Between 2013-2016 Møller Institute partnered with the Daily Mail and General Trust plc. (DMGT) to deliver a Leadership Development Programme to more than 150 individuals to date. The leadership development programme was structured as two three-day residential modules separated by a six-month period, during which participants work on a real-life Business Challenge and received personal coaching sessions.
Background
DMGT are a company, with total revenues of around £1.2bn, comprised of an international portfolio of businesses across multiple sectors that provide businesses and consumers with compelling information, analysis, insight, events, news and entertainment. In Consumer Media, DMGT have a large and engaged global audience, whilst their B2B businesses operate across three sectors: Insurance Risk, Property Information and Events & Exhibitions. Some of these include: Daily mail, The Metro, dmg media, Landmark and RMS.
Design
The programme was designed through consultation in a two day design event with CEOs from the companies under DMGT’s network with key stakeholders from within DMGT. Dramatic changes in technology; customer behaviour and market structures present exciting new opportunities for DMGT to create new products, services and businesses to drive significant growth in revenues. Success depends strongly on the ability of leaders within the business units of DMGT to understand the opportunities and respond appropriately.
The leadership development programme is designed to address some of the key challenges that DMGT leaders are facing as they develop the business, with a focus on DMGT’s pillars of performance: People and culture, Innovation and technology, customers and markets, energy and emotion. One of our core elements has been to encourage social integration of the different businesses.
Delivery
The delegates completed psychometric assessment prior to the start of the programme in order to boost their self-awareness to focus on their areas of improvement going into the programme; the results of which were explored both in their coaching sessions and in the classroom with a psychometrician.
The course equipped delegates with a deep and rounded understanding of themselves as a leader, both of people and in their business.
In the first three-day module the delegates learnt:
- how to analyse and build the culture that they want in their workplace
- how to assemble, manage and maintain high performance teams
- how to develop the coaching skills needed to support engagement and performance management
They were introduced to key tools and models to drive innovation and strategic success, through frameworks such as Scenario Planning and Design Thinking, and directly apply this learning by working through real issues they face.
During the six-month interim period, delegates were given the opportunity to network with leaders from across the company’s different businesses, sharing experience and gaining value from the expertise of others, whilst developing greater integration and communication across the varied different sectors. They were encouraged to engage in sporting as well as social activities, to highlight that health is part of a leader’s resilience toolkit. Dinner in a Cambridge College provided an experiential hook for the learning and an opportunity to interact with key individuals such as DMGT CEO, Martin Morgan. All participants were tasked with a ‘Business Challenge’ where they would develop a new product or service as a team – they worked on this throughout the six months as well as submitting a personal development plan to track their progress.
In the second module delegates:
- took part in a change management simulation in order to develop their ability to apply their knowledge of change theory
- developed their self-presentation skills in an effective communication workshop
- presented to the group the results of the business challenge they worked on in the period between modules – having the opportunity to discuss with the CEO along with other senior leaders to judge the quality of presentations and to choose a winner
Impact
12 months after the first cohort we ran interviews to discuss how the overall impact of the programme. The following are some of the results, feedback and conclusions drawn from this session.
- “As a leader it was very good in terms of reflecting on leadership styles and my own strengths and helping you to think about what you might be doing wrong or comparing your own style with others – both good and bad” – Euromoney
- “It has got people thinking about mindsets, about how people communicate to the team what messages are sent out” – DMGi
- “Personal stuff around development and how teams interact those pieces found very useful. Also value of psychometrics put his team through some of the tests” – dmg media
- “Møller Institute programmes are immersive, engaging and inspiring whilst at the same time incredibly practical in nature.” – Linda Grant, Chairman, housesimple.com. Linda attended programmes at Møller whilst Managing Director of Metro and an Executive Director at DMGT
Do you feel the LDP has added to your capability and capacity as a leader and as a coach?
100% of delegates answered yes to this statement
Do you feel your leadership of your team/s has changed since the LDP?
100% of delegates responded that their leadership had changed since the LDP.