Case Studies
Case Study 02
Howard was assuming the position of Executive Vice President for Information Systems and Technology at a large and well known financial institution. His predecessor was regarded as the grandfather of the IT systems, since he had been the EVP for over twenty years and was very highly respected. This gentleman had recently been retiring; but there had been a four month overlap between him and Howard, following the succession plan. Coming in, Howard faced some very large and critical challenges, and it was crucial that he and his team meet or exceed the related expectations within the allotted time.
The overarching challenge was to manage the installation of a new and highly advanced computer and management information system. The company was operating globally and the present systems and technology were only about seventy percent integrated. Some personnel had been working on very outmoded systems and equipment for a number of years. This new system would add numerous features and capabilities, and in view of this, all employees would have to be retrained. The conversion project had a schedule of thirty months, end to end. While the upgrade was essential, the scale was huge. Assisting Howard and his team was a group of installation consultants from the vendor. Managing them was a challenge as well.
Howard had requested that in addition, a select team of coaches join his group to assist his key team leaders manage this change-over effectively. Jess and Randy were assigned to work as the coaches for Howard's key deputy, Frank, and the groups’ systems engineer Amy. Such a coaching project was considerably complex, since twelve coaches were involved over a span of six countries and Hong Kong. A US and an international project leader were selected for the coaching oversight and coordination.
Randy and Frank worked together in developing a coaching plan that would use Frank’s areas of technical and management strength while also assisting him in avoiding the downsides of areas not well developed for this role. That job had numerous elements, but focused primarily on managing the daily progress of the conversion and keeping Howard informed. Jess’ role with Amy was to assist her in the handling of urgent and unexpected needs during the change-over. Again, a coaching and related action-learning plan was developed as a framework and guide.
The coaching plans included many actions and activities that would help Amy and Frank accelerate their learning curves and build solid relationships with in-company partners outside of the US. Each also had to learn much more about cross cultural management in the countries where the company was operating. Additionally, a joint travel plan became an essential element of the coaching, along with increased levels of delegation, and strengthening joint problem solving skills, cross culturally. In-depth contingency and disaster recovery plans were jointly created.
While Amy worked with Jess, Frank and Randy worked together for a eighteen months, including the travel. Then each participant followed a check-in procedure for six additional months, concluding with a half-day debrief that included Howard. This final meeting covered the key successes of the coaching, identification of the most important learnings, what might have been done differently with the benefit of hindsight, and how the entire experience strengthened Amy and Frank. Both had become more effective in their current roles and better prepared for future responsibilities, primarily because of cross cultural learning and global perspectives.
