Super Leaders is an intense cognitive experiential skills development programme for new and existing supervisors and middle managers. It is different from the average theory- based session – it is run in a practical and hands-on way that not only builds motivation, interest and willingness to change, but also allows delegates to actually apply what they are learning, whilst learning.

In our experience, a 40% improvement in performance can be achieved by increasing the practical ability of leaders to hold their position in the face of disagreement, non-compliance, lowered ethics, negative emotion, peer pressure and misunderstanding or incorrect application of policy and procedure.

Once done, further gains can be made by developing the leader and team relationship. However, it is key to first equip the leader with the skills to confront change and people effectively.

The challenge many emerging leaders face is the fact they have been selected from a group of their peers and now face the dilemma of having to direct, control, monitor, correct, discipline, motivate, mentor and develop the people they once were on an equal level with. A further challenge is that the new leader faces fear and threat from a variety of social forces as there are potential consequences that they will experience as they come from the same community as the people they lead. Their families may socialise, their children may attend the same schools, they may have agreements around transport or shared resources and they may not enjoy the same leadership status outside work.

Cultural, tribal group, education level, gender and language barriers further exacerbate the situation as they may find themselves leading a group of people who are from a varied background where they have to now engage people across the following interfaces:

The leader finds himself/herself in a precarious place as they have to deal with the pressure from competing forces within organised labour, re-stimulation from both earlier and current political dispensations coupled with finding themselves at coupled with finding themselves at odds odds with decision making, policy and structural changes made by past and present senior management.

An unfortunate by-product, which may be intentional or otherwise, is that the supervisor often ends up blocking or suppressing change even though senior management and teams on the floor may be willing to change or demanding change. In many cases, the middle managers feel isolated, resentful and unsupported by their seniors.

They may or may not have been on formal training or have the emotional intelligence to deal with this. Even though they are experienced, long-standing employees, they struggle to apply theory or concepts as they do not have the practical, hands-on experience and referenceable skills to deal with the harsh realities at the coalface.

Why do these traditional, theory-based courses fail?

There are several reasons, including, but not limited to:

1. The material covered is not immediately applicable or accessible in terms of the work situation the supervisor or middle manager finds himself or herself in.

2. There was an insufficient practical application in the learning process. In most cases the practical or experiential component should be drilled in the following proportion: 75% experiential application, 25 % theoretical input.

3. The skills and theory taught were not sufficiently coached and practiced to bring about a real, tangible and permanent change in the delegate. Often a necessary and vital undercut of helping the delegate learn how to learn is missed. The result is that they are trapped by misunderstood words and terms.

4. There was insufficient support and post-training support in the workplace to help actually cement the change in application. This includes visible, involved sponsorship and endorsement from senior management. Often we also find senior management don’t attend the training as they believe they already know. As a result they miss the opportunity to build the bridge needed to pull through the learning.

5. The delegate did not have the realisation of how and why applying the skills taught actually will help them (or others) survive better and consequently necessitate breaking out of the status quo/comfort zone/rut that they find themselves in.

The purpose of the Super Leaders programme is:

1. To increase the leader’s ability to confront life, people and problems in a positive, solution-oriented and performance centric manner. It is important to understand that confront, in our definition, means to rationally deal with situations in a confident, calm and controlled way rather than with aggression, hostility, fear and suppression.

2. To increase understanding of the delegate in terms of their role, responsibility and metric demands of the job as well as boost the level of emotional engagement with the task and team.

3. To help the leadership group develop and own a series of work improvement projects which have a tangible, measurable and wherever possible a financial saving/ revenue enhancement set of outputs.

4. To cultivate future readiness by equipping leaders with the adaptability, foresight, and resilience needed to thrive in an evolving, complex business environment.

These projects then serve as a transfer into the workplace/coalface programme which helps the recharged and realigned supervisors get their people on board on their return.

The Ten Abilities

You will see that each delegate learns the Super Leader Kata. They have tremendous realisations and wins as human beings in the process. They also pull together as a leadership team in this process. These building blocks are essential to help lay the foundation to rehabilitate existing work improvement and performance enhancement initiatives as well as start new ones and see them through to completion.

How do we achieve critical mass? How do we maintain it? What is next?

In our experience, we see between 2% and 12% of leaders who attend Super Leaders easily adopt and apply the tools. They are what we often refer to as the early adopters. Part of the success of the programme is to make sure that we prioritise and schedule for the change agents and natural leaders within the organisation to attend the programme in the early stages of the rollout. This helps activate the next layer of adoption and support and also helps shift the culture.

There are two main methods for identifying these people:

The first is that we spot them during our Snapshot Survey which is done upfront. This involves interviewing approximately 35% of the organisation to determine their thoughts and views on the status quo and the future. We use the data gathered in this process to customise the process and to socialise people with the approach.

The second opportunity lies in the execution of our Cross Examination process, which is often used as a preparation platform, to prepare the team for a change. It is an undercut that we sometimes apply in heavily siloed and polarised environments. In the process, we identify natural leaders and opinion makers. In some instances, this undercut is not needed as we are able to leverage the outputs of other processes or surveys done.

Having setup and launched the process, we find that the initial impact of Super Leaders is significant if we use the 12% identified well as change evangelists. This allows the organisation to gather the disposable energy of the next tier of leaders (typically 35%) of the organisation.

The supporting Super Teams, On-Site Coaching and Social integration campaigns help access and energise the next tier (typically 35%) of the organisation. In this way we find that the language and ethos becomes part of the DNA of the organisation.

Leadership catalysts:

The application needs to become a way of life. It needs to be supported from management and from labour. To that end we recommend that the most senior leaders attend from both organised labour and management. This is not only an endorsement of the process but also provides an excellent relationship building opportunity.

What slows these numbers down?

Depending on the health of the organisation, we may find that we need to approach the change process in waves (like peeling layers of an onion off). Specific integrations, special projects and problem resolution initiatives may need to be implemented in parallel to help overcome deep routed inhibitors or reduce the effects of the hold that existing antagonists may have over people and the environment.

How do we stop sliding back?

We have developed a range of cognitive experiential turning points and socialisation energisers that can be used to continually maintain the culture and support the next wave and upturn. These are short, 2 to 4 hour interventions that are highly portable and customisable.

Super Leaders is a quantum lift for many people? What’s the next big lift after that?

Kata Masters is the sequel to Super Leaders. Its goal is the perfection of tools taught. It is ideally aimed at the bands of leaders from supervisors up through middle management to executives. In certain cases, we invite young, fast tracked, high potential performers on the programme.

Super Leaders Future Fit Journey

A key focus of the Super Leaders phase is on making the organisation future-ready by equipping leaders with critical skills such as creative problem-solving, innovation, and sustainability. The Innovation Lab in the session on Novel and Adaptive Thinking encourages leaders to approach business challenges with fresh perspectives and innovative solutions, which are essential for navigating the evolving financial services landscape. Additionally, the sustainability and resilience components of this phase ensure that leaders are not only prepared to meet the immediate needs of the organisation but are also capable of driving long-term, sustainable growth. This future-ready mindset is critical for maintaining the group’s competitive position and ensuring its continued relevance in the market.

The Super Leaders phase integrates key leadership competencies, such as collaborative storytelling, critical and systems thinking, innovation, emotional intelligence, and digital intelligence. These skills are embedded throughout the sessions, particularly in the focus on agile leadership, creative problem-solving, and ambidextrous decision-making. Additionally, the case study analyses provide practical examples of successful leadership, allowing participants to see how these skills are applied in real-world scenarios. This approach ensures that leaders are not only developing the technical skills required for success in the financial services sector but are also building the emotional and strategic intelligence needed for long-term leadership success.

To ensure that the leadership skills learned in this phase are fully internalised and practically applied, Phase 3 includes a cascade 360 feedback project for every leader. This project maps leaders’ personality assessments and integrates coaches’ performance reviews to provide a holistic view of each leader’s development. As an experiential extension of the skills taught in the sessions, this feedback process ensures that leaders receive comprehensive, actionable insights into their leadership style, strengths, and areas for growth. Leaders will also be tasked with applying design principles to create tangible personal development plans that align with the group’s future goals. These plans will ensure that each leader remains a relevant and impactful player in the financial services sector, capable of leaving a lasting legacy of leadership.

The Super Leaders phase emphasises measurable outcomes by incorporating interactive workshops, simulations, and coaching sessions that are tied to key business objectives. By focusing on collaborative problem-solving and ambidextrous leadership, this phase ensures that leadership development is directly linked to business and revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. The practical exercises provide leaders with real-time feedback on their decision-making and team management skills, which can be monitored through post-programme evaluations to measure their effectiveness in driving business outcomes. This focus on actionable skills and measurable performance aligns with the focus on return on investment for its leadership development initiatives.

Phase 3 also supports the development of tailored individual development plans for each leader. These plans are designed to address the unique strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations of each participant, ensuring that leadership development is not only aligned with organisational goals but also with personal growth trajectories. By providing personalised coaching and feedback, the Super Leaders phase helps leaders develop the specific skills needed to advance within the Group, ensuring that leadership development is both impactful and sustainable.