Dragon Plan
- Ryder's Dragon Plan Leadership Programme
- Ryder has embarked on a new scheme to bring the forefront of management science into the company, nurturing the future generation of leaders.
- Leadership is a complicated task. The leader must thoroughly understand the organisation, its market and the industry as a whole, but must also be proficient in the intricate interpersonal skills required to guide individuals and integrate them into successful teams. He or she must be able to flexibly respond to different personalities in the group, as well as being able to facilitate harmonious cooperation between them. All the while, the leader shoulders responsibility not only for his or her own motivation and performance, but for those of all the team-members he or she is in charge of.
- No wonder, then, that leadership has been the subject of so much research in management science.
- Ryder has always placed a high premium on effective teamwork and a happy and fulfilled workforce, of which good leadership is a key ingredient. Growth over recent years has brought us the opportunity to exploit developments in leadership science, using its insights and tools to nurture leadership potential amongst our staff, and build up skills and organisational capabilities for the long term.
- This is the background to the Dragon Plan. In Chinese lore, the Dragon symbolises leadership qualities such as confidence, enthusiasm, and the ability to inspire others. Ryder is developing its future generation of inspirational leaders in collaboration with Leadership Psychology Australia (LPA), a group of organisational educators specialised in leadership development, who help us to bring western management science into an oriental context.
- The Dragon Plan addresses individual leadership, team leadership and organisational leadership, helping participants to discover, exploit and expand their skills. Summer 2009 marked the end of the programme’s first year, in which a group of 25 participants went through a year of intensive training, undertaken alongside their usual work schedule.
- Candidates for the programme were initially chosen by members of the Management Committee from among promising young managerial staff, and the finalists were selected after a number of assessments. The result was 25n highly motivated participants, keen for the start of the programme! In year one, activities have unfolded in three stages:
- Stage 1 - Understanding the Self. The Chinese often say that the most difficult thing in the world to understand is one’s own self; our Dragon Plan participants completed detailed self-assessments to discover and understand their cognitive and emotional skills and weaknesses, using frameworks such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
- Stage 2 – Understanding the Organisation. Participants held detailed discussions about Ryder's philosophy and organisational culture, as well as developing a more thorough understanding of the company’s business areas, its position in the industry, the challenges it faces, and the strengths and limitations with which it faces them.
- Stage 3 – The Self in the Organisation. Participants examined their personal roles in the company, and explored how, ultimately, they might use their own strengths to further the company’s development.
- Through these stages, participants were exposed to a broad range of management theory, including on situational and contingent leadership. They also had regular coaching from their professor at LPA.
- But all theory and no practice leads to one-sided development! The LPA team has used the Action Learning methodology, forming participants into teams which work on real company issues, like how to communicate Vision and Strategy across the organisation, or how to make meetings more effective.
- Just as in the real-world context of leadership, this sort of teamwork required individuals to know themselves, exploit their strengths to optimise their own contribution, guide others, and compromise.
- Teamwork brings other benefits, as well. “When participants are working together outside their normal routine to discuss and implement improvements, they enhance the collaboration level of the whole organization,” said Christine, a consultant with LPA. “This is about getting benefits from pro-active attitudes and teamwork.”
- What have participants gained, after the first year of the course?
- Fifi, Marketing and Sales Manager, felt that she had become more flexible as a team-member, balancing target-focus with collaboration. “I learned how important it is to involve others in the decision-making process, so as to achieve joint ownership of a decision,” she says.
- “I became more sensitive about understanding why people might not be fulfilling their potential,” said Selina, Special Assistant to CEO. “It might be that their strengths are not suited to their role, for example, or that they are unaware of how to use their strengths properly. I feel I am in a better position now to help others reassess and optimise their performance.”
- This year’s participants will continue their development over the next year, mentoring the new intake at the same time as receiving their own training. The complete programme is a long haul: it lasts a full five years.
- Thanks to a highly successful first year, the new intake will be expanded to 30 participants.
- It is important, in business, to recognise talent, and to provide outlets for creative energy and ambition. Ryder hopes that the Dragon Plan will become another way to enable and unleash the individuality and abilities of its employees. At the same time, we hope it will become another reason for great people to stay with the company.
