Case
Learning Experiences Design, Culture Design, Facilitation
New Leaders @AbbVie
A program by and for new AbbVie leaders.
Leaders are not born leaders, but they are "made" leaders in 9 months.
"Going back to the beginning of 2017, a year full of opportunities, in which some AbbVie Talents were promoted to leadership roles, I remember my thoughts on what kind of amazing things could we do to accelerate the development of this group, while creating cohesion and willingness to share, to walk together and to learn from difficulties and successes..."
That's how Celia Santos, HR Director, told us that she would like to make a Leadership Program for AbbVie's new leaders.
To give freedom is to give responsibility.
"Leadership training, everyone had already experienced, at least five. Coaching, many had already tried it. Team-building, they were even able to organize sessions themselves...," he added. So, what to do? We agreed that the best way to do it would be "to facilitate learning of whatever they would consider important at that particular stage."
It would be the new leaders who would design their own leadership program. A context of trust was created which greatly contributed to making a program without a program.
Giving "wheels" to the imagination.
The old bus at Lisbon Underground was prepared to receive a group of AbbVie Young Leaders. Without moving, it transported them to a future plan: Their Own Leadership Program.
When we arrived at our office, what "they" wanted was not quite what we had anticipated. Drama? No! We turned our proposal inside out to fulfill the wishes of AbbVie and of the participants. There was a "frame" (budget) and we thus worked on the canvas. The biggest surprise: theoretical class - we hadn't thought of that!!! The biggest satisfaction: Their delivery and the pleasure of seeing Them build their own program.
"It was a super important step to strengthen them for the challenges, to celebrate the good times, to come together in order to overcome obstacles, to rely on each other. This was only possible because they went through a building process together grounded in trust."
Célia Santos, HR Director
A tried-and-true view.
"This was definitely a fantastic program, the best we have ever had. The secret? Perhaps the fact that 1) at Abbvie we believe that the most meaningful learning and development happens when the topics or issues covered are perceived by the participants as really important for their purposes and 2) we are lucky enough to find partners who "embark" with us on these journeys of discovery..."
- Célia Santos, HR Director
"More than a leadership program, it was an inner journey, an individual and group construct that supported and grew together. A group that envisioned and dreamed what they would like to discuss and learn. Each session was a surprise! It was a constant challenge, which made us step out of our comfort zone many times and therefore enriched us. It was a solid and inspiring foundation for a path that will continue to be drawn."
- Sara Farinha, Market Access Manager
"Participating in the program was a highly enriching experience, both professionally and personally! I highlight the day this trip started and the way it certainly marked the whole course, since we had the unique opportunity to define the course contents and to get to know each other a little better! I also highlight the technical quality of all the trainers and their ability to present complex topics in exciting discussions. I will always remember the conversations with João Sevilhano and the exciting sessions by Ângela Marçal!"
- Joana Dias, Patient Relations Manager
"The Program was, for me, an opportunity for growth transformed into reality, as an individual and as part of a team. Its added value was, in my opinion, being a program adjusted to the needs previously identified, as well as the diversity of moments that exposed us to different conceptions of leadership: using reciprocal feedback, theatrical expression, teamwork and the structured reflection on what kind of contribution and influence we can have as leaders of an organization."
- Diogo Bento, Medical Director
"The way is made...by walking"...said the poet. For me leading is to distinguish between tracing "a" way or "the" way. And it was exactly that opportunity that I found in this program, rich, first by the fact that Way Beyond co-created it with AbbVie and its participants, with originality, flexibility and fun. Then, for having boosted my professional and personal growth. We deepened such fascinating and fundamental concepts for a leader such as attitude, feedback and team. Thank you for the fantastic experience in this "Love bus" that was all this and much more, and Congratulations! And...I guess I can say: we want more!"
- Sofia Alaiz, Patient Experience Manager
Experience.
It was the "Worst Leadership Program Ever" that lit them up for the "Best Leadership Program Ever": 9 months; group and individual experiences, in various locations; theoretical and practical; from 2 hours to 1 day; from leadership history to trust and responsibilization; from serious conversations to other kind of conversations; and more....
Nine months later, the group revealed to the AMT (AbbVie Management Team) what the program had been about, what they had learned, how they had felt, what they had discovered, and what they had gained, both individually and as a group. They left "a hint of envy" in those who did not participate.
This program was, from the beginning, a huge pleasure: a building process that happened until the last moment. Working with these people and watching their sense of responsibility in learning, observing AbbVie's trust in its people and in Way Beyond, and verifying that at AbbVie there is a real culture that does not live only in the walls of the building. Thank you!