Leadership Development for an Entertainment Company

Business Case

The CEO of a $40 million entertainment company wanted to improve performance and better identify potential for advancement within the leadership team.

The CEO had a very large span of control and there was not a formal feedback mechanism for employee performance. Given that there were several executives with uncertain futures within the company due to performance issues, the CEO wanted to know if these individuals were salvageable for future employment with the company. There also was no succession plan in place.

CMA performed a developmental assessment for each member of the executive team and conducted an initial 360º feedback session. CMA also identified barriers to performance for individuals, the leadership team as a whole and the organization. We then designed a two-year leadership development program that included individual coaching, a leadership workshop and a repeat 360º feedback exercise to ascertain results.

Outcome

The CMA engagement resulted in a reduction of the CEO’s span of control from 18 to 5 direct reports. Two leaders were promoted to higher-level positions to support the CEO. The final 360º feedback indicated that performance levels improved due to reassignments, restructuring, new hiring and the development of the leadership group.