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Building the human skills that win transformation work
How Hemsley Fraser helped a global technology and engineering group win more transformation work, not through technical capability, which was already there, but through five human leadership behaviours, measured by their colleagues and their clients.
20+
20 leaders across seven countries
+23%
growth in the behaviour that started weakest
198
examples recorded by colleagues and clients
4.5/5
average client rating after the programme
The challenge
The business wins digital transformation work when it acts as one company in front of the customer, but opportunities were being approached in fragments: siloed business units, cautious leadership, and client relationships that were strong but untapped. The engineering capability was never in question. The gap was mindset rather than technology, leaders who would build trust, influence stakeholders across the business and connect business units rather than working inside them, and five leadership behaviours were identified as the fix.
The solution
Hemsley Fraser, working with the organisation's internal academy, designed and delivered a four-month programme per cohort combining virtual workshops, peer coaching and a live feedback loop in which each leader gathered input from their own colleagues and clients, then acted on it in real deals and initiatives.
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Five leadership behaviours, defined with the business around how it actually wins and delivers work
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Two cohorts, 20 leaders, seven countries, deliberately mixed across business units to build the cross-unit relationships the programme was designed to create
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Three virtual workshops per cohort over four months, with peer coaching between
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A live feedback loop: leaders gathered input from colleagues and clients, acted on it in live deals, and were scored again by the same people afterwards
Driving improvement and innovation, +23%. The weakest behaviour going in at 3.3 out of 5, and the one that grew most. One leader's new licensing approach reduced a client's total tender price.
Making decisions with diverse input, +10%. A colleague wrote that "without his engagement, this project would not have been won," describing how teams were drawn into a major opportunity early.
Communicating an inspiring digital vision, +6%. Board-level vision that "builds follower-ship," and a regional growth plan explained clearly enough that "the team could conceptualize the strategy."
Collaborating across business units, +6%. A single unified proposal on a major tender, "a proposal and not a jig saw of various pieces," and the cross-team work that closed the organisation's first digital transformation deal in a new market.
Building trust and inclusive teams, +3%. The smallest growth, because it was already the strongest behaviour at 4.1 out of 5. Colleagues still rate it highest of the five, and one client noted they had "built high trust with me to the extent that I felt comfortable to raise the concern."
Results came from 150 before-and-after survey responses across both cohorts, from three separate groups: the leaders themselves, their colleagues, and their clients. The growth figures compare leaders' own paired scores. The examples of new behaviour were written down by colleagues and clients. The 4.5 out of 5 rating is the clients' own. That separation is what makes the results defensible, nothing rests on a single source, and the change was visible to people outside the programme.
Results
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23% growth in driving improvement and innovation, the behaviour that scored weakest at the start and grew the most
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198 examples of the new behaviours in action, written down by colleagues and clients after the programme
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93% of client scores rated these leaders 4 or 5 out of 5, averaging 4.5
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Two deals credited by colleagues to the behaviours developed: a major project win, and the organisation's first digital transformation deal in a new market
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The capability is becoming self-sustaining, with alumni mentoring new cohorts and nine internal facilitators certified to deliver
What made this work
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Diagnosing mindset rather than assuming capability, the technical skill was already there, and naming the real gap early is what made the rest possible
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Defining behaviours around how this business wins work, rather than applying a generic leadership model to it
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A live feedback loop rather than a course, so leaders acted on real input in real deals and were scored again by the same people
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Measuring through three separate groups, so the results didn't rest on self-reported confidence alone
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Building continuation in from the start, with alumni mentoring and certified internal facilitators so the capability outlives the engagement
Defining the behaviours with the business and drawing colleagues and clients into the feedback loop reflects Excite and Engage, creating genuine investment from the people around each leader rather than from participants alone, while applying the behaviours in live deals reflects Embed, and the alumni mentoring, certified facilitators and next phase linking behaviours to deal outcomes and retention reflect Evolve, the programme continuing to deepen its impact well beyond the original cohorts.
"The behaviours were built in the programme, observed by colleagues, felt by clients, and credited in won work. This is learning you can see in the pipeline."
FAQs
Proving that leadership development changed anything is the hardest part of any programme. Here are the questions organisations most commonly ask us before they start
By asking more than one group, and separating what each of them tells you. On this programme, 150 before-and-after survey responses came from the leaders themselves, their colleagues and their clients. The growth figures are leaders' own paired scores, the 198 examples of new behaviour were written down by colleagues and clients, and the 4.5 out of 5 rating is the clients' own. Nothing rests on self-assessment alone, which is what makes the results hold up internally.
It depends on the design. Here the behaviours were practised in live deals rather than in a classroom, and colleagues recorded where they saw them. Two deals were directly credited by colleagues to the behaviours developed: a major project win, and the organisation's first digital transformation deal in a new market. Designing for that traceability from the outset is what makes it possible afterwards.
Because it had the most room to move, and because it was the one the business most needed. Driving improvement and innovation scored 3.3 out of 5 going in, the lowest of the five, and grew 23%. Building trust scored 4.1 and grew 3%. Both are good outcomes: the first shows a real gap closing, the second shows an existing strength holding while attention went elsewhere.
Four months per cohort in this case: three virtual workshops with peer coaching between, and a live feedback loop running throughout. The organisation ran two cohorts. The duration matters less than the structure, because the feedback loop is what turned workshop content into behaviour visible to colleagues and clients.
By building the continuation in. Alumni from this programme now mentor new cohorts, and nine internal facilitators have been certified to deliver it. That turns a single intervention into something the organisation runs itself, and the next phase extends the measurement to deal outcomes and retention, per leader and per deal.
Building leadership that shows up in the pipeline?
If you need leadership development that shows up in commercial work rather than in completion rates, we'd love to talk. Get in touch to find out how we can design and deliver a programme built around your organisation's specific challenges.