Case Study Pages:
Table of contents
Building leadership capability
Lion has a strong focus on building the capabilities of its leaders, who, crucially, can come from every level of the organisation. Employees at all levels of the supply chain are encouraged to step up, share their ideas and help introduce new processes and ways of working that benefit the business and its employees.
Effective leadership is a prerequisite of all successful organisations. Good leadership affects everything from customer satisfaction to ‘bottom line
’ results. Poor leadership can result in weak governance, a lack of direction, demotivated employees, poor customer satisfaction and under-performance.
’ results. Poor leadership can result in weak governance, a lack of direction, demotivated employees, poor customer satisfaction and under-performance.
Lion has a distinct leadership strategy that is focused on developing every facet of a leader, including their values, strengths, behaviours, thinking style and technical skills and knowledge. Lion believes in ‘authentic leadership’ – being true to yourself and others and exhibiting positive behaviours such as self-awareness, courage and – trust – as well as supporting and building these behaviours in other team members. This type of leadership allows people within Lion to build long-lasting relationships with each other and all external stakeholders – customers, consumers, suppliers and the community at large – and it is these relationships that create business success.
Leadership and company culture are intrinsically linked at Lion. The company has identified 10 Behaviours That Add Value (BTAV) and these underpin its leadership model. Lion encourages all its people to demonstrate these behaviours, believing they are crucial attributes of a good leader as well as encouraging a positive company culture.
Employees are also provided with leadership training and development. Leadership development is crucial to ensure leaders have the opportunity to develop their values, behaviours, thinking style and skills. This drives an achievement culture.
Lion uses a mix of different learning experiences to supply leaders with lasting, high-quality skills following the 70:20:10 principle whereby 70% of learning comes from on the job experiences, 20% from coaching and peers and 10% from formal learning. Some of the formal learning opportunities include face-to-face programs that require on-the-job application after the training, online learning modules, coaching, and online resources available through Lion’s ‘Development Portal’. Leaders are encouraged to share what they have learned with their teams to cascade knowledge through the company and embed learning in the workflow.
