Case Study: Supporting the assessment and growth of leaders

National Highways is tasked to deliver the objectives of the Government’s Road Investment Strategy. The previous strategy (RIS1) ran from 2015 to 2020, at which point RIS2 launched - an ambitious 5-year strategy with a total budget of £27.4bn - almost twice as big as RIS1.

In light of this ambitious strategy, the operations directorate, the largest division within National Highways, wanted to raise the overall leadership capability of its c. 500 strong management population.

They wanted to assess the current levels of capability across this population, with the view of mapping strengths and development requirements for the whole team.

The solution

Working with National Highways, Right Management designed and ran an end-to-end assessment & development programme for 500 individuals. The programme, delivered over 18 months, consisted of: 

• An initial online assessment, comprising two scenario-based exercises, a personality inventory & a 360-degree feedback tool, all designed around the six National Highways competencies 
• Individual feedback reports and a one-to-one feedback session
• Development interventions, including tailored workshops, digital coaching and Action Learning Sets to help participants build capabilities identified during their assessment
• A final assessment to track how individuals had progressed over the programme.  

Right Management completed an in-depth analysis of the assessment results to give National Highways a consolidated view of their leadership population, providing a ‘before’ and ‘after’ view of their leaders. Strength and development areas were highlighted, enabling National Highways to identify the competency gaps and make informed workforce development decisions.

The impact

• 77% of participants found that the Licence to Lead programme supported their development as a leader.
• 80% said the programme enabled them work differently and more effectively with their teams.
• 87% of assessed participants made progress in all 6 National Highway competency areas.
• 100% of attendees agreed their assessor coaches were highly professional, awarding an average score of 8/10 for their experience.

Participant feedback:

“I have really enjoyed the L2L course, it has helped me develop into a better manager with the tools and mindset I need to improve the team and myself.”

“The 1-2-1 assessment session really helped to have an objective viewpoint as to what I need to do more/less of.”

“The programme has helped me to amplify my qualities and be more aware of some of the behaviours I might already express naturally to ensure I express them with renewed awareness.”

“I have just been promoted from a band 6 role to a band 8 role, my dream job!”