Pan-African Banking Institution Drives Digital Transformation With Leadership Development

Solution 

CCL partnered with the bank’s Leadership Academy to develop a new middle management program that combined 3 critical elements:

• “Decoding” the bank’s strategic imperatives,
• Leadership behaviors that focused on business growth and leadership mindset, and
• Business acceleration projects that allowed participants to apply their new knowledge and drive digital transformation within their teams.

The purpose of the program was to shift the organization’s leadership paradigms (mindset, competency set, and tool set) in a way that would support a digital-first strategy, enhance culture, and drive efficiencies.

The first phase included 2 days of in-person training, which started with participants hearing from the Regional Managing Director on strategic ‘must get right areas’ in the business that informed the ideation process and kicked off the innovation sprint. This enabled participants to identify and prototype business acceleration initiatives to form part of the “must-win” imperatives for their region. The activity helped instill a “can-do” leadership mindset, demonstrating how the right approach could drive the bank into the future. Leadership skills were learned and practiced in real time while results were delivered to the business.

Phase 2 took 6-8 weeks. The cohorts were split into teams of 4-6 individuals, who worked together virtually on a business acceleration project to develop and test a prototype of new products, services, or processes. Each team had a business sponsor appointed by the Regional Managing Director who provided strategic guidance and access to their network. Each team also worked with a business innovation coach from CCL who challenged them to act fast, fail fast, and learn fast — and also to apply new leadership mindsets for improved team effectiveness.

During phase 3, the teams came together to share feedback on the prototype testing and the learning derived from working virtually. Leadership coaching and consultative communication skills enabled participants to have better conversations across the team. Each team reported to a panel of sponsors on their prototype testing results, lessons learned at an individual and team level, and data to support further exploration of the business acceleration project to implement and scale. Following phase 3, successful prototypes were integrated into the business to be implemented and/or scaled.

Results

Some of the prototypes produced by the program included:

• An online trade finance platform that would enable the bank to create a secure trade and payment marketplace for Africa and reduce transaction costs,
• Distributed banking that enables customers to withdraw and deposit cash at shops they regularly use,
• Instant client on-boarding — offering a paperless and 100% digital process, and
• Instant authentic customer dispute resolution of ATM transactions.

Throughout the program, participants consulted with their managers to ensure their goals were in line with their personal development plans.

Based on participant feedback, the training effort improved participants’ leadership abilities, gave them a deeper understanding of the bank’s strategy, and empowered them to execute on the company’s digital transformation strategy. The program reflects CCL’s own 70:20:10 approach to leadership development — a combination of “being” and “doing” in a new leadership context, that delivers tangible results.