Building an inclusive leadership pipeline: from external hires to internal promotion

Our client knew they needed a more robust leadership pipeline. When they came to us, 90% of director- and VP-level positions were being filled from outside the organization — and they wanted to reverse that trend.

The reliance on outside talent was causing angst among aspiring managers and racking up significant costs in executive searches. Vital positions stayed vacant too long, and each new outside leader cost the organization time, productivity, and morale.

They needed extraordinarily capable, ready-now talent prepared to lead globally — built through a program that was 100% their own, not a pre-packaged leadership tool.

We teamed up with leadership to design a global program from the ground up: an immersive, year-long action-learning experience that prepares top talent for global leadership positions.

Each year, about 30 delegates work in cross-functional teams on significant, real-world business challenges for the enterprise — developing strategies, pitching solutions to senior executives, and implementing them in the real world.

The year combines three international residencies, three virtual sessions, and ongoing one-on-one coaching. Past teams have met in China, Ireland, Poland, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Belgium, Italy, and the United States.

Four years into the program, the trend had fully reversed: instead of filling 90% of executive-level positions with outside talent, our client was filling 90% from within. In that same span, the program produced 18 vice presidents.

The action-learning approach paid for itself in business terms too — one delegate project netted a $430 million opportunity, and another created a multi-million-dollar market. The program was so successful that a second, regionally focused edition now runs alongside it.