In August, we were thrilled to learn that our partner client, LCBO, had won a Brandon Hall Group Gold award for excellence for Best Advance in Coaching and Mentoring. The LCBO is a forward-thinking organization that strives for excellence in its service to its people and customers, and is committed to creating an inclusive culture of continuous learning.
Now entering its 30th year, the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards is the most prestigious awards program in the industry. Often called the “Academy Awards” by Learning, Talent and Business Executives, the awards recognize the best organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results.
When the global pandemic hit in 2020, the LCBO was declared an essential service, and its stores were slated to remain open while many other businesses were shuttered. In an extremely short period of time the organization, like many other businesses, had to shift gears to focus on the safety and wellbeing of the employees during this time of uncertainty. The LCBO saw this time as an opportunity to review their leadership development initiatives to look for both gaps and bright spots. They wanted to continue to develop a people strategy that would accelerate an inclusive culture, demonstrate care for employee wellbeing, and build collaborative leadership across the organization.
Dedicated to the needs of their people and drawn to The Roundtable’s “leaders coaching leaders” approach, the LCBO contracted The Roundtable in 2021 to roll out the Roundtable Catalyst program. The program design is a framework that combines group coaching, mentoring, peer feedback, informal learning, assessments, and application activities.
Catalyst leaders are coached to become internal group coaches through a series of just-in-time booster sessions aligned to a specific leadership topic. The leaders first explore their own insights and understanding of the topic and then use that same content to have group coaching and mentoring discussions with their own cohorts of 3-5 participants.
Success By the Numbers
In a short period of time, the organization has made a significant positive impact on senior leader coaching capability, an improved sense of psychological safety and strides in building a more inclusive culture.
Catalyst group members in the program reported an improvement of:
- 93% in self-awareness and understanding of leadership
- 92% in expansion of leadership toolkit
- 89% in size and scope of professional network
Cohort members had better interactions with cross-functional colleagues through deeper and richer conversations which has resulted in increased collaboration, connection and a deeper understanding of the business as a whole.
Catalyst Leaders experienced similar improvement and saw:
- 100% ability to develop others through coaching and mentoring
- 100% significant increase in engagement with the organization
- 100% improved view of talent in the organization
“The Catalyst program was a cultural game changer for LCBO. High potential senior leaders learned skills to mentor groups of cross-divisional high potential managers who took their learnings to be better leaders of their own teams. Everyone working together to actively create our desired culture, knocking down the silos and getting to know our talent! Love it!” Priscilla Fraser, Vice President Talent, Safety & Inclusion, LCBO
Recently, the LCBO was recognized among Greater Toronto’s top employers for 2023 and also won Gold certifications for both Healthy Workplace and Mental Health at Work from Excellence Canada. The organization was the only retailer to have earned this certification to date. While there are many elements that go into this win, the Catalyst program is acknowledged as a contributing factor as it provided a structured approach to engaging talent, opening up communication and improving collaboration.
And now, the LCBO has been recognized by Brandon Hall Group for excellence coaching and mentoring.
Take a look at the impact we can have, read all of our case studies here.
How Can We Help You?
Through our unique peer-to-peer group coaching and guided group mentoring programs, your leaders and key talent will learn how to adapt their leadership approach to thrive in an ever-changing world. They’ll also develop the superior coaching and collaboration skills essential for success.
Peer group coaching may be just what your organization has been looking to take its employee development efforts to the next level. If you’d like to know more about our group coaching programs, contact us to start a conversation.
