What is Genea’s business?

Genea has forged a reputation as a pioneer of fertility treatment, insightful research and world leading science. We implemented Fastlead to support their emerging and current front-line leaders in gaining the self-insight and skills required to lead effectively, and to encourage cross collaboration across the business.

How did you implement the program?

We started Fastlead with seven pods and then added a further four pods a little later. While all participants did Leading vs Managing and Time Management as foundational topics, pods could select the remaining four topics from the remaining fourteen that were available.

Following the 6 month program, pod participants were mixed again and did the remaining Fastlead topics informally.

When you embarked on the search for a front-line leader solution, what were your criteria?

We were looking for a number of criteria:

• Relevant and current content that matches the challenges of front-line leaders today and into the next two to three years

• A cost-effective solution as we were intending rolling out to a reasonably sized cohort for a mid-sized organisation such as Genea

• Content that was flexible to meet the differing levels of experience and competence of the group

• A vendor that was flexible in terms of what the final solution would look like.

How did the Fastlead program fit your development and business criteria?

The pod concept and the ability to flex/tailor the module priorities in terms of the groups and sequencing, to meet specific individual and organisational capability requirements.

What results have you found from implementing Fastlead?

Our leaders reported improved leadership skills, confidence in leadership ability and an improved relationship with their team. The majority also stated the program improved their relationship with their manager and made them more likely to stay with the organisation.

The personalised nature of the sessions, as well as the models shared, helped our leaders explore different ways of dealing with various situations. Time management, delegation and conflict management were particularly impactful, with participants reporting improved personal organisation, a more nuanced approach to delegation and a more confident approach to conversations with their team.

If you were talking to someone in a role like yours, would you recommend Fastlead? What tips would you give them for successful implementation?

Yes, I would definitely recommend Fastlead. My advice to any organization implementing it would be to ensure a high degree of internal ownership and coordination. This helps maximise the pod concept in terms of participant mix and modules, bring the broader groups together also for key learnings across the whole organisation.

Key takeaways

• Ensure a high degree of internal ownership

• Different pods can do different topics, allowing participants to chose some of what they learn – participants loved this flexibility

• Use the pods to build communication and trust between different crafts within the business

• Small group coaching is perfect for mid-sized organisations