Accelerated Development Programme
Content
The Accelerated Development Programme prepares today's managers to become tomorrow's leaders by supporting them through the transition into general management. This general management programme accelerates and smoothes this transition by strengthening interpersonal and strategic skills whilst broadening organisational and functional knowledge.
You'll have the opportunity to gain a broader understanding of how different approaches achieve results, discuss your ideas and find new ways forward from people facing the same issues as you. We harness the learning by grouping you in a variety of cross-cultural teams, encouraging you to share experiences throughout the programme.
You will fulfil your potential by developing the five key capabilities needed to become a highly effective general manager and an inspiring business leader.
| 1. Leading people |
The first week of the Accelerated Development Programme is dedicated to the 'leading people' capability and uses intensive 360-degree participan
t-led and expert facilitated feedback and action planning, designed around the five capabilities the programme seeks to develop. We use a combination of methods to develop your self-awareness, including giving and receiving feedback in small groups and classroom based lectures. Our approach gives you new insights into your behavioural impact, whilst also identifying your broader general management knowledge and skills gaps. From the experience of this week, you will gain a clear view of your 'blindspots' – where you need to focus your attention and energy throughout the programme and beyond.
| 2. Managing strategy and change |
A critical issue for many participants on the Accelerated Development Programme is to shift their entire perspective from being experts in a given function or area to being strategic leaders. This part of the programme starts by examining the nature of strategy and a 'strategic perspective', and backs this up with a suite of tools and frameworks that encourage a more holistic view of the entire business unit or enterprise.
These tools stimulate and support cross-functional conversations, leading to the development of better strategies. We realise that strategy development cannot create or sustain value without execution. Therefore, this part of the programme also links strategy closely with managing change. New strategic choices often require significant organisational change. General managers must be able to design a change process attuned to the 'unwritten rules' and 'hidden systems' that all too often impede or derail attempted strategic change.
| 3. Evaluating and managing organisation performance |
The majority of managers who attend the Accelerated Development Programme are not finance and accounting professionals, but they will need to know how the information that the finance and accounting functions provide will enable general managers to make and justify forward-looking decisions. With this as a key focus, the programme combines accounting, finance and value creation into a unique, practical and integrated framework for decision-making. With this framework, general managers can initiate powerful diagnostic and strategic inquiries and conversations en route to building growth and value for their organisations:
- How are the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement linked to show the business as a system?
- How can these statements be re-drawn to aid forward-looking decisions?
- How can we measure the effect of both strategic and tactical decisions in creating and delivering value?
- How can actual corporate performance be assessed, especially if the goal is value creation?
| 4. Creating and delivering customer value |
The focus in these sessions is to present a strategic and operational overview of how these key functions support growth and value creation. Through the Creating and Delivering Customer Value sessions you will learn about:
- Customer-centric product strategy
- Strategic market segmentation
- Managing channels
- Value pricing
- Aligning people, strategic and operational processes
- Branding.
| 5. Strategic decision making |
Managers are recognised for the quality of their decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty. This aspect of the Accelerated Development Programme will demonstrate how to use decision support tools and frameworks when intuition and judgment alone cannot be relied upon. Through the Strategic Decision Making sessions you will learn about:
- Understanding typical decision traps
- Asking relevant questions to obtain key data
- Using a process for making good decisions
- Facing uncertainty, understanding what the criteria of decision quality are
- Determining accountability for decisions made while facing uncertainty
- Managing technical and commercial risk and uncertainty
- Typical investment decisions and project appraisal
- Project evaluation
- Project portfolio decisions.
For further information on the Accelerated Development Programme download the brochure . Alternatively email Andrew Wilson in our dedicated client services team or phone him on +44 (0)20 7000 7393. You can also arrange to talk to the ADP director, Lorraine Vaun-Davis by filling in this form.
| Sharing experiences |
Because we only select managers that have rich experiences to participate in the programme, we encourage the sharing of these experiences, both formally and informally as it is a very powerful source of learning and development.
- Coaching support
The multi-cultural coaches who work with ADP are all learning and development professionals who, in addition to working with the School, operate at senior levels in industries as facilitators and 1-1
coaches. - Personal development planning
All participants are encouraged to leave both modules with a personal development plan of action. These are shared with your study group peers and coaches - Networking
The programme provides you with opportunities to network with and learn from a diverse group of peers who you will find face similar challenges to your own - Keynote speakers
During the programme you will have the opportunity to hear from keynote speakers who provide further insights into the lessons learnt - Social activities
The programme provides you with opportunities to experience some of the diverse cultures that make up the world's most cosmopolitan city, as well as the chance for some sightseeing. This forms an integral part of the programme experience - Wellbeing
ADP attempts to grow the person as whole, not just the manager. We recognise that managers at this level are being challenged by work/life balance issues and need to be able to self-regulate emotional and physical Wellbeing.
Regular exercise makes your whole system work better and increases your energy levels, concentration and how you deal with stress.
Throughout the programme a highly skilled team of experts provide mental and physical techniques to improve your understanding of and actively manage the physiology and psychology of peak performance. We also offer opportunities for more holistic exercise such as yoga and pilates.
Accelerated Development Programme Overview
Not just a four-week programme, but also an eight-month leadership development path to achieve lasting change.
| Pre Programme |
- Awareness raising
- Completion of the application form
- Interview with Programme Director
- Complete pre-programme preparation, including 360-degree survey
- Make arrangements to maximise learning experience by delegating to others.
| Week One |
- 360-degree survey feedback facilitation
- Exploring executive derailment factors
- Building behavioural insights and drawing conclusions about effective leadership
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Identifying your knowledge and skills gaps
- Outdoor team-based behavioural activities
- Coach facilitated one-to-one personal action planning
- Wellbeing.
| Week Two |
- The link between leadership and change
- Exploring the interrelationships between the growth and value drivers of the business through strategy, marketing, operations, accounting and finance
- Using whole-brain thinking for creative problem-solving
- Wellbeing.
| Week Three |
- Continue to explore the interrelationships between the growth and value drivers of the business through strategy, marketing, operations, accounting and finance
- Developing personal skills
- Managing general management conversations
- Wellbeing.
| Week Four |
- Operating and strategic conversations and decisions in practice
- Pulling together a personal practice of general management
- Tutor-led personal action planning beyond the programme
- Graduation and final dinner
- Become an alumnus of London Business School
- Wellbeing.
| Post programme |
- 1-6 months later - Ongoing coaching support of personal action plan
- 6-8 months later - Follow-up 360-degree survey with coaching support.
"The ADP reflects a truly global business environment. Professors and participants combine to represent the collective experience of at least twenty-five nationalities on each programme".
Lorraine Vaun-Davis, Programme Director, Accelerated Development Programme
