Case study leadership development Capgemini

Be the Future program

Benefits leadership development program

  • Retention is higher amongst participants of Be the Future
  • Over 80% of program participants have been successfully promoted within 18 months
  • Be the Future connections and networks enable employees to deliver more or better within their work role

Capgemini actively supports upcoming leaders through the Be the Future program, a North and Central Europe leadership development program run in collaboration with COURIUS. Pam Mandair, UK Talent Manager at Capgemini, values the effects: ‘The program enables participants an amazing opportunity to develop their leadership talents, build their networks and accelerate their careers with Capgemini.’

Pam-Mandair-Capgemini

Be the Future has a life-changing impact, helping participants
realize their potential.’

Pam Mandair, UK Talent Manager Capgemini

Investing in high potentials

Capgemini are invested in developing their high-potential – high-performing employees. Creating an environment to nurture talent and build leadership capability needed for the future. Pam Mandair, ‘There was a clear need for a Grade B leadership development program. It’s our biggest Grade population so investing in their development is a key priority for us. This investment enables employees to build their network and design their career to fulfil their aspirations at Capgemini.

Grade B is where employees begin to develop their leadership skills so it’s important we are able to provide them with the tools to do this. Together with COURIUS we created Be the Future, an immersive and experiential talent acceleration program designed to increase self-awareness of participants enabling them to unfold and empower their professional impact.’

Darren_Campbell_Capgemini

‘For people to become good leaders, they have to really understand
themselves first.’

Darren Campbell, Global Head of Startup Catalyst Capgemini

Focus on the human being

Darren Campbell, Global Head of Startup Catalyst at Capgemini, has been a co-facilitator of Be the Future for the last two and a half years: ‘I like the program because it’s more focused on the human being. Lots of leadership programs are functional: what is a leader? What is a manager? How can I be more creative? All the usual things. Which is great, and important, but I think before you evolve in those dimensions, the first thing people must do is to understand themselves. How they show up, how they communicate, how they think, why they think in that way. And Be the Future really helps people to reflect on that, it’s fundamentally helping people to become good leaders.’

Be the Future

The leadership development program spans Northern and Central Europe, catering to high-potential and -performing individuals.

Participants

Are nominated by their managers and engage in an intense 4-month program with virtual sessions, on-site training, and peer sessions.

Development goal

Strengthening personal leadership qualities through introspection, reflection, and improved communication skills.

Capgemini and COURIUS: a powerful blend

Be the Future is a co-creation of COURIUS and Capgemini. Pam: ‘The program is expertly facilitated by both Capgemini and COURIUS facilitators in a format which is inspiring, enriching, collaborative and fun. We focus on continuous feedback and improvement so the program format and content has been developed to create the best learning experience for the participants.’

The facilitators create a safe learning space, a situation in which people can open up to each other, see each other genuinely, and thus connect with each other. Darren: ‘Combining a Capgemini facilitator with an external one from COURIUS, you get this really powerful blend of Capgemini experience coupled with external perspectives from COURIUS.’

Profound experience

‘The two of us work with the group from beginning to end. The first virtual part of the program is great because it builds up the pulse. We get the momentum going, we start to build intimacy, and we challenge the participants to take ownership of their own growth. Then we get together in France, at Les Fontaines, where we deep-dive on developing (self)leadership and powerful communication skills for two and a half days. And then we have a virtual peer session and an online closing day.

For me, the time in France is the crescendo. That’s where we have the most impact on the participants because we have the face-to-face experience. We really get to know each other. We have very vulnerable moments, it gets really intimate, and we grow together. The experience is incredibly profound. For me, that is so wow! And the feedback from participants is that it’s wow for them too!

‘I see a person walking in on day one of the program and I see a very different person walk away at the end.’

Darren Campbell, Global Head of Startup Catalyst Capgemini

High impact

‘Be the Future is a super program. I see a person walking in on day one of the program and I see a very different person walk away at the end. We have some people who come on day one thinking: Oh, this is regular leadership development, this is not for me, I don’t need this, I know myself, I’m already a good leader… And then at the end of the program, many of these people have changed significantly: their personality is different, they’re dressed differently, they’re talking differently, they’re behaving differently… In some cases their arrogance has gone, they’re humble and are eager to learn more. They’ve taken a step back, they’ve embraced the learning opportunity, and they want to take the learning further after the program. I’ve seen that so often. Be the Future is a short program, it’s not ten years, but the impact it has on an individual level in a short space of time is very, very powerful.’

‘We don’t see each other as: you’re COURIUS and we’re Capgemini; we are really one team.’

Pam Mandair, UK Talent Manager Capgemini

A collaborative partnership

Asked for the way she experiences the collaboration with COURIUS, Pam says: ‘It’s really good. We’ve a very collaborative, open, trusting, professional – and fun partnership. And it’s easy: we’re very good at listening to each other, we we’re very good at acting on feedback from each other, we’re always looking at how we can improve the program experience not just for the participants but also for the facilitators. The program team and facilitators bring the program to life and they do this through their dedication and amazing personalities. The people of COURIUS are true professionals and good fun to work with. We don’t see each other as: you’re COURIUS and we’re Capgemini; we are really one team. We’ve made Be the Future very successful as a team and that’s kind of how we see each other and see ourselves.’

Be the Future leadership development program

Wins for Capgemini

Be the Future is a big success, indicates Pam. ‘It has a life-changing impact, helping employees realize their potential. It enables them to understand themselves better. The program is not just for professional development, it’s there for persons as a whole. We’ve seen fundamental shifts for individuals, but also in teams. Participants use what they have learned and experienced on the program and often take some of the activities and implement them in their teams. We use Insights Discovery as a tool for determining an individual’s style and preference of communication. Since launching the program we’ve seen requests for Insights to be done within teams increasing, demonstrating participants are taking back and sharing the benefits of what they’ve experienced.’

‘Employees who complete the program see a long term career with Capgemini.’

Pam Mandair, UK Talent Manager Capgemini

As for Capgemini’s organizational goals, Be the Future meets the expectations as retention has increased. Pam: ‘The program results clearly show those that complete it are more likely to stay and progress their careers with Capgemini, we’ve seen a definite increase in employee retention and over 80% of program participants have been successfully promoted with 18 months which is an amazing achievement.’

‘Another great benefit we see are the strong networks that are developed. Often, it’s the first time that employees on the program meet each other. We see many new friendships form through the program, participants remain connected both locally and cross-country. These networks and friendships enable participants to share thoughts and ideas to create a better future for themselves and each other. For instance, one of the previous participants had to prepare a presentation for a client based in Germany. He reached out to one of his networks that was on the program from Germany who provided guidance around language and terminology, this support and guidance enabled him to deliver a more impactful presentation to the client. Be the Future connections and networks enable employees to deliver more or better within their work role.’

This is what participants say

  • I have been challenged to step out of my comfort zone, embrace my vulnerability, and explore my potential as a future leader in a way that has been the most intense and rewarding.

    Ziggy Rafiq-Zaheer

  • The outcome of attending the course has been both an increased self awareness and a better understanding of those around me, helping me to identify colleague’s working styles and how best to communicate and lead others. I have not only taken the learnings from Be the Future into my current client engagement, but it has also helped me clarify the path for my future development.

    Hannah Runga

capgemini logo

Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation.
Active in more than 50 countries, with more than 350.000 employees. The Be the Future personal leadership program is offered to high potential and high performing talented employees in North and Central Europe.

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