How a global pharmaceutical company tapped into their inner purpose and grit to further extraordinary performance in high-stakes situations.

The Client

An intact senior leadership team working within a well-known, global pharmaceutical enterprise – already a high-performing unit before they came to us. Being one of those extraordinary teams that manage to pull off their responsibilities with excellence, they contribute a large percentage of revenue to the organisation. So, why did they need to take part in an immersion learning experience? With increasing demands being made on them, they were looking for a unique way to elevate their performance even more.

Their Situation – Unlocking Purpose

The organisation had recently acquired a lot of businesses, which resulted in restructuring taking place. This influenced the fluidity of daily operations within the team, with added challenges rising up in the form of new recruits, new faces on the leadership team, and additional pressure on the team as a whole. Given that they were already so competent, they were holding up other areas of the business that were struggling. It’s great to be recognised for one’s accomplishments, but when there’s so much riding on your performance, it can become overwhelming. Their charismatic leader could see this.

He knew they needed to lean into purpose to give them the grit to push through this difficult time. It was more than finding purpose, but rather diving deep into the practices and mindsets that help bring purpose to life. 

What We Did

The first question we asked ourselves was “Where could we go to find inspiration from those already demonstrating the grit, habits, and practices to excel and perform in extraordinary situations?” We created the opportunity for the team to meet some remarkable leaders and engage in deep conversations with them. They were able to ask the questions that would open up the mindset to help them excel and be successful, regardless of the mounting pressure or changing circumstances. 

To warm them up to this experience, their leader engaged with an experienced internal facilitator to guide them through an orientation session. This helped them get into a learning mindset; open to new experiences that would help them expand their thinking around purpose. They had open, candid conversations that helped them assess their current standing while identifying a vision of where they wanted to be. This all began connecting them to purpose on a much deeper level. 

The Immersion Learning Experience

Once in this headspace, it’s easier to be receptive to new ways of thinking. This leads us to the next chapter of their story; an immersion learning experience. After a facilitated preparation session to highlight this need, we called on an array of external visionary leaders. We identified them as being able to achieve remarkable results in extraordinary circumstances. 

Our hosts were a collection of leading spokespeople from the Canadian Paralympic Committee and American Red Cross, to name a few. People on the front line, risking their lives to save the lives of others. Physically challenged individuals, pushing past adversity every second of every day. We chose people who are successful and purposeful, regardless of the extraordinary challenges they face. 

Together, they joined in rich, rewarding conversations that evoked a strong sense of inspiration and admiration for genuinely purposeful practices. These conversations gave our client’s senior leaders a chance to step inside a different perspective. What works, what doesn’t work, and the practices that keep you aligned with your purpose, while generating the stamina required to thrive in tough situations.

Integration is an essential element of any immersion experience, where you unpack everything you’ve learned in a way that’s relevant to you. This is where we welcomed the facilitator back to help them assimilate their thinking and uncover accountability plans. This rounded off the entire experience, helping them ask important questions of themselves, such as: What am I going to take forward to my teams to help them connect with their own purpose in a fulfilling and rewarding way?

The Impact – Leveraging Outstanding Leadership Potential

The proof is always in the overall feeling that our clients are left with after the program has ended. In this instance, there is no other way to describe the outcome except as extraordinary. The resulting effects linger as they absorb what they’ve learned, what has changed, and how they can use this information as fuel to move them forwards. 

In short, this immersion experience connected these people to the reason they show up every day in their desire to excel and be successful in any situation. In their words:

“Today was a home run! Thank you so much for your partnership, listening, collaborating, and for creating a great experience. Hand on heart, I know more patients with cancer will have more smiles because of what this team can accomplish together. Today was a milestone event in making that happen.”

To find out more about how an immersion learning experience can induce a transformative shift in your team’s capabilities, read through our Immersion Learning process. We are also a phone call or email away. Let’s talk.