DEVELOPING HIGH-POTENTIAL LEADERS 

Before and after

Before: Executives were working with Careerminds through individual coaching, but there was no structured path to prepare the next generation for senior roles.

After: 16 high-potential leaders completed an eight-month development program. Within a year, four were promoted into more senior roles, including one to company President and one to Chief Information Officer. 91% said the program would make them stronger performers.

The challenge

The executive team of a privately held family of residential real estate companies wanted to make sure the next generation of leaders was ready to step into senior roles. Each executive had previously worked with Careerminds on executive coaching and had identified the leadership competencies the organization would need for future success.

To support that growth, the team recognized it needed to broaden learning opportunities for its high-potential employees and prepare them for more responsibility at the executive level. The business needed a structured development path, not just individual coaching engagements.

The goal

The company wanted a formal program that would build self-awareness and critical skills in its rising leaders and prepare them for senior roles and expanded responsibilities. The program had to connect directly to the competencies the executive team had already identified.

The solution

A program built on the company’s competencies: Careerminds consultants designed a High-Potential Leadership Development Program anchored in the leadership competencies the executives had identified. Company presidents selected participants using criteria they created. To keep the selection fair, each company received slots in proportion to its size.

Six sessions over eight months: The program included:

• Assessments to build self-awareness around the competencies needed at more senior levels
• Six facilitated workshops targeting skill gaps identified by the senior leadership team
• A team action learning project that applied new skills to real strategic problems, with topics chosen by the senior leadership team

Presentations to senior leadership: The program ended with each group presenting its action learning project to the senior leadership team. This gave participants direct exposure to executives and delivered real strategic value back to the business.