Research and analysis
The Client:
A large, Federal Government organisation.
The Project:
We undertook a research and analysis project to evaluate the current capability of a large federal organisation’s leadership cohort and provide recommendations for future development of their leaders. We were nominated for this project largely due to our extensive experience in working closely with the organisation as well as our understanding of their leadership context and areas of development focus.
The Approach:
We undertook a comprehensive phase of desktop research in order to bring together and analyse the organisation’s leadership strategies, and how these fit with broader organisational goals, current leadership development activities and present and future leadership requirements.
Specifically, the organisation commissioned us to provide:
An outline of the performance of the current leadership cohort (with specific analysis of Band 1 and 2).
Suggested leadership behaviours to supplement the current organisational leadership attributes.
A critical analysis of the organisation’s leadership performance and requirements, including:
An environment scan of current best practice at public and private sector organisations; and
An analysis of current leadership development activities at the organisation.
Through this project, the client wished to answer the following questions:
What should a leader look like at the SES Band 1 and 2 levels?
What is the current state of capability across the leadership cohort?
What is currently being done to develop their leaders?
What are the current areas of focus for leadership development within the organisation?
What are the projected future capability needs for the leadership cohort?
What are the gaps in terms of current and future capability, and how can these be addressed?
Our evaluation was based on analysis of all available data, including research previously conducted internally by the organisation and consultation with key stakeholders. Through this analysis we considered:
The current positioning of their leaders against pre-existing frameworks;
The current profiles and segments of their leaders at both the SES Band 1 and SES Band 2 levels;
How the organisation’s leadership profile compared with those of the broader APS and Australian private sector; and
How well their current development offerings aligned with the needs of the leadership cohort, now and into the future.
The ultimate aim of this project was to ensure that the organisation had a clear understanding of its leadership story, to inform its People Plan 2017-18.
The Outcome:
This data collection and analysis was developed into a clear and succinct summary report, ensuring that the Human Resources unit had a clear understanding of the organisation’s leadership story to inform the development of the People Plan for 2017-18.