LEAD Awards 2018: Interview with Stacy Cook, FMP Consulting

A Perfectly Customized Leadership Program

  Category: Best Use of Simulations
  LEAD AWARD RANK: 7
 
  Organization: FMP Consulting
  Program: Excella Leadership Development Program (ELDP)
  Program Director: Mahreen Rashid
  Visit: www.fmpconsulting.com
  Our editorial team interviewed Stacy Cook from FMP Consulting at the LEAD2018 Awards this past February. Here are some excerpts from the exclusive interview.
 

What is the overall objective of your program?
FMP has been working with Excella since 2015 to create a perfectly customized leadership program grounded in Excella's mission in cultivating exceptional careers for employees by creating meaningful solutions for clients. 
 
Who do you impact with your program?
The program directly impacts the leaders who attend the program. But the overall impact touches each person at Excella since strong leadership is woven throughout every effort Excella undertakes. 
 
What are the lessons you’ve learned this year from facilitating your program?
The unique thing about this program is the organizational simulation, which is the capstone of the program. In the simulation, participants take on typical roles and work together to create a deliverable while facilitators intervene strategically to draw out certain leader dynamics. Participants then receive one-on-one coaching afterward to make sense of their experience. We've learned that executing this experience well relies on a careful balance of challenge and support. Too much support and the leaders never get to dig deep and see their "unchecked" selves. Too much challenge and leaders reject the experience. But, the coaching afterwards indicates when we hit that right balance - and the leaders demonstrate tremendous growth as a result. 
 
How do you measure the return on investment and success of the program?
We have a fairly sophisticated evaluation approach. We use longitudinal participant data, supervisor data, and business metrics to connect program impacts to business benefits. 
 
What lies ahead for the program and how will it continue to succeed?
Each year, Excella sends two cohorts through the program. Excella is a growing and thriving company that delivers tremendous results for their clients. It sees the ELDP as a core component of that growth and will continue to invest in it through participation and enhancement over time. 
 

 

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