Issue: Rapid growth and merging cultures

Solution: Comprehesive leadership skills and assessment solution

Results: A comprehensive approach to developing individuals at all levels that is both cost and time effective

Like many organizations, Ericsson, a leading telecommunications and IP services and technology company, faced challenges brought about by rapid growth and merging cultures. Staffed with 90,000 individuals in 175 countries, Ericsson was fully aware of the impact that great leadership could have on achieving its vision. Yet Ericsson felt that it lacked a comprehensive process to consistently develop leadership across all levels. And as an innovator in the field of technology, a key driver that is shaping the world, Ericsson felt that it must continue to innovate.

Ericcson utilized its long term partnership with The Ken Blanchard Companies to create a learning solution and content that would become critical to Ericsson’s existing program entitled Leadership Core Curriculum which provided a consistent training for individual, leader, and team development across cultures around the world.

The process for managers included Leading Self, Leading Others, and Leading the Organization. Using a combination of Blanchard content including Situational Leadership^® II, Whale Done!^®, Building Trust, Giving Feedback, Challenging Conversations, and Teams, as well as several assessments such as the Leader Behavior Analysis II^®, and DISC, gave leaders insights into themselves and others. Content was delivered through a creative combination of self-study, virtual classroom, 3-day face-to-face classroom, learning labs, and elearning experienced in 15 days over a 9-month period. The curriculum for individual contributors included much of the same content delivered over a shorter time frame and a core emphasis for both learning communities was in regard to communication, influencing, and gaining buy-in.

One of the challenges Ericsson faced was getting people motivated about and responsible for their own development journey and for merging the comprehensive curriculum into their daily work life. So key leaders created inspirational video clips campaigning for the importance of leadership in order to encourage individuals to shore up their skills and make their mark on the Ericsson culture. High energy promo videos also gave learners a sense of the content and emphasized the return and payoff for the individual and culminated with the resoundingly powerful message—It Begins with You!

As Global Head for Leadership Development, Joselito Rivera believes that Blanchard solutions are integral and important to the success of their Leadership Core Curriculum. “The programs and modules we use from Blanchard are very powerful drivers of the values and behaviors we want to reinforce. The assessments in particular really hit home with our people. We’ve been partnering with Blanchard for more than a decade and the content is as relevant today as ever.”

Despite their obvious success, Ericsson is never content to rest on its laurels. Joselito believes that the organization can streamline both time and investment without compromising on results. “I also believe we need to listen to our people who are constantly challenging us to come up with solutions that require less time, and our accountants, of course, are pressing for more economical options. Since we teach innovation and preach innovation, I believe that we must practice innovation.”

Since the inception of its partnership with Blanchard, Ericsson has had more than 17,000 individuals participate in the Ericsson Leadership Core Curriculum. With their continued attention to streamlining costs, time off the job, refinement, and redesign, it’s understandable that Ericsson, with innovation in its DNA, continues to be a world leader.