The challenge

The participant group was very heterogeneous, with great differences in ways of doing things, thinking, experience and vision of leadership. The Team Leaders' teams are largely made up of people with employment disadvantages, reintegration challenges or language delays.

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The solution

Together with a project group we came to a number of important choices:
There is no one way of good leadership within the HSO, each Team Leader can develop his or her own style.
Due to the great diversity in the group, we offer a variety of development opportunities.
We focus on the personal development of the Team Leader and on making an impact in one's own team.
Five competencies are essential to perform the function well.
Five roles can be distinguished within the function of Team Leader, which we have named as follows:
- I as leader
- Coach
- Liaison
- Booster
- Rock in the fire

After making these choices, we developed a comprehensive program that would run for a little under a year with the goal of developing each Team Leader in the 5 roles and seeing results of this in the teams. In addition, an important goal was to increase the connection between all Team Leaders.

The learning program consisted of the following elements:
- A two-day kick off including dinner
- Five Masterclasses, each linked to one competency
- After each Masterclass, a Hague Handout, a cheat sheet with the most important content on it
- Two rounds of coaching conversations
- Two rounds of a Skillslab, in which the participant could practice with an actor
- A Development Compass, a reflection and measurement tool to monitor personal growth and to discuss with the manager
- An Action Plan, which encourages the participant to work with the team
- A final presentation

We related all the components to the participant's Development Compass and their own Action Plan. This made it easier for participants to relate all the new knowledge and made it easier to start applying it within their teams.

We deliberately placed the Skillslab somewhat later in the process. The participants were then all in learning mode and had a good idea of what they wanted to practice. In a 30-minute 'pressure cooker' we made a huge impact on the skills level, without requiring much operational time.

In an executive organization like the HSO, there is often little time to really pause to reflect and reflect on leadership successes. The final presentation therefore had a dual function: a sincere moment for participants to reap and celebrate and a stick to get and stay on task.

Measurable result

The participants valued the most from the track:
- The opportunity to stop and reflect from time to time
- The knowledge about and practice working together and influencing
- The connection with their colleagues

In the workplace, we see an increase in the behaviors that fit the five roles with:
- Me as leader --> 45%
- Coach --> 37%
- Liaison --> 42%
- Booster --> 32%
- Rock in the fire --> 43%

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