The 2016 Excellence in Practice Awards submissions were again of high quality and showed confirmation of a number of trends we have seen in the past few years:
Impact-conscious
It is, of course, inherent to the framework of EiP that impact is a concern throughout the cases, as this is a key differentiator for getting selected for an award. Still, we clearly see a trend in organisations becoming much more professional and experienced in impact measurements. Though there is still plenty of ground to cover and make a difference.
One of the striking points is that almost all cases pursue more than one objective based on an overall strategic corporate intent. These include a recurrent and strong goal of leadership, talent or professional development as the drivers for organisational change above and beyond the individual dimension.
Partnerships and co-creation
Many of the cases document multi- partnerships with corporate clients or public organisations joining multiple business schools and alternative providers. Each of them brings their own strengths to the table, and there is a strong involvement of corporate L&D functions in the analysis and design phase of projects, not just in the execution, plus a mix of partners based not just on academic credentials but also for coaching purposes or for geographical and virtual coverage.
Personal development focus, no technology landslide
Cases show a strong focus on personal growth, values and behaviours. Clearly, the need is not for models or textbook/academic theories but to strengthen the personality, responsibility and personal capability – the human/emotional side – of managers and leaders. In this VUCA world, they need to solve problems and situations that cannot be mastered with templates and grids.
Experiential learning, action learning, coaching and mentoring are blended into development journeys with the use of all technological support available in the day-to-day working environment. And as such, technology follows work practices and helps to bridge agenda and geographical challenges, without being the major disruptor of some fear.
We hope you will enjoy reading the cases that follow, and you are welcome to explore and discuss them in depth during EFMD’s Executive Development Conference from 12–14 October in Porto.
Hope to meet you there!
See more articles from Vol.10 Issue 03 – ’16: EiP 2016.
- Defining environmental challenges - January 16, 2023
- Global Focus Chinese 2022 - December 2, 2022
- Excellence in Practice 2022 Introduction - October 3, 2022
