Dynamic loop in action – Leadership journey for senior managers

Inspiration case together with GG Group  

How does the Dynamic Loop Method look in real life?  

In this inspirational case study, you’ll find detailed descriptions of a very cool real-life program + easy-applicable take-aways for your own programs. Enjoy from top to bottom or take what serves you most right now:  

1. Project overview  
2. Goal phase – How to overcome a common obstacle   
3. Design phase – Creating the frame for program relevance   
4. Network phase – Weaving a net throughout the organization  
5. Experience phase – Rock the live set-up!  
6. Loop phase – Bring it all together and start again 
7. And then? Hint: There is no “end”  

Hint: Look for this icon throughout the case study. We derived some nitty-gritty take-aways to use for your own programs! 

Project overview  

1. Goal phase – Analysis is a must, always!

About the importance of goal setting no matter what & one common obstacle in program goal setting.

Key elements of this phase:

• Business need definition
• Stakeholder involvement
• Clear definition of goals, directly derived from business need

How did we do it and what was the result?

In different meetings, we collected the necessary business needs to create appropriate program goals. A particular challenge: This senior manager program was a „next step program” of the previous Leadership Journey for board members and their direct reports. Obviously, it was tempting to „copy & paste“ from the previous program. But: Challenges and conditions change extremely fast! And so does business need. At the end of the new stakeholder analysis for this new program, it was clear: we keep the chassis of the car but we completely change the interior.

For the board members and especially the VP Group HR there was one central point that behavior change of senior managers should focus on: Inspire, raise and strengthen the accountability for their leadership role and empowering others.

Formulated as a base for all following phases of development design and delivery, that means:

At the end of this Journey, the sponsors (board and M-1) expect the senior managers to

• have a common & clear understanding of GG´s leadership style and leadership behavior
• know how to apply the leadership principles in their daily business life
• contribute to supporting a high-performance culture that is based on living the leadership principles on a daily basis and acting as role models

Take away for your programs:

However tempting “We know why we’re doing this!” might seem: Always invest in solid stakeholder analysis and goal setting process. ALWAYS! Without clear goals, you’re flying blind.

2. Design phase – Create the right frame!

About creativity & relevance in leadership program design.

Key elements of this phase:

• Close collaboration with VP Group HR & Head of Global Organisational & People Development
• Stream design
• Constant & in-between evaluation

How did we do it and what was the result?

To create results as well as the best learning experience possible, we worked closely together with the VP Group HR & Head of Global Organisation & People Development. And used the feedback of the previous leadership journey for improvements right from the beginning.

As you can see, the program consisted of three different streams:

Stream 1 – Individual learning

• Pre-work for each module (preparation task, video, reading)
• Easy-to-use and engaging learning platform

Stream 2 – The 5 learning modules

• Targets (view above) were transformed into learning content
• Direct managers of participants were part of module 1, sharing their learnings and exchanging with participants
• Commitment focus in Module 5: Each participant presented planned development goals for the year 2022 (own + team). Direct managers were in the audience to give feedback and learn how to support their people best.

Stream 3: Maximum transfer with deep learning sessions (small groups of 6 participants)

• Two peer group sessions to train, learn, apply and work on their own cases
• HR exchange stage in Deep Learning Session two for mutual feedback, discussion, questions (view additional comments below for details about the HR stage)

Constant Evaluation

In terms of evaluation, we used learning-focused feedback questionnaires which gave us a clear view of adoptions within the program to achieve the set targets. (Find example questions for learner-centered sheets here => https://www.thinkbeyondgroup.eu/hybrid-training-evaluation/)

Additional comments on the design:

To create a solid urgency for the topics in the program we set up board stages in 3 out of 5 modules. A board stage is a 15 – 30 minutes communication platform for the board members with each training group, consisting of a short keynote and a Q & A session. In each board stage, one board member was transferring the nominated topic into the GG world in terms of current business needs. This particular tool allowed us to show the appropriate interest of the board in this program and their participants as well as gave the board members the opportunity to get in closer touch with the senior management managers.

To assist the participants in their professional development we also set up an HR stage in module 4 for the VP Group HR, who presented the 360-degree feedback tool which GG was about to implement after the leadership journey. The stage was focused on promoting the new tool for supporting a professional way of getting and giving feedback within GG leaders & employees.

Take away for your programs:

• The involvement of direct managers creates a very high level of focus and energy for long programs (6 months+ programs)
• Involvement of HR (like in stream 3) shows the importance of the program + enables VP Group HR to know how the program is going

Phase 3: Network phase – Keep them all involved 

About connecting the dots throughout the whole organization.

Key elements of this phase:

• Line manager involvement  
• Ongoing project communication  

How did we do it and what was the result? 

As already described, we strongly involved the direct managers of our participants. Before the program even started, all relevant dates and meetings were fixed.  

In addition, we set up 2 stages for the participants and their superiors for further exchange.  

• First touchpoint: Prework task in module 1 „Talk with your superior about expectations
  concerning your development“ 
• Second touchpoint: Reflection session together with superior after module 5. Reflection prompt for the superior: My observation of your development…..  

Take-Away for your programs   

Don’t shy away from uncountable short talks with all stakeholders! Just by exchanging ongoingly during the program and by using this information for each next step you can secure the desired and paid impact. We were able to set up a highly efficient way of communication (journey manager, loop manager, program owner) where quick adaptions could be done and the program improved by that from run to run.  

Phase 4: Experience phase – Rock the live set-up!  

About creating the most impactful life performance of the learning initiatives.  

Key elements of this phase:

• Deep learning sessions 
• Working on own cases  
• Preparation checklist for participants  
• Small group exchange session  

How did we do it and what was the result?

This phase was strongly supported by the deep learning sessions (DLS) as well as transfer tasks after each module. As already described, the participants used their own cases in the d-LS- and even more: cases they had to do during the performance review process within the next month.  

Learning from others and getting feedback created an enormous impact on the participants. For further support, the participants received a solid checklist to prepare their cases the best way. These supporting documents were of such great use that HR is using them as supporting documents for their company development and performance review process now!   

Besides the DLS’ every module included an exchange session (small group of 3) where the participants talked about successes and learnings from their transfer tasks.  

Example tasks for the exchange sessions:  

• Get at least 3 feedbacks from your team members concerning your role as a leader 
• Have a 20-minute talk with at least 2 of your most important interfaces in terms of adding value concerning the current level of cooperation 

Phase 5: Loop phase – Stay on track!

About the necessary constant fine-tuning and improvements “on the go”.

Key elements in this phase:

• Mid-term review session with participants and their line managers
• Mid-term review session with board
• Exchange loop with program owner after each module based on learner-centered feedback sheets
• Fine-tuning and adaption in-between modules

How did we do it and what was the result?

Taking care of constant exchange and detecting opportunities for adaption, an increase of relevance and maximum impact is a core task of the Loop Phase and the whole Dynamic Loop Method in general. Our main touchpoints were participants, their line managers, the board, the program owner and HR, of course.

Participants & line managers

To keep up the focus of participants’ line managers over the whole 7 months of the program, we invited them to a mid-term review session after Module 3. Within this 30-minute session, we went through the learning evaluation of modules 1 to 3 and collected feedback from the line managers. In addition, we tried to sharpen the focus on the importance of the program and to win them as learning supporters for their employees.

Example tasks to support this

• Please ask in your next team meeting for your direct reports about the progress in the program
• in case you are realizing positive changes in behavior please give your direct reports immediate positive feedback

Board
On Board level, this kind of review was done twice. To align the content of the board keynotes within modules 2-4 and to review the KPIs of the program.

Program owner
With the program owner, we exchanged after each module and peer group session. For all sessions, the learner-centered feedback sheets were a great help to illustrate the impact of the program after each run. According to the quantitative and qualitative feedback, we improved the program “on the run“ – which means that we changed topics sometimes even between different runs of the same module to fine-tune the impact. The exchange between the trainers of the modules, the journey manager, loop manager, and program owner was extremely efficient in terms of exchange. No big meetings – quick statements (even via WhatsApp), meeting of 2 max. 3 people keep everything very small and goal-oriented.

Take-away for your program

Continuous exchange and adaption don’t need to be tedious. You don’t even need proper meetings! Take care of quick and light touchpoints of everyone involved to stay on track and fine-tune with ease.

And now?

The main idea of Dynamic Loop Development is that people’s development never has a starting point and an end. It’s a continuous process that we as HRD professionals try to create in a way that serves both people and the organization. For this very project, that looked like the following:

After the last module of the program at hand, a big evaluation meeting with the board members, VP Group HR, Head of Global Organisation & People Development, and Loop Manager was done. Within this meeting, we evaluated target achievement, and collected feedback from multiple sides as well as recommendations for how to cultivate the energy that emerged during the project.

And now? Closing one loop is always starting the next. We have a lot of ideas for how to create the process further. And we’re so ready to go!