Creating a Leadership Brand to support Business Transformation
17 African Countries Embrace a Common Leadership Brand
Standard Bank: The Stanbic Africa group consisted of a number of banking operations across 17 countries throughout Africa, most brought into the Stanbic Africa stable through acquisitions and mergers. As a result no uniform culture existed in Stanbic Africa as each bank had their own culture. The managing director’s objective was to bring these disparate banking operations into the fold of the parent company, Standard Bank, by standardising operating practices, procedures, systems, and culture.
Our team’s was challenged to develop an intervention that would result in all leaders and managers exhibiting a preferred set of leadership skills and behaviours on a regular and consistent basis across Stanbic Africa. The solution included: one-to-one and group coaching, executive team, senior leader and manager workshops, facilitation and a bespoke feedback tool linked to their balanced scorecard for performance measurement.
As a result of our work, a common leadership language emerged in Stanbic Africa. Most delegates reported that they had never before been given such practical skills that they could use everyday. They felt the language increased respect and trust amongst the diverse populations that comprise Stanbic Africa. The values and behaviours were integrated into the bank’s performance management system, and the manager’s leadership behaviour became the subject of performance review.