Founded in 1849 and headquartered in Sweden, Mölnlycke Health Care is a world-leading MedTech company that specialises in innovative solutions for wound care and surgical procedures. Mölnlycke products and solutions are used daily by hospitals, health care providers and patients in over 100 countries around the world. On a mission to revolutionise care for people and planet, it employs around 8,400 employees in 100 countries worldwide, driving change that improves the health and wellbeing of patients and those who care for them while reducing the environmental footprint of healthcare. However, post pandemic, with both epic challenges for healthcare provision mounting across the world and facing increasingly nimble competition, Mölnlycke’s leadership was looking to strengthen operational capability.
At Mölnlycke, true leadership is rooted in the company’s core values. Talent is nurtured through development programmes at all levels of the organisation, from junior to senior employees. The partnership with London Business School on the ‘Breakthrough’ programme was developed to empower the leadership potential of talented individuals in the company. There has been a particular emphasis on experimentation, with time dedicated to trial and development embedded in the syllabus. The goal was to liberate individual talents to perform with even greater success, whilst preserving the longstanding company culture. Following the initial year, the syllabus has evolved, and three further cohorts have undertaken the programme, with a fourth just launched.
The Challenge
Offering radical innovation and expertise for efficient, effective and sustainable care and specialising in wound care, operation room solutions and gloves and antiseptics, innovative thinking has always been second nature at Mölnlycke’s senior management level. Institutional knowledge of healthcare supply chain logistics is also well embedded. However, unprecedented change brought on by growing internationalism, the pandemic and escalating global conflicts demanded greater agility and decisiveness in a company where caution had been the watchword.
Empowered thinking that could be threaded into the corporate structure and liberate individual self-determination were central to the ‘ask’. External pressures from healthcare customers dictated it. The challenges in a business intent on retaining its pre-eminent position were self-evident. Around this focus on behavioural change, there were also considerations referencing expansion plans, further collaboration and more streamlined operations to guide the future direction of the company. Additionally, advancing digital capability routinely across all operational aspects was seen as a fundamental building block to increasing competitiveness and agility to meet new customer demands.
London Business School was selected for its willingness to partner and create an intimate, bespoke programme. The course was developed in close partnership with Mölnlycke, to bereflective of the company’s culture while realising the full potential of those pivotal to the future of the business. The programme needed to be uniquely distinctive, avoiding any content that was overly general or formulaic. This was to be leadership learning that enabled personalised style and decision making to operate effectively in a corporate structure.
The Approach
The number of people selected for the programme was limited to twenty per each cohort. This helped to create a highly intimate quality to the interactions and on-campus sessions. Incorporating tailored content relevant to MedTech specialists and using London Business School Faculty expertise, the emerging programme was highly Mölnlycke-centric. The company’s increasing international diversity was also factored into the selection criteria of candidates, faculty and the content of the learning modules.
Fully customised, the year-long programme went live in February 2021. The pandemic meant that some in-person events had to pivot to virtual attendance, but three intense engagements planned for the end of March, May and October went ahead. At the conclusion, a 100-days-later Impact event was scheduled to mark a celebration of the positive beneficial impact of the programme anticipated in the business.
Key performance indicators of the programme were centred on reinvigoration and decision making. The self-actualisation of each participant was considered critical. Greater self-knowledge, accountability and speed of prioritisation were given great emphasis. Newly learned behavioural practice and refined priorities would have to sit comfortably within a conflict averse, profoundly democratic culture. Customer centricity - ‘customers’ being time-pressured medical professionals - remained a priority at every phase in the design and delivery of the programme.
Implementation
Despite Covid challenges which taxed the medical profession globally and the school more locally, the first year-long programme was launched, as mentioned, in February 2021. It became the adaptable template for all future Mölnlycke cohorts. The mixture of Faculty teaching, experimentation and purposeful interaction kept energy levels high throughout. Connectivity between delegates was encouraged. Authenticity was championed. Participants were absorbed by the competitive spirit. (Introduced later into the programme, a treasure hunt based on visiting London landmarks has proved especially popular.) Throughout, active game-playing encouraged the first and subsequent cohorts to learn by doing, rather than simply listening, and was reported as far more memorable and impactful.
From the outset, a cohesion forged among the multinational groups, partly through their being selected and then strengthened through shared experience. Close involvement of Mölnlycke leaders in face-to-face sessions, often present on a one-to-one basis, further heightened the bonds. The connectivity that resulted has endured, remarked upon as a key benefit for positive future leadership. The alumni continue to share their experiences with each other, drawing advisory support from their select but powerfully effective networks.
Impact
The feedback from the participants, their colleagues and direct reports since has been consistently positive over the years. The graduating cohorts describe a fundamental transition in their leadership behaviour. Across senior company leadership, they are recognised as having become bolder, more experimental, addressing acceptable risks decisively and embracing partnerships to deliver greater commercial advantage. New values, new attributes, new strategies and enhanced business relationships have all been embraced, along with greater personal accountability. Priorities back in the business are now more swiftly identified. Digital connectivity has become far more fluent. Particularly commended is the authenticity graduates display in executing their responsibilities, with minimum tension between executing managerial effectiveness and their own instinctive, self-determination.
The unique Mölnlycke initiative is evidently of great benefit to the company in all geographies where it operates. London Business School’s programme, developed in close partnership and respectful of a characterfully intimate culture, has become a definitive proving ground for inspiring leaders in a sector dedicated to revolutionising care for both People and the Planet. The school is justifiably proud of the impressive results after three successful years, with more cohorts planned for the company’s thoroughly promising future.
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