Do you find it challenging to create a leadership culture in your organization?

I ask because I’ve been thinking a lot about FICO’s Leadership Development Programs lately. Why?

FICO is a Torch customer, and partnering with us and other organizations, they’ve created a program over the past two years that provides different leadership development learning options, including tracks for mentoring and leadership coaching, and is based on employee levels and roles within their organization. I appreciate that they’ve defined “leaders” more broadly – making their program more inclusive and built on the power of relationships at all levels. 

I’ve spent most of my career in large organizations and at many of them, comprehensive leadership development is reserved for executives and the most senior leaders. As my career progressed, I had the opportunity to benefit from some of these programs, helping me become a more inspirational and thoughtful leader. However, after reading FICO’s story, I can’t help but think how valuable it would have been for me to go through a program — and think of myself as a leader — long before I started to manage a team.

What I admire about the FICO program is that they’ve found a way to democratize leadership development and build a customized program designed to meet the needs of their employees at different stages in the leadership journey.

FICO has four Leadership Development Programs running currently:

• Foundational (broad-based) – Blended learning programs for all people managers
• Advanced (career-focused) – Mentoring journeys for high-potential leaders
• Advanced (people-leader oriented) – Coaching journeys for high-potential people leaders
• Proficient (for a select few) – Great Manager Program

Empowering employees of all levels to contribute to strategic business decisions is what drives that leadership culture, and the best way to cultivate that is through leadership development programs. If you are considering how to create a leadership culture at your company, I encourage you to download the FICO story, written by the Josh Bersin Company, and read about the perspective that led to these programs. I also think you’ll appreciate FICO’s approach to developing a talented team focused on both personal and business success metrics. There are many thought-provoking ideas presented that may inspire you to take the next step to increase leadership development opportunities at all levels of your organization. You can also talk with us about how we can help you develop a more comprehensive approach to leadership development for your employees.