New leadership
About the Company
Faurecia is one of the top ten largest suppliers of automotive components in the world.
The company has been in operation since 1914.
Faurecia's customers include:
The company's headquarters is located in the city of Nanterre, France.
Request from Faurecia Company
Faurecia’s European management set ambitious goals for its Russian branch in 2019-2020. These goals include increasing operational profit, improving financial flows, updating the product line, and optimizing the company’s presence in Russian regions. To achieve these objectives, a strong team of top managers and middle-level managers was needed.
Stages
It all began in 2018, when Maria Mordashko, Director of Human Resources at Faurecia in Russia, was studying in a leadership retraining program and was writing her thesis on “Choosing One’s Leadership Path through Establishing Contact with Oneself.” In this work, Maria analyzed how Faurecia top managers and leaders could be developed through LDP research.
The project manager set several goals for herself: to determine the current potential of the company’s leaders, to understand how it relates to the business’s current tasks, and in what direction to further develop it. For her thesis, Maria chose 5 top managers and leaders of Faurecia in Russia and worked with them for 7 months. Each of them underwent LDP research, which is based on the Leadership Development Framework (LDF) model.
The Faurecia employee LDP research was conducted in 3 phases. Initially, the participants filled out questionnaires, and their answers were analyzed and correlated with their action logics. Then each of the 5 top managers received an individual profile, which they brought to a session with an LDP coach. In 1.5 hours of work, the coach helped the research participant realize how their available action logics manifest in their life and work. As a result, all the managers received recommendations and formed development tasks.
Here’s how Maria Mordashko described the results of the LDP research participants:
A., 37, received an offer to take a key position in the Russian branch of the company. He created a cohesive team, won the “Best People Development Manager of the Year” award, brilliantly defended the strategic plan and budget of the plant, and began preparing a project to relocate the plant to a new location.
E., 34, entered the reserve for a leading position in the key project in the Russian branch of the company. Currently, he is optimizing production processes at 6 plants in Russia. He successfully implemented several projects and is preparing new ones for implementation.
C., 33, received an offer to take a functional position in the Russian branch, with subsequent career advancement abroad.
A., 40, left Faurecia because he received an offer to take a key position in one of Russia’s major companies. Currently, he is undergoing an internship in Europe, after which he will head a team of 12,000 people – 10 times more than in his previous position.
After five top managers successfully achieved the company’s goals, Maria Mordashko invited new leaders to the project.
At that time, Faurecia was discussing an important task: “There is a ‘talent pool’ when forming a strategy for 2020. The company’s management does not understand how effective the top managers of this pool are and if they are ready for changes. How can this be tested and how can top managers be prepared?”
In her plan for developing leaders, Maria proposed that the company rely on the results of her thesis project and use the Vertical Leadership Development model.
To include more top managers in the study, Maria invited Lyudmila Kupchina, a consultant and director of the professional retraining program “Integral Technologies for the Development of People and Organizations,” to the project.
Project for 2019-2020 involved 16 top managers from 5 business areas: sales, finance, HR, production, and procurement.
The project lasted more than 8 months and consisted of 5 phases:
1. Meeting with the consultant
At the 30-minute meeting were the client Maria Mordashko, the consultant Lyudmila Kupchina, and a top manager. The meeting participants got acquainted, established contact, and agreed on how to work together. The top manager learned about the goals and objectives of the study, and the consultant answered additional questions.
2. Questionnaire
Top managers filled out questionnaires. Analysts from Harthill processed their responses, formed a “Leadership Development Profile” for each participant, and sent the results to Lyudmila Kupchina.
3. Debriefing with the consultant
During an individual session with Lyudmila Kupchina, project participants discussed how available action logics manifest themselves in their lives and work. They discussed which situations the logics help to achieve goals and solve tasks and in which they do not. They identified where habitual behavior does not work and does not yield desired results and how to change it. Each person who went through LDP received recommendations and formed tasks for development. The consultant’s task at this stage was to help the manager comprehend the research results, understand how to “ground” the new company’s tasks in their activities, and in which direction to develop.
4. Individual work plan development
Project participants independently developed a plan for their skill development and discussed it at the final meeting with Maria Mordashko and Lyudmila Kupchina.
5. Implementation of the Plan
After developing an individual plan, top managers began to work on its implementation. The coaching team provided support and assistance, monitored progress, and made adjustments.
Results
The heads of the departments have taken on tasks that are important for implementing the company’s strategy both in Russia and Europe. During this collaboration, the Russian branch of Faurecia has become the leader among other branches in some financial indicators and has outperformed the factories in China in terms of operational performance.
Faurecia has exceeded all KPIs for 2019 and met its goals for April 2020. The company has increased its cash flow and operational profit.
What about the personal results of the project participants? One of them has moved to top management, another has become the head of a team of 12,000 people in another company, and ten managers who participated in the project have expanded their functionality, moved to related fields, and increased their pool of subordinates. The others are expecting promotion in the near future. Faurecia has ended up with a team capable of solving complex strategic tasks. Top managers have seen their strengths and weaknesses and understood which directions they want to develop further.
3 Focuses of the Leaders' Club
Since September 2020, another 7 top managers have joined the project, and in April 2021, 8 more joined. Maria Mordashko is working on a new development plan with Lyudmila Kupchina, in accordance with the company’s new strategic objectives.
Now, more than 30 heads of major departments of Faurecia in Russia are involved in the project, which began with 5 top managers. Every month, top managers gather at the “Leaders’ Club,” moderated by HRD Maria Mordashko. Participants work not only “for themselves” but also “for others”: they listen to colleagues, support them, and share their experiences. Also, every 3 months, the leaders have individual meetings with Maria.
Отзыв клиента
Employees and top managers maintain three focuses during their development: “I work for myself in an individual format”, “I work for other people”, and “I work for the benefit of the company”. We consider Leadership Development Profiles (LDP) not only in the context of professional development, but also personal development. When working with a person, I perceive them as a whole: for example, they are a leader, a subordinate, a father, son, husband, student, etc. – in the light of all roles at once. In the process, it is important to realize which “self” is making the decision, how this “self” affects other internal parts, and how they can “come to an agreement” with each other. In our group and individual meetings, we touch on topics that are not related to work, but influence it. For example, we have talked about the role of fathers and mothers, about being a good parent, discussing the topic of raising children. This is a very pressing issue for young fathers whose lives have changed significantly…
The project continues because we see quality results for both people and the business. Thus, I often hear from employees that they have been able to release tension and not succumb to stress, especially during periods of uncertainty.
From my experience, I can say that it can be difficult for adults to accept the idea that they need to constantly develop. It may take someone 10 years to start moving in this direction.
If we talk about my mission in this project, then this work also helps me to work on myself, to be mindful, and to help other people with this.
Thus, over the years of work, employees have found their ways of connecting with themselves, realized their internal potential, and began to practice their leadership, which is unlike any other. They are all different, unique, and successful. The theory of vertical leadership and the LDP study itself are the foundation of effective development for the Faurecia company.
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