Ahold Delhaize
3-year International Management Trainee Programme (IMTP)
Ahold Delhaize has embarked on a journey with us to develop the next generation Finance and HR professionals by means of a 3-year International Management Trainee Programme (IMTP).
We were asked to deliver the leadership development part of this programme in order to accelerate the development of their trainees, to increase the readiness for a manager role and, in the long term, to contribute to building a more diverse functional talent pipeline.
A highly engaged
trainee journey
Developing people’s capacity to change asks for embarking on individual journeys and learning transformations. These journeys are challenging, stimulating participants to step out of their comfort zone, offering new perspectives, new models and profound guidance for reflection and introspection. Sustainable leadership development and behavioral change is optimally realized by a unique combination of onsite and online, continuous development efforts, partly customized to the individual needs. Hence, we developed a highly engaging blended trainee journey.
Unique learning
needs
The three years consists of bi-monthly Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) sessions on key leadership topics, alternating with online Peer Circle sessions in which trainees discuss in small groups about work situations linked to the content of the VILTs.
In the second half of each year the trainees come together for a two-day offsite in which the subjects of the VILTs are elaborated and linked to their own individual leadership goals. At the end of the year, they work together for two days on a realistic case making use of the knowledge and skills they have gained in the previous year.
To meet the unique learning needs of the individual, each trainee is assigned a coach, with whom they can work on subjects of their choice throughout the three years. The individual coaching is supported by UNLOQ Campus, our ISO-certified and GDPR-proof blended coaching platform.
The content of the full program
is based on three main perspectives in leadership: Leading Self, Leading Others and Leading the Organization.
Conversational
intelligence
The first year is all about self-reflection, personal development and increasing self-awareness and covers topics like Emotional Intelligence, Neuroscience and their Personal Life Journey. In the second year the focus shifts to the relationships with others by addressing topics like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Influencing styles and Conversational Intelligence. The content of the third year is Leadership Styles and Leadership Purpose as the focus lies on the trainee as leader in the context of the organization.
New
generation
The role of the participants changes in each year of the program. In the first year we offer tools for the trainees to engage in self-reflection and increase their own effectiveness, the second year we mostly shape the content, but they take the lead in the facilitation of the Peer Circles. In the third year the trainees will be ready for a more permanent role in the organization, so this part of the programme we design and implement in collaboration with the trainees. We gradually hand over the leadership of the programme to them and ensure they are equipped to become the envisioned new generation of management professionals.
What’s
next?
We are currently in year 1 of the program and in the process of (re)designing the program content based on continuous feedback from the participants and the coaches that are working with them. A second cohort will start in the second half of 2022.
