Glanbia Prepares Future C-Suite Leaders to Innovate Through Disruption With Immersive Development Experience

Challenge

Glanbia has been dedicated to delivering better nutrition for every step of life’s journey since 1997, and brings the same dedication to developing its future leaders during the most pivotal stages of their own career journeys.

Critical skills for Glanbia leaders range from disruptive thinking, innovative leadership, and a global mindset to digital and business-building expertise, and leadership impact. However, for the continued development of those skills, particularly in this constantly shifting and rapidly changing global business environment, Glanbia understood 3 multifaceted challenges needed to be overcome:

1. Leadership Succession: Build leadership bench strength and fill critical roles.
2. Innovation at Pace: Focus on a customer-led, science-backed agenda that keeps pace with evolving customer demands, emerging markets, and global trends.
3. Disruptive Global Forces: Master the knowledge and capabilities for managing and fueling the forces of global disruption within the nutrition sector and the company.

Glanbia partnered with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and the Irish Management Institute to create a program that would help high-potential members of Glanbia’s executive leadership team meet these challenges head-on and, in the process, prepare for more senior leadership roles.

Solution

A deeply entrenched international presence and perspective, combined with research-based solutions and program-customization capabilities, positioned CCL as the right partner to develop the Leading the Future Program.

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Executive Leadership Programs

Leading from the top is challenging. Explore our transformative executive leadership programs to prepare your most senior leaders.

Leadership at the Peak: C-Suite Training

Our world-renowned, highly personalized senior executive leadership program focuses on C-suite challenges and provides individualized development in the context of advancing the organization.

A cohort of senior leaders from Glanbia offices in the US and Ireland was selected to participate in the program, representing teams from across the organization. The program was centered around 3 immersive experiences to introduce participants to a global perspective — each devoted to high-priority leadership skills — and held in the following locations:

• Palo Alto, California (Silicon Valley): Disruptive Thinking and Future Mindset
• Shanghai, China: Innovation and Global Mindset
• Dublin, Ireland (Glanbia headquarters): Leading the Enterprise

Experiences featured visits to organizations situated in program locations, and were bolstered by an international group of thought-provoking guest speakers. The Institute for the Future, PayPal, Baozun, and the Accenture Innovation Center were among the organizations participating in the program.

The experiences challenged participants’ perceptions and points of view, further instilled a change-positive state of mind, and generated an in-depth understanding of leadership’s business and personal sides, including:

• Ability to transition from a tactical business-unit role to empowered enterprise level strategic thinking and decision-making
• More calculated risk-taking — and less fear of failure
• Courage to dream, think differently, and pursue unconventional paths
• Renewed emphasis on current business, while creating a framework for future growth
• Enhanced global outlook reaching beyond geographical borders
• Wider understanding of digital advances and their positive impact
• Empathetic leadership style, and agility in accommodating an evolving and diverse workforce
• Adeptness at attracting and retaining early-career leaders who have business-critical skills

Leaders participating in the program are further skilled in navigating not only through disruption but also within a company culture where innovation flourishes freely across lines of business.

Results

The Leading the Future Program is a prime example of the challenges that can be overcome — and exceptional results that can be achieved — through program customization, collaborative thinking and action, and a powerful participant dynamic.

Program Impact

From a clearer understanding of themselves to a more evolved mindset, program participants are prepared to maximize their strengths as leaders and long-term contributors to the company. There is strong evidence of increased readiness among participants for more senior leadership roles.

Glanbia continues its commitment to training and development with initiatives that include a Leading the Future Program tailor-made for junior leaders. CCL’s iterative approach and ability to respectfully disrupt and challenge thinking within Glanbia has resulted in increased innovation, and the company’s ability to successfully adapt to external disruptive forces and global trends.

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