BUSINESS SIMULATION | Lead to Succeed ~ Leadership Programme

What the client wanted

The client is a major banking organisation who wanted a leadership programme designed to stretch and challenge experienced and senior managers from across the group. Impromptu were engaged to work with Academee, a leading learning solutions consultancy, who designed and deliver the programme content. Impromptu worked with Academee to develop the business simulation materials.

What we did

The role-play element of the Lead to Succeed programme takes the form of a four-day interactive business simulation that runs through the first three modules of this four module programme. A range of challenging role-play based activities including forum role-playing, group meetings, fly-on-the-wall meetings, presentations and a press conference are built into the simulation. The simulation revolves around a large, complex, underperforming fictitious organisation in the retail supermarket sector. Impromptu role-players portray senior executives, including the CEO and Finance Director, from this fictitious £12billion a year turnover company.

The simulation activities provide substantial opportunities for participants to develop a deep understanding of their personal leadership impact, of team development and of strategic thinking and implementation. Real issues of leadership and organisational development are explored in ways that bring these alive for the participants and directly relate them back to their own experience in the work place.

The outcomes

There are a number of key learning outcomes from the simulation:

  • Participants gain a great deal of personal insight into their leadership qualities and the impact of their style on self and others;
  • The leaders strengthen and extend key leadership and interpersonal skills in ways that enable them to gain improved personal effectiveness;
  • The participants also develop a deeper understanding of how key behavioural and psychological models (Emotional Intelligence, Transactional Analysis, MBTI for example) apply in real situations.

This has been a very successful programme for the client organisation, as evidenced by the fact that it is now into its fourth year and has benefited over a thousand managers. In addition, the programme – in tailored form – has been adopted by two further blue chip client companies.