning include:

• Amplifying the collective power of broad, diverse networks
• Strengthening and leveraging authenticity and credibility to gain trust
• Developing leadership skills and preparing for career acceleration
• Leveraging peer support to work through critical leadership challenges
• Driving conversations and practices promoting belonging
• Building a network of ambassadors to retain and advance women in organizations

CCL has completed 10 successful cohorts globally with more than 250 participants from diverse backgrounds and locations finding common ground in their volunteer leadership role with Lean In.

Results

Following the NLDP, participants have committed to applying their new insights and skills. They plan to:

• Share knowledge with their teams
• Foster resilient work cultures
• Engage in networking and mentoring
• Support other women in their professional journeys

By the Numbers

The program has inspired participants to enhance their leadership skills, promote inclusivity, and focus on personal and professional growth. They are also eager to expand their professional networks and become more active in the Lean In community.

Participants have reported:

• Increased assertiveness
• Improved decision-making
• Enhanced leadership presence
• Greater focus on creating inclusive and diverse environments
• Efforts toward equality

Many participants plan to use their new skills to advance their careers, start businesses, or take on new roles. Pawsey emphasized, “The impact of this partnership has been profound. Through CCL’s programs, our volunteers have not only grown as leaders but also built stronger connections within the network, fostering a sense of shared purpose and collaboration. We’ve seen enhanced confidence, creativity, and problem-solving skills amongst our community. Many of our leaders would not have the opportunity in their country to access such high-quality training.”

Participants Say

The post Advancing Women’s Leadership With Lean In & The Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Foundation appeared first on CCL.

Surry County, located in the foothills of North Carolina and part of the Piedmont Triad region, has a significant agricultural economy and a well-established, assorted industrial base. But as with similar counties in the US, attracting and retaining economic talent is a key challenge.

Surry County Schools (SCS) plays an instrumental role not just in shaping the minds of the future, but in bolstering the economic vitality of the county. The district’s strategy to attract more families and businesses is straightforward: develop a reputation of excellence and become known as the “leadership” school district of North Carolina. As stated by SCS superintendent, Dr. Travis L. Reeves, “We believe that everyone has the capacity for leadership, and making leadership development accessible to all will help us fulfill our mission of empowering youth to grow as citizen leaders and to achieve their dreams.” How could the school district stand out and drive this positive change?

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Solution

Surry County Schools (SCS) chose to partner with the Center for Creative Leadership, based on CCL’s research that investing in leadership development at all levels in K-12 education — from superintendents, principals, teachers, and staff to students — can drive transformational change.

The Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Foundation, a local foundation that typically provides scholarships to college-bound students graduating from public high schools in Surry County, granted an initial $150,000 to address this challenge, with a further commitment of $400,000 over the next 5 years.

“We are so proud to invest in the amazing leaders in Surry County through their partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership. We believe in the power of leadership development and know that our investment is creating real change in Surry County, North Carolina, and beyond,” says Mindy Oakley, executive director of the Armfield Foundation.

A design team from SCS, including administrators, teachers, staff, and students, collaborated with CCL facilitators to create the SCS Leadership Framework. This framework includes 14 leadership attributes categorized into 3 areas: Leading Self, Leading With Others, and Changing Your World. These attributes were used to develop lessons for students at each school level. To ensure teachers could authentically lead this initiative, we established a Teacher Leadership Academy, bringing together cohorts of teachers from the district’s 19 schools for leadership development.

Today, the SCS Leadership Framework is actively displayed and practiced in schools and classrooms, drives improvement efforts, and has become a core part of the SCS identity. Over the past 5 years, the Teacher Leadership Academy has seen 15 cohorts of teachers, and SCS principals and assistant principals receive regular leadership development training.

Results

By building and implementing a collective understanding of what Surry County means by “leadership,” the district has created a key differentiator that will help ensure its future growth and success. The program has reached beyond those who would typically receive leadership development, such as superintendents and principals. It has instead focused on every person in the system, all the way down to preschoolers, creating a systemic change in leadership.

By the Numbers

“The focus on developing leadership capacity throughout the district has been outstanding in Surry County. It has resulted in a system full of highly effective leaders that model and teach leadership to each other and to their students every day,” said Greg Cameron, Director of the Education Sector at CCL.

The partnership between SCS, CCL, and the Armfield Foundation highlights the transformative power of leadership development in education, setting a powerful example for other districts across the country.

Participants Say

The post Armfield Foundation Grant Supports Surry County Schools’ Groundbreaking Leadership Development Initiative appeared first on CCL.

As the designated leader of the school district, a superintendent plays a pivotal role in student achievement outcomes by fostering a conducive environment for learning and teaching. However, superintendent turnover, already high before the pandemic, has continued to rise, posing a challenge to student achievement.

Educational leaders participating in leadership development programs can stem this turnover by increasing their psychological well-being and decreasing their isolation. According to Lynn Fick-Cooper, Chief Societal Impact Officer at the Center for Creative Leadership, “All of the critical work happening in schools is happening between people. Certainly, you need to invest in technical resources, but your investment will be fully realized when you pair it with how people can work more effectively together and give them the tools to build that capacity. If you want a valuable return on technical investments, you need leadership development, too.”

Solution

The Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) sought a partner to design, develop, and deliver a comprehensive leadership development institute for superintendents across Ohio. The goal was to equip these educational leaders with innovative and effective leadership strategies that would result in continuous improvement in the state’s school districts. CCL was chosen as this partner and the Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute (OSLI) was born.

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OSLI provides a comprehensive assessment-focused leadership development program for Ohio superintendents. This cohort-based 8-day program, spread over a school year, enhances the leadership skills and knowledge for in-service superintendents, and fosters leadership networks across the state. The design includes opportunities for leaders to:

• Gain insights to their own leadership through assessments and engaging
  activities
• Develop the leadership capacity of their team members and districts
• Create an innovation mindset and learn resilience techniques
• Focus on the systemic complexities of leading school districts

Dave Axner, the Executive Director of BASA and OSLI participant, says, “As superintendents, the more proficient we become at leading the adults in our education programs, regardless of the district’s size, the more significant the impact we can make on our staff’s performance. This is the key to achieving success in education. This is exactly the opportunity and guidance that CCL and the Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute provide us with.”

Results

CCL has facilitated over 35 cohorts of superintendents through this innovative program, positively impacting more than 1,000 superintendents in Ohio.

By the Numbers

Program evaluation data clearly demonstrates the success of this approach, showing that it:

• Fostered substantial growth in superintendents’ social networks
• Significantly improved superintendents’ psychological wellbeing
• Enhanced their confidence in fulfilling their role responsibilities

Participants Say

The post Ohio Superintendent Leadership Institute: Addressing the Challenges of Executive Educators Statewide appeared first on CCL.

The Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) is a nonprofit institution established as a partnership between the United States and Albania. Its mission is to facilitate the development of a sustainable private sector economy and a democratic society in Albania. AADF seeks to introduce new narratives across various sectors, including cities, schools, communities, and beyond by leveraging the best international models and practices and tailoring them to align with the needs of the Albanian environment. This approach allows AADF to introduce innovative solutions that are both globally inspired and locally relevant.

Over the past 15 years, AADF has significantly impacted the Albanian ecosphere, investing over $121 million in 78 different projects. This commitment has been further bolstered by partners who have contributed another $146 million to various programs leading to a cumulative impact exceeding $380 million. This substantial growth and influence had its roots in a seed fund of $30 million from the United States in 1995.

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Foundations & Philanthropic Leadership

Learn more about how we're partnering with foundations for philanthropic leadership to drive change by offering professional development to build leadership capacity.

Leadership for Social Change

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AADF has an extensive reach in the education sector, impacting every elementary, middle, and high school in the region. Through the Center for School Leadership, the foundation has successfully trained all school principals, enhancing the quality of education leadership. Their projects have benefited over 500,000 students from 1st grade onwards and entrepreneurship programs have aided over 1,000 businesses, promoting development and innovation.

“As an American foundation, AADF takes care to collaborate with partners who seek to apply their expertise in an international environment with dedication, integrity, and professionalism. Our partners share our values and commitment to project execution, ensuring successful delivery,” said Aleksandër Sarapuli, Co-CEO, AADF.

To further their mission, AADF wanted to create a leadership program that would offer participants firsthand experience in the governance process of Albania through their work as advisors to the executive institutions. In addition, the Foundation would incorporate professional development elements into the program and chose the Center for Creative Leadership and Harvard University as partners.

“Partnering with CCL has been instrumental in achieving our mission to promote leadership and entrepreneurship in Albania. Their global expertise in leadership development has added tremendous value to our programs,” said Martin Mata, co-CEO, AADF.

Solution and Results

Since 2013, CCL has collaborated with AADF on the LEAD program. This partnership aims to enhance the Fellows’ leadership skills and widen their perspectives. The LEAD program, inspired by the prestigious White House Fellows Program in the United States, selects individuals annually for a high-level fellowship within the Albanian government. The Fellows spend a year in key government institutions, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Tirana Municipality, and the new Justice System institutions. This experience provides them with invaluable insights and practical experience in leadership.

By the Numbers

CCL designed the LEAD program as a year-long, multi-module program to help leaders address key leadership challenges. It provides a range of development opportunities in multiple formats both domestically and internationally. The program addresses real-world issues like Albania’s challenges as a European Union candidate, reforming Albania’s primary education curriculum, and balancing increased tourism with environmental protection.

“The partnership between CCL and AADF has been a groundbreaking experience, merging our strengths in leadership development and community empowerment to drive impactful change in Albania,” said Alda Shabani, Senior Project Coordinator, LEAD Albania Program.

The objective of the LEAD journey is to provide Fellows with:

• Firsthand experience in the process of governing Albania
• Opportunities to contribute to the productivity, efficiency, and innovation efforts of host institutions

The journey includes both face-to-face and online modules including:

• Group coaching, mentoring, and real-play improvisation
• Addressing a key leadership challenge
• Developing self-awareness through the use of assessments
• Managing conflict responses
• Communication and influence skills
• Strategic thinking, influencing, and acting skills
• Resilience practices

Participants Say

The post Shaping the Future of Leadership in Albania With the Albanian-American Development Foundation appeared first on CCL.

Consumers and professionals around the world trust RPM International’s brands to protect and preserve homes, workplaces, and even iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty.

But company leaders know it’s the people behind those products who make the $7.3 billion multinational company the success it is today.

“Our CEO likes to say, ‘We don’t make anything at corporate headquarters. All the making happens at our respective companies,’” says Randy McShepard, Chief Talent Officer at RPM. “Let’s be clear about that.”

Once a small, family-owned business, today RPM’s respective companies comprise a complex network of 80 business units and 4 operating groups. And with 17,300 associates working in more than 120 global facilities and the corporate office, effective communication can be challenging.

So when communication cropped up as a top concern on employee surveys a few years ago, CEO Frank C. Sullivan took note. Sullivan, whose grandfather founded the company’s forerunner to RPM in 1947, believes success depends on valuing the worth of every associate and their combined contributions. RPM’s core values — transparency, trust, and respect — are foundational to its culture of doing business the right way for the right reasons.

“With a company our size, he was becoming more concerned about whether he really understood the pulse of our employees. Did he really know what they care about?” McShepard notes. “Are they loving coming to work every day, or are they flight risks just waiting for the next opportunity because they don’t necessarily have strong connections or communication with their leaders, their peers, and the corporate office? While this type of assessment had been done at the group level, it had not been done across the entire company in comprehensive fashion.”

Solution

RPM International turned to a trusted partner, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)®, to meet its communication challenges head-on. The 2 had worked together before with positive results.

And CCL had just the right fit: a highly immersive and practical program called Better Conversations Every Day that is designed to build a coaching and conversation skills and foster a culture of feedback within all levels of an organization. Participants learn core behaviors and practice the types of candid conversations that build stronger relationships, fuel collaboration, and enable better business outcomes.

“When we were introduced to the Better Conversations Every Day model, we thought, if CCL is offering it, it’s probably worth taking a close look at. And that ended up being exactly the case,” McShepard recalls. “CCL gave us all the support that we needed to be bold enough to try to build a program from the ground up.”

RPM launched the program in 2020, starting with senior officers at corporate headquarters and the 4 operating groups. Their enthusiasm for the BCE experience quickly cascaded throughout the company, McShepard said.

“All of the leaders got excited about it. So it wasn’t a tough sell to then go to our operating companies to say, ‘OK, this is what we now want you to do.’ “

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Early on, RPM worked with CCL to get its own people trained as facilitators so the program could be scaled company-wide. These associates participated in CCL’s train-the-trainer certification process consisting of a series of asynchronous study lessons and 3 group sessions — including practice sessions delivering program content, followed by coaching and feedback. The training is designed to help internal trainers improve their facilitation skills, become intimately familiar with the program content, and gain confidence to deliver it by hands-on practice.

Shelly Wilson served on the company’s Global Organizational Leadership Development (GOLD) Team at the time and volunteered to be the in-house coordinator of the initiative.

The 8-hour workshop, offered in person or live online, takes place several times a year, with 24 to 36 employees taking part in each session. Participants are broken into groups of 4 that each work with an assigned coach. They are grouped with associates they do not work for or with to encourage openness and vulnerability. Everyone is asked to bring real-life work issues to the table for the practice sessions.

Associates learn the skills necessary to grapple with difficult issues candidly. One such tool is CCL’s research-backed Situation – Behavior – Impact (SBI) model, which is proven to reduce both the anxiety of delivering feedback during challenging conversations and the defensiveness of the recipient. The method is simple and direct: capture and clarify the situation, describe the specific behaviors observed, and explain the impact of those behaviors.

“SBI is such a powerful tool, and it ties so well with listening to understand and asking powerful questions. All three of those are just so important,” Wilson says. “We really push the vulnerability and trust aspect of it, and that has made a big difference because people share more. The model really works.”

Results

The Better Conversations Every Day training has become so popular at RPM that new hires are lining up to participate in the next workshops. And RPM now is offering a 2-hour, virtual “refresher” course for associates who want to brush up on the skills they learned in the original workshop.

By the Numbers

“We have trained 1,267 people to date and I have surveys for every single one of those,” Wilson notes. “And not one — not one — thought it wasn’t impactful and that it should not be scaled throughout the company.”

Indeed, 99% of participants report they can apply the knowledge and skills learned in BCE sessions to their jobs.

“Educational and paradigm shifting,” one associate wrote.

“Empowering” and “Eye-opening,” wrote others.

Participants Say

The post RPM International Builds a Culture of Feedback appeared first on CCL.

When Securitas North America set out to become the modern security services leader in its industry, the company’s C-suite executives knew they couldn’t conduct business as usual.

They had to think big. Do something bold.

They also knew the most important factor to drive this transformation would be the strength of their mid-level managers, individually and collectively.

So, in a high-stakes move, the executive team decided to double down on investments to build the most exceptional leadership team capable of launching the company to the next level.

“We knew that to meet the business priorities that we’ve outlined over the next two years, it was a business imperative to strengthen the capabilities of our leaders,” said Antonia Elliott, Vice President of Talent Development at Securitas.

Solution

In partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)®, Securitas created Accelerate, a 6-month leadership development journey divided into 3 cohorts of 24 area vice presidents (AVPs). During months of meticulous planning, every element of the customized, highly immersive initiative was designed to equip participants with the self-awareness and skills required to be high-performing leaders.

The first cohort began by taking a battery of leadership assessments, including a 360-degree Securitas tool that systematically collects perspectives about an individual’s performance from peers, direct reports, and superiors — and provides a complete view of a leader’s strengths and opportunities for growth. The exercise proved eye-opening for the AVPs.

With this vital feedback in hand, the AVPs embarked on a 2-day experience during which they met with the company’s executive leadership team to discuss the most pressing challenges and opportunities for Securitas. They began to make connections between the company’s larger strategy and their own leadership development, setting the tone, foundation, and expectations for their individual and collective growth as leaders. Participants then explored leadership as a social process and engaged in activities that demonstrate how trust and psychological safety are key to effective collaboration. Challenged to take a hard look at their own leadership practices, the AVPs prepared to deepen their learning through the live online modules, peer team sessions, and coaching that followed during the next few months. Each AVP was teamed with an executive coach throughout the initiative.

Just as their journey began, it culminated with a second 2-day retreat focused on developing and retaining talent through effective communication. Through hands-on practice and working in small groups, the AVPs began to develop a communication style of their own — learning how to coach, give feedback, and ignite better conversations every day with team members. Finally, they explored how they can drive and sustain impact as Securitas leaders when equipped with such tools as our Direction – Alignment – Commitment (DAC) model for leadership and 4 core skills for coaching conversations.

After the second gathering, the AVPs met with their executive coaches to create action plans with next steps.

What initially started as a leadership program for a select group of mid-level managers quickly expanded to become an integral development program across all leadership ranks.

“We quickly realized, if we’re really going to bring about the cultural transformation that would go hand-in-hand with the digital transformation, that we had to go really big with this program and make it mandatory for the majority of our field-facing leadership teams. CCL helped us with that,” Elliott said.

Finding the right partner to build just the right program for Securitas proved to be a critical decision, making for a smooth and meaningful experience for those involved.

“CCL’s programs are steeped in research and have very strong facilitators who truly know how to engage business leaders in pragmatic ways and share easy-to-use, practical tools that the leaders can start using right away,” Elliott noted.

“We have very high expectations of our partners — and working with CCL’s implementation team exceeded those expectations.”

“Rarely do we find partners who are willing to walk the talk as powerfully as Securitas and its senior leadership,” said Ren Washington, Lead Solutions Partner for Securitas. “One of the most inspiring things the senior leadership attitude helped create was how ready the AVPs were to be trusted and how excited they were to demonstrate they were worth the investment.”

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Results

It’s too soon to measure the precise impact of Accelerate — only one of 3 cohorts has completed the entirety of its work. Securitas plans to collect data on each cohort 6 months out using the Kirkpatrick Model, which analyzes and evaluates training programs based on reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

Success will be measured by concrete actions and behaviors related to collaborating across boundaries, leading high-performing teams, developing and retaining talent, and leading with an innovation mindset.

That said, informal feedback thus far shows the initiative has created a palpable — and unprecedented — level of excitement about learning among managers at Securitas. While the first cohort of AVPs came into Accelerate a bit skeptical of what they would learn, that quickly changed when they experienced what the program had to offer in the very first immersion.

“They were coming in not really knowing what to expect and they left extremely inspired,” Elliott said. “That’s one word that we’re hearing over and over again from our leaders after the first in-person immersion is that they’re inspired — they feel valued, they feel listened to, they feel vulnerable, and they feel like they have a lot to learn.

“Their passion and enthusiasm showed so much that the second cohort came in really excited. That was a beautiful shift, especially with leaders who have been with the business for 20-plus years.”

And the shifting did not stop there: Accelerate has ignited an awakening about leadership development among the company’s highest ranks.

“While our senior executives know that we need to build the capabilities of our leaders to meet our business priorities, they are also holding a mirror to themselves,” Elliott said.

“They are thinking about leadership development holistically and they are asking themselves what they might need to change to be able to lead more effectively and move the company forward.”

Program Impact

Participants Say

The post A Game-Changer: Partnering With Securitas to Elevate Leadership & Achieve Its Most Ambitious Business Goals Yet appeared first on CCL.

Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) is Asia’s leading and trusted securities and derivatives market infrastructure, operating equity, fixed income, currency, and commodity markets to the highest regulatory standards. SGX is committed to facilitating economic growth in a sustainable manner, leveraging its roles as a key player in the ecosystem, a business, a regulator, and a listed company.

Based in Singapore, SGX is Asia’s most international multi-asset exchange, providing listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository, and data services. The organization is globally recognized for its risk management and clearing capabilities.

When the COVID-19 pandemic sent SGX’s workers home, it transformed how the company operated day-to-day and raised new opportunities and challenges for senior executives and managers.

In an environment where the person-to-person connections were only virtual, company leaders sought guidance on how to better engage employees. Based on feedback from employee surveys, members of the company’s executive management team saw a need to be more accessible and inspiring in the difficult period of the pandemic. Frontline managers, in turn, needed to establish a sense of community and connection with their teams working from home to better engage employees.

SGX scaled up digital learning at work and sought to amplify employees’ ability to transfer that learning to business applications. For deeper learning to occur, employees need to feel psychologically safe and highly connected. For SGX, it was people managers who had the most potential to create a space where employees were engaged and felt safe to better learn and apply those learnings to the business.

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SGX partnered with The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® to develop a coaching mindset and skills that would increase the leadership impact of managers and executives. The initiative had 2 main goals:

1. Create a cadre of internal coaches who would provide ongoing coaching to employees.
2. Develop an impactful coaching experience for senior leaders and high potentials embedded in intensive development programs.

SGX viewed coaching as a transformative leadership tool because of how its benefits could ripple through the organization and reach all groups the company was concerned about: senior leaders, people managers, and frontline workers.

CCL drew on its Better Conversations and Coaching curriculum to train about 40 senior leaders as internal coaches. The SGX and CCL teams worked closely to handpick and identify senior leaders with a developmental focus.

Across 2 levels of Better Conversations and Coaching, each with about 30 hours of training time, participant coaches learned 4 foundational skills:

• Listen to understand.
• Ask powerful questions.
• Challenge and support.
• Establish next steps and accountability.

Participants learned to use these skills in their day-to-day interactions, as well as in formal coaching sessions. Participants also received small group coaching from more experienced coaches.

Program Impact

CCL and SGX partnered to foster an internal community of coaches at SGX who support each other. Coaches met every quarter to share success stories and learnings. These high-impact sessions deepened reflection and advanced the learning among the leader coaches.

This program has created significant coaching capacity among the senior leaders of the organization and generated valuable opportunities for mid-level and frontline leaders to receive coaching. The leader coaches started by coaching their direct teams; some leaders also coach cross-functionally.

The prestigious Management Associate program at SGX was another opportunity to leverage senior leaders’ coaching capacity. A set of leaders from the group of 40 were assigned as mentors to the Management Associates through a structured six-month program. The goal was to provide every management associate with an internal coaching and mentoring opportunity.

SGX has successfully cultivated a comprehensive learning environment that prioritizes coaching and development, thereby fostering a robust learning culture. This strategic approach has led to a significant increase in employee engagement survey results on learning & development, surpassing industry norms. The company’s commitment to learning and development has resulted in employees feeling more engaged at work.

As SGX strengthens its culture and implements new business initiatives, senior leaders are better prepared to act as change coaches and culture ambassadors to continue the SGX growth story.

Participants Say

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