IKEA: ‘The Leadership School’

The Story

For over 5 years Righttrack’s worked in partnership with the IKEA, Kuwait HR team, developing and implementing a range of development projects to support the company’s drive to improve people performance.

Each project, including management and leadership development, customer service and sales, was carefully researched to understand the strategic aims, operational and functional challenges, as well as the mix of roles involved. We also took care to appreciate each of up to 14 different colleague cultures which made up the IKEA, Kuwait team.

The Programme

A three-module leadership programme, which formed The Leadership School, was designed specifically for the group, taking into account the different levels of management experience, nationality and culture of each individual. The content was supported by psychometrics and fully aligned with the company competency framework and assessment results for each person attending.

Module 1

  • Values and how these impact on management style
  • Differences between leadership and management
  • Communication strategies to meet different audiences
  • Three modes of behaviour

Module 2

  • Roles individuals play within teams
  • Leadership behaviours
  • Influencing
  • Setting objectives
  • Performance management
  • Engaging and empowering teams
  • Motivation
  • Coaching
  • Giving feedback

Module 3

  • The need to change – strategically, operationally & personally‘Change Curve’ Stakeholder analysis
  • Roles & responsibilities within change process
  • Identifying key resistors to change
  • The feedback processes

Individual feedback and development plans were agreed along with practical work-based assignments to ensure the learning was transferred into the workplace. Delegates were supported between modules with regular contact from their trainer, as well as their line manager.

The Impact

After the 6 day, modular Leadership School, knowledge and skill increased by 77%.

The HR Manager also reported that line managers had observed a significant change in the way teams were being managed; they were showing a much more confident approach to their work, and their increased contribution in management meetings was noteworthy